Bourke and Bowden by Wardle sits at the heart of a rapidly changing Alexandria, a new demographic and an evolving urban condition generated by the stimulus of nearby Green Square and the urban regeneration of the southern fringe of the Sydney CBD.

Drawing from existing pockets of successful fine-grained and intimate regeneration within the neighbourhood, it’s a place that values people and the way they come together to work and socialise.

Holding the corner of Bourke Road and Bowden Street is a campanile. Clearly defined in silhouette, the campanile signifies a gateway to the neighbourhood and defines the address of the precinct.

With a dynamic facade rich in shades of terracotta and umber, Bourke & Bowden recalls the character of Alexandria’s manufacturing and industrial past while also looking to its future.

Studio Ongarato recently led the signage and wayfinding system design for the project. Designed as an ecosystem for a community of businesses centred around a lush courtyard, this is abuilding about people, their movement, their interactions and connection to landscape.

Wayfinding and signage is central to this community interaction, reinforcing access around and into the heart of its landscape courtyard. Identity is built through a consistent navigation strategy and a wayfinding design language that contributes to the unique sense of place for Bourke and Bowden.

The signage design comprises a series of crafted ‘information objects’ that speak to a language of interchange, network and pathway. Signs are a combination of geometric volumes and industrial folded tubes, all painted to match the terracotta facade.

The system enables playful, sculptural signage elements to delicately attach to the architecture indifferent configurations.

Identification signs include embedded LED screens within volumetric lantern-like structures, creating a dynamic broadcast system. These displays support multiple voices and allow the signage to respond to different times of day or year, offering flexibility, animation, and moments of activation across the site.

The Bowden Street frontage is defined by a north facing veranda, which provides an active, landscaped link between the proposed key green spaces to the north and to the south of the site.

Central to the precinct is a courtyard, the centre of gravity and the lively green threshold to the commercial activities within this new precinct. A sanctuary from the noise of the street and an addition to the broader public domain, it provides an open air extension of the workplace and ground level retail offerings.

This landscaped ground plane will be a highly permeable and active place, adding to the existing street grid and creating new opportunities for pedestrian and open space connections.

The diversity of these experiences and the character of their built form establishes an authentic urban condition that resonates with the community.

Bourke Bowden 1.jpg

Bourke Bowden 5.jpg

Bourke Bowden 2.jpg

Bourke Bowden 3.jpg

Bourke Bowden 4.jpg

Let's Connect!

Let’s connect!