At the centre of the development is a renewed collaboration between developer Iwan Sunito and architect Koichi Takada, whose earlier partnerships helped shape some of Sydney’s most visually distinctive residential towers.

The 1.4-hectare site, now fully consolidated under a single ownership after years of acquisition, will be reimagined as a dense yet porous precinct of five residential towers, a hotel, retail spaces and landscaped public areas. Plans call for approximately 750 apartments and a 150-room hotel, alongside 10,000 sqm of retail and lifestyle offerings.

For Takada, the project represents an evolution of an architectural language he has steadily refined: one that seeks to dissolve the boundary between built form and nature.

Image: Render supplied

“The ambition here is to naturalise architecture at an urban scale,” Takada said in a statement, describing a design that integrates landscaping into the public realm while orienting buildings to optimize daylight and ventilation. The goal, he added, is to foster not just sustainability but social interaction — a built environment that encourages community life rather than isolating it”.

Image: Koichi Takada / Courtesy: Koichi Takada Architects / Photography: Nic Walker

That emphasis on experience aligns closely with Sunito’s long-held vision for the site, which he has pursued in various forms since 2002. With full control now secured, he has described the project as the most significant of his 25-year career, one intended to create a “city within a city” in Sydney’s rapidly evolving Inner West.

Five Dock is emerging as a key node in Sydney’s expanding transport network, with a new metro station expected to enhance connectivity to the central business district. That accessibility, combined with rising property values across nearby council areas, has made the suburb increasingly attractive for high-density, design-led development.

Image: Iwan Sunito / Supplied

Yet the project’s defining feature may ultimately be its attempt to reconcile density with liveability. By embedding greenery, communal spaces and mixed uses into a single precinct, the design team is betting that architecture can shape not just skylines, but patterns of daily life.

Planning approval is expected to be sought by mid-2026, with construction slated to begin in 2028.

If realised as envisioned, the Five Dock precinct will stand as both a commercial undertaking and a statement of architectural intent that places design, rather than sheer scale, at the forefront of urban transformation.

Image: Render of $1.5b mixed-use precinct design proposal in Five Dock / Supplied

Architecture & Design Team

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