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HASSEL First Bldg view

First Building

The First Building is the first to be constructed in Bradfield City Centre.

Scheduled for completion in 2024, the First Building is the start of a new industry-led ecosystem to connect and attract local and global industry partners, and to nurture and grow a workforce skilled for the future.  

Housed in the First Building will be stage one of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF). Featuring a hall surrounded by glass, visitors will be able to see all the action, and watch as prototypes and new technologies are tested.

Project status

Consent for the State Significant Development (SSD) Application SSD-25452459 was granted on 9 September 2022 by the Minister for Planning, NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE).

Construction of the First Building is now underway. See below for our latest video update.

Connecting and designing with Country

Connecting and designing with Country is at the heart of the First Building’s design.

Taking its cues from the surrounding natural waterways and the Cumberland Plains, the building will be open and welcoming, surrounded by green and open spaces where residents, workers and visitors can gather. The building will have sustainability at its core, setting the benchmark for the new city. 

For more information about the inspiration behind the building's design and surrounds, please watch the following video.

Read transcript

[Beginning of recorded material]

Liz Westgarth:

Hello, my name's Liz Westgarth and i'm the architect leading the first building.

John Hazelwood:

Hi, I'm John Hazelwood, a landscape architect working on the landscape setting for the building and really pleased to be working with Danièle Hromek

Danièle Hromek:

Hi I'm Danièle Hromek I'm a Budawang/Yuin woman and I'm the cultural designer and researcher for this first building. This is beautiful, Wianamatta Country out in Western Sydney. As you can see it's Cumberland Plains Woodlands. It's beautiful country with rolling grasslands, these magnificent eucalypts spotting the landscape and water. It's a very important water place. The water here is sacred. It's important in so many ways, especially to women, and it's an important place for us to be working on. So we have used Country as our inspiration and our guide. We've looked at things like cultural practice, women's relationships to place, how men come in play a role in this and how to use materiality in a really sensitive way.

John Hazelwood:

We've been working closely with Daniele to ensure that the the landscape setting of the building reflects the context in the setting of Cumberland Plain and of Country. It will be an exemplar of how this can be reflected meaningful in a contemporary and urban setting. The landscape will celebrate the connection to water that Daniele has discussed and a setting of beautiful tree stands that are diverse carpet of understory plants. And will include places for many people to gather and to celebrate and places to sit quietly, a meandering an intimate landscape in a new city centre.

Liz Westgarth:

The first building will sit softly within the landscape, blurring the line between built form and the landscape, allowing the landscape to flow through and have a female character. The first building will really be a memorable landmark. It also needs to be flexible and adaptable to evolve over time. It has a role to inspire investment and it must be welcoming and engaging and really start to showcase the values of the city, particularly around environmental and social sustainability, but also it has to be advanced and innovative unique to place and Country.

[End of recorded material]


Contact

If you have any questions or would like to further discuss the project with us, please contact us via email at [email protected]

Project documentation

The following information and documents are publicly available in accordance with SSD-25452459 Condition C11:

The accompanying NSW DPE Letter of Approvals are contained in the respective links above.