1 minute read
PERFORMANCE CENTRE SLIPWAY
DESIGN STUDIO | 2021
ROSS ANDERSON
Advertisement
ARCHITECTURE
ISLAND, SYDNEY
Cockatoo Island
Originally inhabited by the Eora People, Cockatoo Island is a land of abundant history. After the British settlement, the island served as a penal establishment. It later redeveloped into an industrial school for young women, and then again, into a major shipyard for the Royal Australian Navy.
The island is now listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, and is only rarely used by the government as a place for exhibitions and events such as the Biennale of Sydney. Otherwise, the island is mostly disregarded by the residents of Sydney and rarely visited.
As an island, it can only be accessed through boats and ferries, a form of transport which reflects the character of Cockatoo island, and at the same time, defines the harbour-side nature of Sydney, yet hugely under-appreciated by its residents.
Isolating from the main-land of Sydney, Cockatoo Island remains a site that is both underdeveloped, and rich in history. Celebrating the industrial and educational context of the island, this proposal is a Performing Centre which seeks to provide a space of education for the students of Sydney.
The performance centre as a whole extends linearly between two slipways, into the water. The serated metal grating platforms connects the visitor to the water visually, and audibly.Three small classrooms are built on the sides of the pathway, framing unique views around the island. The roofing of the classrooms extend over the walkway, to divert the visitors view towards the education. The seatings of the classrooms and the theatre decline slowly into the water, mimicing the slipways nearby.
The rooftop of the structures are isolated gardens, providing a safe haven for the abundance of local bird habitats.
The design is multi-purpose, allowing the space to serve a variety of functions by enabling water to enter the lowest level of the audience chamber.
A path leading the visitor away from the island into the auditorium. Along the journey, the visitor will walk by three practice rooms which highlight different views which surrounds the island.
