Artist: Mark O’Ryan
Fabricator: Lump Sculpture
Location: Dulwich Hill, NSW
Public art often brings together architecture, landscape and engineering in unexpected ways. A new sculpture delivered as part of Sydney’s GreenWay project is one example, combining habitat creation, ecological regeneration and structural design within a single installation.
Partridge provided structural engineering services for the artwork by artist Mark O’Ryan, including the design of the piled slab foundation, central support post and base anchor fixings. Located beside the light rail corridor at Dulwich Hill, the sculpture has been designed to provide habitat for bats while sitting comfortably within a landscape being restored with native planting.
The GreenWay project, led by Inner West Council in partnership with the NSW Government, is transforming a corridor between the Cooks River at Earlwood and the Parramatta River at Iron Cove into a connected network for walking, cycling and recreation. Alongside new infrastructure and landscaping, the project also creates opportunities for public art that responds directly to the local environment.
For the engineering team, the challenge was to develop a robust support structure that worked with the artist’s vision and the practical demands of a public setting. The design needed to account for durability, structural stability and long-term performance while remaining visually restrained within the landscape.
Projects like this highlight the increasingly close relationship between engineering and environmental design. Rather than acting as standalone objects, structures are becoming part of broader conversations about ecology, biodiversity and how people experience public space.
Mark O’Ryan’s work explores these connections through a focus on local wildlife and habitat creation, and we are pleased to have contributed to a project that supports both community use and urban biodiversity.
The sculpture is located just off the Hercules Street bridge between Consett Street and Kintore Street, Dulwich Hill, with the site expected to open later this year.
https://www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/greenway-public-art/hourglass-tree-mark-oryan
