The Competition:

In June 2020, the New South Wales Government launched a national design competition inviting Australian architects to submit their ideas for a pavilion structure at Waterman's Cove in Barangaroo. The pavilion was asked to be an iconic, culturally relevant, indoor/outdoor venue that can host covered events year-round. The competition received over 170 entries. A competition jury, comprised of figures in the Australian architectural community, shortlisted five finalists and selected the winning design in 2021.

Our Concept:  

Storytelling is the oldest of oral arts and has been one of humanities great unifiers. The passing on of tradition, ancestry, journeys, accomplishments, fable and fact links generations together, defines cultures, inspires inhabitants and travelers, both indigenous and imported. It is an important part of a shared community experience and the notion of assembly for the purposes of knowledge transfer and entertainment. Memories are relived. New stories are created for the future. Engaging with these oral traditions teach us who we were, where we came from, and how we should relate to each other. Barangaroo has its own unique story as a place to congregate and engage with the water. Building on this storytelling continuum and reinforcing the idea of a gathering place accessible by all on the harbor front, has been the underlying genesis for our Echo Pavilion at Barangaroo concept – an open chamber to capture and reflect story, and to momentarily get lost in memory. This is also an opportunity to deliver a trigger point to reconnect with the water and provide a space whereby we can fulfill an innate desire to leave our mark in physical space and time, etching a special place in our own consciousness. Our concept first and foremost is a distinctive sheltered meeting place along the water where people come together in a shared history and for a shared future. The story of the pavilion itself will change over its lifespan as the recycled copper elements take on the patina of time with grace and exposure to the natural elements. The forms bend and morphs to address key vistas, open up views, and shelter against the harsher weather conditions from the south-West. 

There is a metaphoric nod to the water to reinforce our symbiotic relations between water, land and people. Sky is reflected off a shallow, operable reflection pool below the canopy, and is captured on the soffit above. Daytime shadows tell of different story through light, movement and pattern. Touching the earth lightly at three points ensures stability, balance and harmony. Visitors leave their mark on the pavilion though their physical interaction with the water. It is central to the pavilions function to create a space where visitors will feel inclined to capture, and share their interaction, and their story, in a contemporary, digital manner. Transformative at night, the Pavilion embraces a new context, and a new story. Its charge as a visual beacon is reinforced with illumination that transitions with the seasons, anchoring the end point of the Wulugul Walk alley of trees. Lighting will accentuate a form that has been shaped by the various visual opportunities and physical constraints offered by its location. Whilst event overlays will allow for a range of programming options, the Pavilion remains open for both passive and active engagement and a place to dwell and contemplate when not in event mode. Our concept aims for a simple built form that conveys artistically, and poetically, the notion of storytelling. Its aims to elevate the spirit in its simplicity and sense of movement and flight on the harbor front. It adds a small but significant destination
along our collective explorative journey as an opportunity for all of us as Australians to come together in celebration and to make these shared stories part of our own enriched heritage we uncover through a playful sense of roaming the water’s edge.