Darling Quarter

Darling Quarter is a true integration of urban design, architecture and landscape architecture working towards the creation of a public place within the city. We have sought to enhance the joy and beauty of Darling Harbour, one of the most popular public places in Australia, and to do so in a way that imbues it with a sense of quality and permanence.

Darling Quarter is where the western edge of the city and the park meet and is celebrated in a series of defined public spaces, including a pedestrian boulevard, parklands, gateway, children’s playground and activated edges lined with cafes and restaurants. It is a place for everyone, for city workers at lunchtime and in the evenings, families, children, the young and old, visitors and locals.

This is a very different type of office building in a very special location. It is an architecture of human scale, natural materials and of a warmth of character appropriate to this very public parkland location. The long, gently curving facade defines and enhances the public realm with a warmth and transparency unusual in any commercial building. The mullions are made of natural timber and irregularly spaced like rows of trees in a forest. Between these deep, profiled posts are adjustable timber louvres that control heat and glare, automatically adjusting according to the position of the sun. Importantly this composed used of natural timber in layers behind very transparent glazing also creates a soft and warmth backdrop to the tree canopies of the parkland.

Darling Quarter provides a new east-west pedestrian street, which connects Darling Harbour South to the City, and a north-south pedestrian boulevard, which runs along the building’s western edge and features al fresco dining spaces, retail tenancies, a children’s theatre, grassed areas and a state-of-the-art playground. This north-south connection renews and reinforces the pedestrian spine that starts at the Entertainment Centre on the southern edge and continues through the Cockle Bay promenade and beyond. The development includes underground public parking and upgrades to roads and pedestrian crossings to allow clear sight lines, making the ground plane safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Darling Quarter is a benchmark for green precincts. Commonwealth Bank Place, the campus-style workplace building on the site has been awarded world leadership status by the Green Building Council of Australia. It includes the first buildings to achieve a 6 Star Green Star Office As Built v3 rating in Australia. The buildings have been certified 6 Star Green Star – Office Design v2 and 5 Star Green Star – Office Interiors v1.1. 6 Star Green Star ratings recognise world class innovation. The buildings and their fit-outs achieve a 72 percent reduction in carbon emissions in operation when compared to the average performance of typical existing office buildings in Australia.
The project included the development of the Darling Quarter Recycled Water Plant which treats 245 kilolitres of wastewater a day to produce high quality recycled water for use in the precinct.

Explore the architecture of Darling Quarter.