Green Square Aquatic Centre

Transformation of a charming typology

AB’s shortlisted proposal for the City of Sydney’s $50M Green Square Aquatic Centre project reimagined the cherished urban element of the cricket fence to form a container for a new type of leisure facility. Traditionally, these fences separate spectator from participant. The proposal transformed this typology to create a continuous field of play where all are participants, lifting the ends of the fence to accommodate the primary structures. At low points, the structure has the intimacy of a fence, creating a unique scale relationship with the building. Entry to the building is via a dramatic rectilinear cut, presenting the visitor with an axial view of artist Brook Andrew’s Weejal Ngalan, a sculpture incorporating the play pool waterslide. The regularity of the landscape within the ring referenced the site history of market gardens, yielding a linear staggered grid of landscape.

Date: 2014