Social InfrastructurePatrick LauTue 11 Aug 26
Designs Revealed, $150m Approved for Sydney Town Hall Square
The City of Sydney has approved $150 million in funding for a civic square facing Town Hall and revealed designs for a 4500sq m semi-circular plaza.
A development application will now be filed by the city. Seven buildings are to be demolished to make way for the project, with works expected to begin in 2028 and complete in 2031.
Speaking to the media, Lord Mayor Clover Moore said that planning for the square had been four decades in the making, and that “so many people over the years have asked where’s the land and when’s it happening”.
“I’ve sat in the squares in Vienna and Rome and Greece and Spain, and that’s where people gather ... it’s the centre of the city life and it’s quite fantastic,” Moore said.
“This isn’t going to be like that. It’s going to be just as grand as one of those squares, but it’s going to be very Sydney. It’s going to be very Australian.”
The plaza will be available for special events and activations, and the council will maintain moveable seating and tables for everyday use. Materials for the square will include granite blocks similar to those used in the Harbour Bridge pylons and the General Post Office building.
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Design work by JPW and ASPECT Studios will include consideration of climate change, with a water feature intended to cool through misting as well as activate the space. A grove of native trees will also curve around the plaza.
The 58m-high, $22-million public sculpture Cloud Arch by Junya Ishigami, which was proposed in 2014 but put on hold in 2022, has not been included in the designs for the square.
Moore confirmed that one building was yet to be acquired, but that the cost of acquisition and demolition had been factored into the $150 million project funding. In comparison, the cost of upgrading those seven buildings to market standards would be in the order of $200 million, according to the City of Sydney.
Moore, who was first elected as an alderman in 1980 and mayor in 2004, would not be drawn on whether she would seek another term. However, she described the square as “a legacy project” that would improve civic engagement, amenity, and economic activity.
“Development happens in cities. Change happens in cities. We’ll do our best [to manage disruptions], and I’m sure we will manage this one very well,” Moore said.
“It’s a legacy project for the city itself because it’s taken so long to get here, and so yes, I’m very excited about it happening.”
