Harbourings

Join us on this stroll around Sydney’s spectacular harbour edge, from Circular Quay, through the city’s great depository of memory – The Rocks – up Observatory Hill and on to Walsh Bay. The route is diverse, spectacular and full of surprising recent projects as well as gritty reminders of the city’s industrial and maritime past.

We will begin with Circular Quay where the powerful forces of commerce are held back from the harbour by a bland concrete motorway. Jørn Utzon’s generating ideas for Sydney Opera and his vision for Circular Quay will be discussed. You will see controversial additions to the Museum of Contemporary Art and discover Sydney’s brutalist masterpiece, Sirius, a radical social housing scheme designed by Tao Gofers in the 70s that was recently converted into luxury apartments.

Exploring Millers Point and the Rocks, we will pluck out some surprising contemporary gems by local heroes Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, Welsh + Major, BVN and Terroir.

Our focus will be on the breathtaking Walsh Bay Finger Wharves, a family of early 20th-Century industrial buildings that extend out into Sydney’s harbour. They are amongst the largest timber structures ever built, romantic symbols of Sydney’s industrial maritime history, recently reimagined as a cultural and residential mixed-use precinct.

What Else?

If you have a Gift Card, click “Apply gift card” in the booking window.

Please arrive 10min prior to departure.

Tours depart rain or shine so dress for the weather! The weather is usually great, but a sun hut and sunscreen is always a good idea in Sydney.

CPD for Architects.

If you are an architect then participating in this tour can earn you Formal CPD points. At checkout, click ‘yes’ when prompted.

More information on CPD here.

Almost but not quite?

We can conduct this tour - or something similar - any day of the week as a private group tour for groups of any size. Email us at info@sydneyarchitecture.org.