Kensington Street

Kensington Street is the vision of Greencliff Executive Chairman Dr Stanley Quek and Frasers Property Australia, first defined in Central Park’s 2007 public domain plan and further advanced by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Turf Design Studio in collaboration with Jeppe Aagaard Andersen. The street offered immense possibilities – the built form comprised of some of Sydney’s oldest workers cottages, terraces and warehouses. As landscape architects and urbanists, how could we re-imagine the street, build on its unique story and in so doing make a new Sydney place? Our blended knowledge of urban design, environment, community and infrastructure makes our profession of Landscape Architecture unique in connecting people and place. Our role at Kensington Street was to make a robust and authentic street for living; where the hand of the designer remains largely unseen. The first imperative was its physical connection – a series of through-site links to the emerging Central Park precinct were vital in stitching the street back into the fabric of Chippendale. Parallel to this was a process of boiling down - carefully understanding the history and the many heritage qualities of the street. We then stripped back - removing elements not intrinsic to its spirit of place. Lastly, we added in lighting, trees, seats and ground plane. We aimed to touch lightly but decisively; in forging something new from old. Kensington Street has transformed one of Sydney’s oldest streets into a vibrant new public place. The street is a hive of activity, buzzing from the early morning until late at night with people of all ages and backgrounds, exploring the street’s creative spaces and cultural offerings.