Skip to content
Sign in
General · Asia Pacific

Six teams advance plans for Sydney’s Bays West waterfront

The NSW government shortlisted six design teams from 165 entrants for planning Sydney’s 77-hectare Bays West waterfront. The teams will prepare urban frameworks, with the winning scheme and shortlisted submissions scheduled for public exhibition in early 2027.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 3 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 2 of 3 outlets · 1 article captured only in partHow it's made

View timeline · 4 entries
3 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 2 · R 0 · 1 unrated
File photo
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG ( Flickr ) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • An international competition attracted 165 submissions or entrants, and six design teams were shortlisted (per The Sydney Morning Herald, architectureau.com).
  • The 77-hectare Bays West site is around White Bay Power Station and the Bays West metro stop (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • The teams will develop urban frameworks using a brief and reference scheme prepared by the NSW government architect’s office and the Bays West Delivery Authority (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • NSW government architect Abbie Galvin said the selected teams had experience delivering major urban renewal projects (per The Sydney Morning Herald, architectureau.com).
  • Planning and Public Spaces Minister Paul Scully said the shortlisted teams reflected the project’s location and significance, and could help shape a new Sydney waterfront suburb (per architectureau.com, The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • The winning scheme and shortlisted design submissions are scheduled for public exhibition in early 2027 (per The Sydney Morning Herald).

The brief

The NSW government has shortlisted six design teams to develop urban frameworks for Sydney’s 77-hectare Bays West waterfront, selecting them from an international competition that drew 165 entrants. The site surrounds White Bay Power Station and the Bays West metro stop.

The competition advances planning for the area; the teams have not been selected to deliver a single finished design.

The chosen teams are Herzog & de Meuron, Silvester Fuller and Michel Desvigne Paysagiste; Allies and Morrison and Bates Smart; Aileen Sage, MAKO Architecture, Studio Zanardo and Gallagher Studio; BVN, Cobe and LUDO Studio; Karakusevic Carson Architects, Breathe Architecture, SMM and lahznimmo; and Mandaworks, BKK Architects, Offcuts and Merri Studio.

They will work from a brief and reference scheme prepared by the NSW government architect’s office and the Bays West Delivery Authority. NSW government architect Abbie Galvin said the teams were selected for experience with major urban renewal projects.

She described their expertise as spanning architecture, urban design, landscape architecture and placemaking, and said the harbourfront offered an opportunity to create a connected, sustainable neighbourhood. Her comments set out the government’s aspirations for the project, rather than a description of a chosen proposal.

Planning and Public Spaces Minister Paul Scully said the calibre of the shortlisted teams reflected the site’s location and significance, and the opportunity to shape a new waterfront suburb.

The two accounts emphasize related but distinct aspects: Galvin highlighted the teams’ experience and range of disciplines, while Scully stressed the project’s place in Sydney’s future waterfront development.

The NSW government proposes moving working port operations from inner-city Glebe Island to make way for up to 8,500 homes and public spaces around White Bay Power Station and the metro stop. That proposal explains the scale of the planning exercise: the competition concerns a broad waterfront area and its future urban framework, not just an individual building.

The government plans to put the winning scheme and all six shortlisted submissions on public exhibition in early 2027. That exhibition is the next specified public stage in the process. The stated proposal identifies homes and public spaces as intended uses, while the design frameworks are still to be developed.

The shortlist therefore narrows the field of teams that will shape the frameworks for Bays West, while leaving the specific design outcome to follow.

The government’s stated plan combines the proposed relocation of port operations with redevelopment of the surrounding waterfront; the frameworks and subsequent public exhibition will present how the shortlisted teams approach that assignment.

Why it matters

  • The NSW government’s proposed relocation of working port operations from Glebe Island is tied to a redevelopment plan for a 77-hectare waterfront area, changing the intended use of land around White Bay Power Station and the Bays West metro stop.
  • The government proposes up to 8,500 homes and public spaces at Bays West, making the eventual urban frameworks relevant to future residents and users of those spaces.
  • The six shortlisted teams will develop frameworks under a brief and reference scheme from the NSW government architect’s office and the Bays West Delivery Authority, giving those public bodies a defined role in guiding the planning work.
  • Public exhibition of the winning scheme and shortlisted submissions in early 2027 will give the public a stated opportunity to view the proposals.

What to watch next

  • Whether the six shortlisted teams produce urban frameworks using the brief and reference scheme from the NSW government architect’s office and the Bays West Delivery Authority.
  • Whether the NSW government proceeds with its proposed shift of working port operations from Glebe Island.
  • The public exhibition of the winning scheme and shortlisted submissions, scheduled for early 2027.
  • How the proposed frameworks address the government’s plan for up to 8,500 homes and public spaces around White Bay Power Station and the Bays West metro stop.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
3 source articles · 3 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 67% · Unknown 33%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
3 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

1 framing difference · 2 uncorroborated claims · 1 information gap
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 2 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 1 other outlet was checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald focuses on the six-team shortlist, the site and the government’s redevelopment proposal; architectureau.com foregrounds the range of disciplines represented on the competition panel and quotes Minister Paul Scully on the project’s significance.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • Abbie Galvin said the teams brought expertise across architecture, urban design, landscape architecture and placemaking.
  • Paul Scully said the shortlist reflected the location and significance of the project and the opportunity to shape a new waterfront suburb.
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources do not give a schedule for developing the urban frameworks beyond the planned public exhibition in early 2027.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Construction began on White Bay Power Station in Sydney.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. White Bay Power Station closed.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. The NSW government announced the Sydney Metro West route, including a station at The Bays.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. The NSW government adopted the Bays West Place Strategy for the harbour precinct.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

The NSW government’s 2021 Bays West Place Strategy established a framework for redeveloping the harbour precinct, including White Bay and land around the planned The Bays Metro station. It followed the government’s 2019 announcement of the Sydney Metro West route, which included a station at The Bays.

The strategy sits within the planning system established by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, which governs land-use planning in New South Wales. In 2020, the government exhibited a draft Bays West Place Strategy before finalising the 2021 plan.

Original sources

2 of 3 articles · Asia · Show all

Every story links to the reporting it was built from. How we choose sources

Spotted a factual error, a broken link or a misleading summary? Tell us.