ZAHA HADID AND COX TO DESIGN WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT

Zaha Hadid Architects and Cox Architecture have won the international competition to design the new Western Sydney Airport (WSA).

The ZHA/COX team, which will now act as Master Architect for the project, was selected from a broad field of forty national and international applicants that was narrowed to five selected design competitors.

The Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport, named after the famous Australian aviator, is a new greenfield airport in Sydney’s new western Parkland City region.

Together with the original Harbour City on the coast and the River City around Paramatta, the Parkland City will become Sydney’s third urban hub, stimulating the city’s western expansion in the decades to come.

The Western Sydney International Airport will be a fundamental catalyst for this growth, with the city’s greater metropolitan area set to reach nine million by 2040.

The new Western Sydney International Airport will be built in four stages of expansion, beginning with the initial stage of 10 million passengers per annum by 2026, with further increments up to 82mppa, making it the largest international gateway to Australia by 2060.

As Master Architect, ZHA/COX will provide an overarching design for the entire airport precinct including design guidelines for future expansion.

At the same time, the team will prepare the design documents for the execution of the first phase of the new Terminal Precinct.

ZHA project director, Cristiano Ceccato, said: “We are honoured to have been selected for this amazing project.

“The design is an evolution of Australian architecture past, present and future. It draws inspiration from both traditional architectural features such as the veranda, as well as the natural beauty of the surrounding bushland.”

COX project director, David Holm, noted: “The design takes inspiration from the unique local flora of Western Sydney and its unique natural qualities, such as the Great Australian Light.

“These spaces, colours and materials have been incorporated into the design to give the project an unmistakable regional identity.”