T
he artificial construct of new headland evoc-
ative of Sydney Harbour’s natural charms- a former prime minister’s dream – repre-
sented a huge and expensive enterprise.
Many questioned its logic and queried how Sydney’s
sandstone outcrops and irregular bushland could be
satisfactorily reproduced. But Barangaroo Reserve,
opened in 2015, has defied its critics; it is visually and
aesthetically successful, and immensely popular with
the public.
Barangaroo Reserve was designed by Peter
Walker and Partners Landscape Architecture and
Johnson Pilton Walker. The renowned US landscape
designer Peter Walker calls it “the design of a life-
time,” and the November 2016 issue of the American
Landscape Architecture Magazine devoted fifty-seven
pages in celebration of the achievement. In my experi-
ence, this represents unprecedented coverage of a
major landscape project.
The most graphic aspect of the project is the use
of huge fingered blocks of sandstone to re-create the
harbour foreshore – though the bold colouring will
weather and subdue over time and the layered plant-
ing will become more predominant. The waterfront
margins hint at mangroves, before transitioning
through native grasses set with compact Port Jackson
figs. Here the design is punctuated by an actively used
curving walkway and cycleway following the shore-
line. The hillside is gentler to the north-east, with
occasional rock shelves, while the western and south-
ern slopes are strongly terraced with Corten steel-clad
or stone-coloured walls, which in due course will be
submerged by planting. The shadier southern slopes
interpret the rainforest pockets found in sheltered
locations around the harbour. For those of us who
can recall the Hickson Road container terminals
of yesteryear – vast areas of flat concrete serving
the port – we know that the hill is an invention:
earth bulked up over a carpark and exhibition hall.
In the past many have sought to re-create a natu-
ralistic version of Australian bushland, often with
limited success – plant losses being an obvious
symptom. Barangaroo Reserve is revealing itself as an
exemplar in this regard, and it is timely to reflect on
the reasons why the plants introduced into this new
ground are doing so well. I spoke at length with both
Simon Leake, managing director of SESL Australia
and the consulting soil scientist for the project, and
Stuart Pittendrigh, who came to the project as one of
Sydney’s most experienced horticulturalists.
Early in the design exercise the team toured the
harbour foreshore, appreciating the places – such as
Balls Head – where the original rocky landscapes and
indigenous flora could be better understood. But it
was an excursion to a pristine natural area at Bobbin
Head, north of Sydney, that truly informed the group.
Here the team could better understand the sequential
plant groups that ascended the hillside from the
estuary, thrived on poor sandy soils and responded to
different exposures to sun and shade.
Leake has made a lifetime study of soils and
their ability to promote healthy plant growth.
Studying soil and agricultural science at the
University of Sydney, he became increasingly
interested in soil science. John Clements taught
environmental horticulture and helped the students
to understand the natural plant ecology on Sydney
Harbour’s North Head and the urban planting issues
on city thoroughfares. When Leake graduated, there
were no suitable jobs available and a leading patholo-
gist asked him to use his knowledge of chemistry to do
research into evaluative medical tests. Leake quickly
realized that extracting solutions could be used to
understand the make-up and qualities of soil, and in
due course set up his own soil testing laboratory,
initially advising farmers and later nurserypeople →AGENDA
MAKING
THE GRAND
VISION
WORK
The plantings at Sydney’s Barangaroo Reserve
have achieved a phenomenal rate of success,
largely thanks to the expertise of two
consultants: Simon Leake, respected soil
scientist, and Stuart Pittendrigh, one of
Sydney’s most experienced horticulturalists.TEXT HOWARD TANNER1232 MAY 2017 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AUSTRALIA