Stage two designs revealed for new Ryde Civic Centre

New design details of the four shortlisted concepts remaining in the City of Ryde’s international design competition for a new civic precinct has been unveiled.

The basic concepts of the projects to replace the existing Ryde Civic Centre were first revealed in May when the City of Ryde announced them as Stage 1 winners of the competition. The four shortlisted teams, which have Australian, American, Chinese and Italian members, were then sent to work to further develop their proposals as part of Stage 2.

The designs include a hill-shaped building, a vegetated-residential and council space, an acoustically insulated public courtyard, and a landscaped transport hub.

The shortlisted proposals are:

Jury's selection
Entry 299: Rising Ryde - Architensions (USA)

Architension’s proposal is designed to appear as an extension of the landscape, with a hill-shaped building enclosed in a “fuzzy white steel lattice inhabited by trees and vegetation.” The vegetated lattice acts as a facade, acoustic barrier and air filtration device. The design integrates civic function with public gardens, courtyards and an observation deck, and blurs the distinction between interior and exterior. 

Entry 392: The Gateway to Ryde – MORQ (Australia, Italy)

MORQ has proposed three slender residential towers and a council building upon a vegetated podium. The concept also encompasses a main public plaza that runs through the centre of the site with an urban promenade along the eastern edge on Devlin Street and a council square in the western corner.

The design focuses on the design and activation of the site’s diverse urban edges.

Entry 572: Ryde Hub - Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (China)

The Beijing Institute of Architectural Design’s proposal is a building that traces the perimeter of the site and creates an acoustically insulated public courtyard in the centre. The form of the building slopes to create a transition between the residential and commercial typologies surrounding the site. The design also includes a theatre, a cafeteria, retail and office spaces.

People’ Choice
Entry 16: The Orchard, Ryde Square - Team2 in collaboration with Arcadia Landscape Architecture (Australia)

Team2 and Arcadia’s design plan aims to “feel more like a park or backyard than a commercial centre.” It creates a public transport hub within a series of landscape plazas and community gardens. At the core of the idea is an ornamental “multi-fruit tree,” which is “symbolic of Ryde’s history, multiculturalism and future growth.” 

The proposal aims to “bring people together through the cultivation of food.” The site will also accommodate a creative community hub. 

A rejected earlier design from Eureka studios (pictured top) was for a new civic centre bringing together natural space, civic functions and the public space.

Images courtesy of Ryde City Council.

8th February 2016 - INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION TO CREATE NEW CULTURAL GATEWAY FOR THE CITY OF RYDE

28th July 2011 - SURRY HILLS LIBRARY CROWNED A WORLD LEADER