Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
Restored heritage wharves that are home to some of Australia’s leading performing arts companies
10am–5pm
About the building
Building information
ACO Open Tours
10am, 11am, 12pm & 1pm
Enjoy a guided tour with Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects to explore the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s award-winning home at Pier 2/3. Visit performance venues The Neilson and The Studio, backstage spaces and the Belgiorno Room, an event area overlooking Sydney Harbour. You’ll also be treated to a short performance by a resident musician.
The award-winning redevelopment of Pier 2/3 and Wharf 4/5 in Walsh Bay has created new homes for numerous performing arts companies while embracing Sydney’s industrial heritage.
The site was a traditional meeting place of the Gadigal people for millennia, and an industrial hub throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The wharves, originally built in the early 1900s for commercial shipping, were adapted in 1984 by government architect John White Thomson and the late architect Vivian Fraser to provide a space for the Sydney Theatre Company.
In 2020, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects with Tropman & Tropman Architects redeveloped Wharf 4/5 to create purpose-designed facilities for the Bangarra Dance Theatre, Gondwana Choirs, The Song Company, Sydney Dance Company and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Hassell also designed a new space for the Sydney Theatre Company that won the Sulman Medal for Public Architecture in 2021.
The heritage-sensitive redesign of Pier 2/3, also by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects, was completed in 2022, providing world-class cultural facilities for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Theatre for Young People and Bell Shakespeare.
The Walsh Bay Arts Precinct is another landmark along Sydney’s ‘cultural ribbon’ connecting major cultural institutions along the harbour foreshore.
1920
ArchitectUnknown
AlterationsGovernment architect John White Thomson in association with Vivian Fraser, 1984; Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects, 2020, 2022; Tropman & Tropman Architects, 2020; Hassell, 2021
AwardsRoyal Australian Institute of Architects NSW Awards – Sulman Medal for Public Architecture, 1985
Australian Institute of Architects National Awards – Enduring Architecture, 2008
Australian Institute of Architects NSW Awards – Sulman Medal for Public Architecture, 2021
Australian Institute of Architects NSW Awards – The NSW Architecture Medallion, 2022; Award for Public Architecture, 2022; Greenway Award for Heritage, 2022; Commendation for Interior Architecture, 2022
National Trust Heritage Awards – Winner of Adaptive Reuse, 2022
Acknowledgements
Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Theatre for Young People, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Bell Shakespeare, Gondwana Choirs, Sydney Dance Company, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Sydney Theatre Company and The Song Company.
Find out more about this building here
Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
13-15 Hickson Road Hickson Road, Dawes Point
Entry details
Pier 2/3, Wharf 4/5: Australian Chamber Orchestra, Bell Shakespeare and Bangarra Dance Theatre
10am–5pm
Members hour: MHNSW Members receive exclusive access from 9am–10am
4.30pm
Need to Know
There is ramp and lift access
Cafes, restaurants & bars: Azzurro 753, Bar Cycle, Bitter & Twisted, Lavana Restaurant, Lotus Dumpling Bar, Jounieh, The Dining Room, The Gantry Restaurant, The Kerrigan, Ventuno Restaurant, Zupano Espresso Bar
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