I BELIEVE that the best way to truly get to know a city is to experience it on foot. Whenever I’m in a city for the first time, I make it a point to wander around its streets, allowing myself to discover different aspects about it as I turn on every corner. That’s exactly what I did during my recent trip to Sydney.

I got a city map as soon as I got to the hotel, and this was enough to get started on my little adventure. My hotel was located in Darling Harbour, one of Australia’s great waterfront destinations which offers quite a number of attractions. The Sydney Wildlife World is located here, where you can see over 6,000 Australian animals living in unique habitats. One of the largest aquariums in the world, the Sydney Aquarium, is also found here, along with the Australian National Maritime Museum. Designed by Philip Cox, the design of the museum was inspired by a beached whale or a prehistoric beast with shiny and scaled skin. To its north are three floating and semisubmerged moving tanks in which an oceanarium is situated, allowing visitors to walk literally through the walkways surrounded by water and different varietites of sea life.

Also in Darling Harbour are the Cockle Bay Wharf and King Street Wharf. These two strips are lined with a wide variety of restaurants that offer a dining experience oriented toward the waterfront. The location of these structures definitely contributes to the liveliness of the area, as they are usually filled up all the way into the late night.

1 THE Australian National Maritime Museum is composed of three floating and semisubmerged moving tanks in which an oceanarium is situated, allowing visitors to walk literally through the walkways surrounded by water and different varietites of sea life. --Photos by ADRIAN BUENSALIDO, JASON BUENSALIDO

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is also found in Darling Harbour. It is Australia’s largest and premier venue for conferences, exhibitions and special events. With auditoria, meeting rooms and dining spaces of all sizes, the center is perfect for a conference for 200 people or a large dinner for 2,000. Its prime harbor side location, adjacent to the city’s central business district, means the center’s guests can enjoy superb views over Darling Harbour and the city skyline, as well as world-class facilities.

It is a modern composition of steel and glass that somewhat resembles masts of a ship. Built-up steel columns from the interiors of the building extend vertically until the exterior. Steel beams are then supported by these structural posts by means of tension cables, creating an uninterrupted and columnless space within the building since all the structural elements are outside. This configuration is ideal especially for an exhibition hall.

More than 600 events are held each year at the center, which features 30 meeting rooms and 30,000 square metres of exhibition space.

Another architectural wonder in Darling Harbour is the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Center. I did not know about this structure when I went to Sydney, but the magnificent curves of its roof caught my eye as I was looking at the city’s skyline from my hotel room. It basically houses an Olympic-sized pool, which again requires a columnless space. The structure was thus designed with a space frame—a structural network of steel members that form triangular modules that can be shaped in any form and can be used for wide spans. These triangular networks form such a solid structural support that this method of construction is used for stadiums and airports. In this building’s case, the space frames are shaped like a giant wave and are seen at the exterior of the building, carrying the load of the roof. Inside, it is a very inspirational space as formed by the sweeping curves of the ceiling above.

Waterfront culture should be developed in our own cities. Instead of the water being the “back of the house,” we should start reorienting our structures in such a way that it faces our waterways so that a vibrant waterfront could be achieved. Major projects are currently being undertaken by the government to clean our waters and it probably will take a long time to achieve, but I hope that eventually there will be a place like Darling Harbour in our country.

After all, we have 7,100 islands that provide an endless stretch of waterfront opportunity.  

Jason Buensalido is the principal architect of Buensalido Architects. His designs have won him national competitions such as the Nayong Pilipino Masterplan and the Cultural Center of the Philippines Design Excellence Competitions. He placed first in the 2005 architectural licensure examinations. You can e-mail him at design@buensalidoarchitects.com.

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