Hyde Park’s Lost Wetland

Design team

Glenn McIntosh & David Burdon

Location

Hyde Park

Proposal Date

2015

The historic buildings that surround Hyde Park are some of the oldest in the country, yet even they do not hint at the earlier history of this site. Long before the barracks and the church, even before the creation of the “Sydney Common” (later Hyde Park) itself, this area was a wetland at the joining point of two ridge lines, the source of a freshwater stream running down to the harbour and emptying into the intertidal zone.

The memory line of the freshwater wetland seeks to add yet another layer to the history of this site, yet in doing so aims to remove the other layers imposed by time and to reconnect the people of the city to the original story of the city’s landscape

A fine layer of water mist proposed in the corner of the park defines the area of the lost wetland. The mist garden relinks this public space to its original natural state in an engaging way, accessible to all and constantly changing throughout the day and night, just as the city has always done.

This project was a design submission for Art and About, a program of temporary art projects run by the City of Sydney Council.