DESIGN COMPETITION | DESIGN DEVELOPMENT | DOCUMENTATION | INTERPRETATION | CONSTRUCTION
2021 – Ongoing
Design 5 – Architects, together with a team lead by ASPECT Studios including Collins and Turner, Yerrabingin, Eckersley O’Callaghan, JMT Consulting and Electrolight, have been providing heritage conservation and related architectural and interpretation services for the Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway (SHBC) Northern Access project.
The SHBC northern access ramp is a much needed piece of civic infrastructure – a ‘missing link’ – to solve long-standing accessibility issues, enhance connections to the wider bike network and make cycling safe, convenient and attractive for more people.
The SHBC is also a missing link in the story of our national icon. It unveils an unrecognised history that has shadowed the SHB since its inception: The Bridge is bolted onto an ancient path of confluence and connection between Gadigal and Cammeraygal Aboriginal lands, a route underpinning a rich saltwater economy and culture that has been used for thousands of years.
An integral part of Design 5 – Architects’ role in the design team has been to draw out aesthetic, historic, social and spiritual values embedded within the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the surrounding cultural landscape, of both the modern and pre-colonial world, to present an outcome that is holistically tied to its place.
The 21st Century layer to the Sydney Harbour Bridge (the SHBC), is an elegant piece of engineering that clearly identifies with the dramatic prowess of 20th Century transport infrastructure. Yet it remains a distinctly new but complimentary addendum, augmenting the story of the national icon with ancient yet evolving narratives intrinsic to the place. The new cycleway ramp recasts the Sydney Harbour Bridge as a national symbol of reconciliation and identity for Sydney and Australia.
SHBC won the 2026 Australian Institute of Architects, NSW Chapter, Awards for Heritage and Urban Design. Please see below the AIA NSW Chapter Jury Citation for the Award for Heritage.
“The Sydney Harbour Bridge is valued across the country and beyond. Its civic and symbolic importance explains the years of debate around placing a new cycleway beside such a significant 1930s structure.
The success of this project lies in the confidence and restraint of its resolution. Rather than compete with the Bridge, the cycleway sits alongside it as a finely calibrated contemporary addition. Its sinuous curve, elegant structure and carefully tested geometry allow the historic station entry, lettering and architectural details to remain legible and primary.
The material language is exceptionally well judged. Bronze handrails and soffits bring warmth and dignity, while the ribbed, tapered concrete columns have an almost classical quality, beautifully spaced and proportioned.
The project is both infrastructure and civic. It improves access and movement while acknowledging the layered histories of the place, including Indigenous histories embedded in the landscape. It is a graceful addition to one of Australia’s most important landmarks.”
Please see below the AIA NSW Chapter Jury Citation for the Award for Urban Design.
“The Sydney Harbour Bridge Northern Access Cycleway resolves decades of sustained advocacy in a single, elegant act of infrastructure. By removing the barrier of 55 steps, it transforms bicycle access to one of the world’s great civic landmarks – approaching the task with care and restraint.
The 185-metre serpentine ramp is light in presence and confident in material resolution. A continuous bronze balustrade, conceived as a woven ribbon, draws its character from the industrial heritage and refined craft of the Harbour Bridge. The slender deck, inspired by aircraft wing structure, achieves generous spans with minimal mass.
The ramp is as considered at its endpoints as it is along its length. At the bridge end, a relocated section of the original 1932 parapet marks the threshold with quiet civic dignity. At grade, the transition dissolves into an upgraded pedestrian realm and a 185-metre artwork of hand-laid granite cobblestones celebrating the migratory eels of Gadigal and Cammeraygal Country.”
AWARDS
