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Perimeter: Sydney Olympic Park 2011

Olympic Park master plans typically focus on the development of iconic buildings and plans for continued usage post-tournament. Historically Olympic Park venues have struggled to develop a sustainable plan for an environment with such a high level of specificity. The necessary scale of developments continues to pose the biggest challenge to governments and developers. Between 1980 and 2000 seven new sports and 80 events were added and the International Olympic Committee has been struggling to counter ‘gigantism’, restricting the addition of further sports. This research examines the Olympic Park in Homebush, Sydney. Developed for the 2000 summer Olympics the park has maintained it’s mix of specialist stadia with a record infrastructure to support their use during the concentrated period of the games. Sydney Olympic transport coped with a record breaking 6,7 million spectators in 2000.

The legacy is a park with a transportation and parking network that far exceeds legacy needs. After the games more than 10,000 car-parking spaces and 650 coach parking bays were maintained. The impact of these spaces on the urban environment is largely ignored as media representation focuses on state of the art sporting facilities and iconic architecture. This research examines the peripheral spaces of Sydney Olympic Park the balance spaces and support infrastructure that are largely unobserved and undocumented. Additionally the research examines the creation of artificial landscapes and the use of artificial lighting to determine territorial boundaries and provide functionality. The photographs counter representations of Olympic architecture and urban design, mapping the invisible legacies of Olympic Park development and suggest that visual practice can invigorate an interest in these overlooked landscapes.

Additionally Perimeter was exhibited at the Ulster Museum, Belfast, Irish Wave Festival Beijing (2013) and Sydney Olympic Park Gallery (2012).