Neeson Murcutt + Neille

Wentworth Point Competition

Competition in association with Bates Smart and Hargreaves Associates.

Residential density is key to the transformation from industrial use to residential communities at Wentworth Point. However, this can only be sustained when supported by strategic social infrastructure, generous public domain, and ecological enrichment. This is the role of the podium. Like a ‘carpet’ it sets a place for the sculptural towers within a forest and urban common.

The podium mediates between the levels of the surrounding streets and the expansive waterfront. It melds to the street edges through inclined landscaped planes, inviting up and across and through. Its thickness is felt along the foreshore promenade where it becomes active and boldly visible, defining an urban water edge. Here the architecture works with three fundamental principles – outlook to water, reflection off water, and human comfort – to create a distinctive edge.