The Macquarie Street East Precinct is one of the jewels in Sydney’s glittering crown, the civic and cultural spine of the city. Djinjama worked collaboratively with the Hassell and GML Heritage teams to develop the masterplan for the Precinct. The plan provides an opportunity to revitalise the identity and public life of the eastern city centre. Through a process of Reading Country, Djinjama contributed the vision and purpose for the planning, ensuring Country and culture were embedded throughout the project. The collaborative design process began with a deep grounding on Country, and an honest reckoning about the complex histories of the place — including truthtelling of the trauma Macquarie and the institutions along Macquarie Street inflicted on Aboriginal peoples. At the same time, the team created space for the aspirations of Country, culture and the community to be in the foreground of the masterplan through the Country Centred Guidelines and Essence of place developed.
Djinjama honours our connections to Country, community, culture and kin through our work. Djinjama’s projects actively interact with lands, waters and air, and as such we actively protect the rights of Country to be healthy in our work. We respect Traditional Custodians who have long cared for Country and aim to elevate First Voices in all our work. We are grateful to Elders and Knowledge Holders for their continued sharing of wisdom, story, language, and knowledge.
