Architecture walk down George Street to celebrate Sydney’s ‘pedestrian artery for twenty thousand years’

A tour of the architectural highlights of Sydney’s meandering George Street spine, designed to traverse political, cultural, social as well as architectural terrain, is launching on Saturday 30 September.

The sixth tour organized by Sydney Architecture Walks (SAW), titled “SAW6 – The Track,” will take in masterworks by architects including Harry Seidler and Associates, FJMT and Grimshaw Architects.

“We design our tours the same way we design buildings,” said SAW founder and architect Eoghan Lewis.

“Structuring a tour around George Street was a chance for us to examine lord mayor Clover Moore’s urban policies and critique the way they play out at architectural and urban scales.”

A $2.1 billion light rail line being constructed along much of George Street is set to transform the area, with the City of Sydney committing $220 million to pedestrianize the strip between Hunter and Bathurst streets.

“George has been a pedestrian artery for more than twenty thousand years; a life line of the Indigenous people connecting the quay with the source of fresh water near what is now the Cenotaph in Hyde Park,” said Lewis.

“It is one of the world’s oldest streets and so it’s significant that it is becoming pedestrian again.”

Among the most significant works of architecture along George Street is Harry Seidler’s Australia Square complex, completed in 1967. The complex features Australia’s first high-rise office tower, a 13-storey office building and a bi-level public plaza.

The tour will also focus on more recent works such as the AHL Headquarters at 478 George Street by Candalepas Associates, 333 George Street by Grimshaw Architects; and FJMT’s EY Centre at 200 George Street.

The 30 September tour will begin at 9.30 am and run until 12 pm. Three further tours will be held at later dates.

For more information, head here.

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