The Drying Green
The Drying Green won the Award of Excellence in the parks and open space category.
The park has been created by design lead McGregor Coxall and CHROFI architects with the City of Sydney and built by Regal Innovations.
Opened in October 2022, the name of the park is a nod to the site’s industrial past. Wool washing was one of the first industries in Green Square and fleeces were spread across grass in the area to dry.
The space is a backyard for the many people living in nearby apartments.
“We’ve created an inner-city chillout zone where friends and families can meet for a barbecue or picnic, or simply sprawl out and relax,” Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore said.
“Our investment in community facilities, parks and open spaces will ensure Green Square lives up to its potential as a wonderful urban village.”
The judging panel was impressed with the origami design and the water features that collect and filter stormwater before sending it on a 3-day journey around the tiered wetland. The cleaner water is returned to the stormwater channel and then the sea.
Embedded content: https://youtu.be/DgbJNCN_IQ8
Read more about the features of this award-winning space.
Street tree master plan
The street tree master plan won the Award of Excellence in the landscape planning category.
Feedback from our residents and businesses, specialist knowledge from street tree experts and experience gained from our 2011 version informed the plan. We worked with Arterra Design to help develop the vision.
The new plan draws from 81 tree species compared to the 2011 plan with 68 species.
“We need to make sure we have the right balance in terms of diversity and species so we can meet the needs of our communities and deal with the impacts of climate change, including pest and disease issues,” City of Sydney urban forest manager Karen Sweeney said.
This is also important to help urban ecology. We need to make sure our native animals and birds have access to a wide variety of species.
“It's like a healthy balanced diet when you think about it.”
First Nations knowledge is also embedded in the plan. We’ve worked with an Indigenous ecologist to include more tree species native to Sydney and nearby regions.
Read more about our street tree masterplan.
The 2023 NSW Landscape Architecture Awards program is managed by The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and is held every year.
See the full list of 2023 winners.
Published 9 June 2023, updated 12 October 2023
