With a location change and revamped design, the Sydney Fish Market is looking to make its mark as a new foodie destination. Danish architecture firm 3XN won a competition to create the new market with a sustainable design that will create a new focal point on Sydney Harbour. Its stunning, undulating roof ebbs and flows like the waves of the sea, creating an organic form that recalls the environment.
3XN has placed the public at the center of its design by creating a market that also includes community-building areas. Restaurants, bars, food stalls, and a cooking school provide gathering points to mix and mingle while tasting world-class cuisine. Visitors will also gain new access to the Blackwattle Bay, thanks to a promenade that will be established through public pathways and environmental integration. “The design treats the New Sydney Fish Market as a critical component of the community: a catalyst for a strengthened relationship, both physically and through the identity, it offers to locals and visitors alike,” writes the firm.
Sustainable design elements permeate the structure, which seeks to help rather than harm its natural surroundings. Smart water features like rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, and biofiltration systems will help save water. The biofiltration system will double as a habitat for local birds while also filtering water runoff.
Tradition is not lost in the contemporary design, as 3XN plans for individual stalls to fill the open space. The layout will recall a traditional marketplace while its modular interior allows for adaptability as the market's needs change. Construction on the new Sydney Fish Market is set to begin in 2019, with an opening slated for 2023.
“Environmental and social sustainability are essential and inseparable parts of the design. The roof, landscaped forms, open atmosphere, plantings and materials that characterize the experience of the design are examples of this union,” shares Kim Herforth Nielsen, founding partner of 3XN. “Throughout the course of the new market's concept and design development, public amenity and environmental sustainability have formed the core of our decision-making processes.”
3XN's sustainable design for the Sydney Fish Market puts tradition and community at the forefront
Smart water features help the sustainable structure save water and provide habitat for local birds.
