A striking new public artwork celebrates Australia’s Indigenous history and the enduring traditions of its First Nations people. Created by artist Nicole Monks with First Nations art and design studio Mili Mili, the landmark piece is part of the Northern Beaches Council Coast Walk Public Art project and pays homage to the historic significance of signal fires, integral to Aboriginal communities for millennia. Partridge provided structural engineering design and consultation to ensure the artwork’s safety and longevity, addressing challenges like withstanding coastal winds and the corrosive coastal environment. Collaborating closely with Mili Mili, they reinforced the slender columns and coordinated the attachment of inclined column legs.

Situated in Central Park, this is one of Sydney’s iconic landmarks and tourist attractions. The wind powered kinetic sculpture is part of a major mixed-use urban renewal project to redevelop the old Kent Brewery site in Broadway. The tapered yellow ring is 12 metres in diameter and pivots off-centre atop a 13-metre-high tilted mast. Our team won the Engineering Excellence Award in 2012, the first ever awarded for artwork, with their unique and innovative techniques.