urban planning

Why Australian cities should become vertical, multi-dimensional experiences by Tom Oliver Payne

“On a recent trip overseas, I finally experienced the spectacle of the city of Hong Kong. Sipping on a beer from an upper floor bar, I was engrossed by immense, vertical cityscape – made even more intriguing by thick layer of fog below. I was guided up narrow stairwells to rooftop parks and podium bars, seemingly hidden from its meandering streets. I watched kids playing cheerfully in inner city parks, next to teenagers during an intense game of basketball. The word “vibrant” sprang to mind. Although I promised myself to stop using it.

I thought back to life in the Sydney CBD. It seemed dull by comparison. Suits by day, commuters by night – scrambling to get home before the peak hour rush. Yes, a few bars with a steady flow into the evening. But surely it could be so much more? I imagined ascending Sydney’s tallest towers for live music, swimming pools with panoramic harbour views, dazzling art installations hanging from grey infrastructure, and colourful playgrounds set in-amongst the buildings ensuring play, fun and joy isn’t just something for the weekends.

Surely, Sydney could be so much more. And why wouldn’t it?…”

Blog post written for Hoyne about Sydney from some recent insights from Hong Kong. Read the full article here.

SMH Article: What Sydney can learn from London's approach to brutalist architecture by Tom Oliver Payne

"Sirius, just like Trellick, Balfron and the Barbican in London, illustrates important aspects of the nation's social and cultural history."Last week I had an opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald on brutalist architecture in Sydney and London. 

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Sydney, it's time to face your addiction by Tom Oliver Payne

The New South Wales Government is desperate. It ignores ongoing advice from friends, family and experts to seek alternatives. It fights all obstacles in its path for more. It cares only for the short-lived gratification, euphoria and high, to the detriment of healthy decades ahead. I guess when life feels is so good right now, why would it care?

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