Portrait – Wynyard Walk

We had the chance to chat with Kim Crestani, NSW Transport partner for Wynyard Walk to learn more about how Wynyard Walk has helped transform Sydney’s CBD.

When the original Sydney Metro $5.2 billion project was cancelled the Wynyard Walk link to Barangaroo needed to become a stand alone project – it was originally part of the project. As such it needed a more forensic approach to ensure that it could be delivered concurrent with the opening of Barangaroo. Plus image as a stand alone project – the budget was fully exposed. What resulted was a magnificent solution that was the required width 9 metres and not your usual vanilla pedestrian tunnel . It was a huge budget .

There were so many architects involved, so many services, problems and challenges, huge level changes, digital cables, and time constraints not to mention a large number of agencies who had differing agendas.

The Woods Bagot scheme was breathtaking and joyous to be delivered.

The original client and design teams and all of the subsequent people who delivered and reviewed this project should be commended. It took a long time coming – but the resultant space is remarkable.

I was involved in the initial making of this space as part of the Client team at Transport NSW and it was designed and delivered with much passion by the team at Woods Bagot and Aspect Studios along with a huge cast of hundreds of people. It was an absolute joy to read the design tender documents where the “design of FLOW was inspired by nature and the geology of the region.” I feel that making rooms like this is similar to making a movie- it has taken 7 years from inception to completion- over 60 options for where it would be located- both in plan and section- and there were ample stakeholders and design charettes and hotly contested debates with authorities.

Complex acquisitions and constructability were de rigor- but in the end this most beautiful world – class [“tunnel”] room has been well received by the public and privileges the pedestrian as the primary user.