Danish architecture firm 3XN, along with design collaborators BVN and Aspect Studios, has revealed the latest renders and design vision for the new Sydney Fish Market.

According to the architects, the new market will place people at the centre of the architectural response, with an emphasis on placemaking to create a sense of community at Blackwattle Bay.

For example, the amphitheatre staircases connecting the plazas to the public market are a continuation of the landscape, establishing a foreshore promenade around Blackwattle Bay and creating a new public route along the water’s edge. This design element will connect the city and give pedestrians access to the water.

Sydney Fish Market amphitheatre steps

The structure will have a timber and aluminium roof with a distinct wavy structure that rises and falls to correspond with the program below. It will be multi-functional, serving as shading, daylighting, ventilation, rainwater collection and possibly a source of solar energy.

The roof’s triangular openings allow abundant natural light into the building, while their orientation shields the building from harsh sunlight.

Sustainability features

A comprehensive energy optimisation strategy has been employed to reduce consumption and demand while producing energy from renewable sources. The strategy includes the possibility for absorption chillers to turn excess heat from refrigeration into cold water for cooling, use of excess heat sources to power the hot water system and space heating. Leftover ice could also potentially be used to pre-cool air for refrigerated areas.

Sydney fish market interior

Passive conditioning utilises canopy shading, wind capture, thermal mass and excess cool air from other zones to create a comfortable environment with minimal reliance on active conditioning systems.

Plantings and bio-filtration zones across the site will form a ‘green bridge’, offering native fauna habitat and access to the water, with local flora providing natural water purification and filtration of the site run-off.

The waste systems employed in the new fish market aim to recycle all industrial food-waste. A comprehensive strategy for all recyclables will also be instituted and managed to optimise consumables, and the fish market will reprocess materials used in packaging and operation.

Image credit: 3XN