The civic plaza is an intimate and urban space at the heart of the civic campus. Its is enclosed and activated by the soft and active edges of the adjacent buildings that blur the boundaries between inside and outside.

The civic axis - between Durham Street (west) and the waterfront (east) is expressed as an episodic series of activated and occupiable landscape ‘terraces’ stepping across the site between ‘ridge’ (land) and ‘waterfront’ (sea).

This spatial network is expressed as a singular, connecting urban surface which provides visual cohesion and connectivity. It also supports an integrated network of lawns, gardens and green infrastructure that introduces a new urban ecology into the site.

The main plaza level is activated by flexible urban furniture which provide opportunities for social occupation and informal gathering. A new urban ecology is provided through the integration of green infrastructure and green walls around the edges of the space.

The public realm framework integrates built form open space and activity into a multi-functional destination and civic heart by stitching together the ‘city’ and ‘waterfront’ precincts and linking the existing and proposed community and cultural anchors into a distinctive, cohesive and people-focused urban precinct.

This new east-west urban armature is framed by and stitched into the city via a new network of shared spaces and green streets which define a cohesive urban public realm. These pedestrian priority, slow speed environments establish a distinctive sense of place and community focal point at the geographical centre of the city.

The public realm around the civic campus comprises of three new public spaces - a new ‘civic plaza’ on the campus site, Masonic park as the ‘civic heart’ and access to water as a new blue/green waters edge room. This spine of spaces is expressed as a series of occupiable terraces traverses from ridge to water (re) connecting ‘city and sea’.