Reconnecting Circular Quay to the city of Sydney, improving public access to the harbour and unifying the spaces around Sydney’s foreshore were issues that were raised at the University of Technology’s annual Zunz Lecture.

Held at the Sydney Opera House, the event was sponsored by engineering consultants Arup and the City of Sydney, and aimed to stimulate high-quality public dialogue on the future of the city.

Speakers of the night included Lord Mayor Clover Moore, Chairman of the Tourism and Transport Forum Bruce Baird, and Malcolm Smith, the leader of Arup’s masterplanning practice worldwide.

Joining them on the panel were Louise Mason, the Managing Director of AMP Capital, and London-based architects Richard Rogers and Ivan Harbour of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners – the firm which developed the Barangaroo Masterplan.

The talk was based on the premise that Circular Quay is the “gateway to Sydney’s commerce, transport, arts, culture, tourism and heritage”, with 70,000 people walking through the area every day. However, its role in stimulating the city’s vibrancy and liveability has been called into question.

Beginning the discussion, each speaker was asked to comment on the main factors one should consider when ‘re-imagining the Quay’.

Richard Rogers noted that Circular Quay is a hub that faces a whole series of constraints, including the tangled relationships between transport facilities and spaces. Comparing it to Trafalgar Square in London, Rogers suggested “banning cars” and ‘pedestrianising’ the Quay.

 

Forward thinking: a 1986 drawing by Richard Rogers envisions a pedestrianised Trafalgar Square – as came to pass. Image: www.theguardian.com

This idea of connectivity and creating well-planned, revitalised public spaces, playing to the beauty and strengths of the harbour, was echoed throughout the night’s debate.

For instance, Arup’s Malcolm Smith asked that the Cahill Expressway, which runs through a series of tunnels and cuttings between the Royal Botanical Gardens, The Domain, through Circular Quay and across the Harbour Bridge, not be demolished, as originally proposed by the City of Sydney’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision.

Instead of knocking it down, Smith said that it should be transformed into an open space for people to enjoy. In his vision, the roadways are reinterpreted, with the existing structure reused for new pedestrian purposes.

However, this was challenged by Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who noted that the Expressway essentially prevents views to the harbour. It is seen as “a fullstop” when one is walking from Sydney’s city to Circular Quay.

Moore added that the light rail project, which would run from George Street, would rejuvenate Sydney’s CBD, reduce congestion, and connect it to the harbour.

While plans for Sydney’s foreshore were promising, a point raised by both Bruce Baird and Louise Mason seemed to put a limit to the grand visions.

Currently, there are about 12 to 16 bodies of authority around Sydney’s foreshore, each in charge of a certain area. This, Baird says, has posed many problems, particularly bureaucratic ones, and will limit the re-imagination of the precinct.

Despite being an important topic, the panel could not seem to resolve this issue of “contested territory” except that it was a concern worth reviewing.

This challenge was especially highlighted when the audience was given a chance to pose questions to the panel.

With contentions ranging from whether there was really a need to demolish the Cahill Expressway, to when and how the City was going to achieve its aims, to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of having so many foreshore authorities, the panel could only suggest what was to be done, but not how.

Therefore, while the lecture was able to pick at various issues that limit the potential of Circular Quay, whether the visions will be realised with the intended results remain a mystery.

Have your say. Contribute your ideas of a re-imagined Circular Quay via twitter, using the hashtag “#lovemyquay”, or leave a comment below.