Darling Square

Stitching a new neighbourhood into the fabric of a city

In 2017, Lendlease approached us with a vision for their latest development project in New South Wales: Darling Square. The ambition was clear. We were to stitch a new neighbourhood into the fabric of the city – a fully realised, unique part of its vibrant cultural landscape. Darling Square was to be the last patch in Sydney’s quilted identity. 

A large-scale placemaking exercise, it encompassed residential, commercial, retail and civic infrastructure, transforming a previously underused area between Chinatown, Haymarket and Ultimo. When we got involved, the residential and commercial elements of the precinct were tenanted and stabilised, driving an acute need for social and cultural spaces in which to meet, connect, dine and unwind. 

From the outset, we recognised that approaching this as a singular destination was the wrong move. Instead, we framed Darling Square as a curated constellation of distinct but overlapping experiences – each with their own rhythms and tempos. This was a granular approach to placemaking that favoured nuanced specificity over monolithic gestures.

Shaping a neighbourhood
To start, we divided each part of the Square into autonomous sectors and ascribed them functional, cultural and emotional properties – a meta personality that gave those in the Lendlease team a vocabulary to describe the components of their place in leasing conversations, media outreach, creative collaborations and council engagement.

That process involved designing a visual identity, art strategy, leasing strategy and activation strategy for the precinct as a whole. But it also required us to decide which components and destinations within the wider Darling Square environment needed their own brand identities.

The precinct identity drew inspiration from the literal idea of a neighbourhood taking shape – playing with geometric forms to create a layered, evolving composition. This approach mirrored the intention and form of the destination, while also lending itself neatly to signage, wayfinding and collateral. Importantly, as a large portion of our audience are not native English speakers, it also allowed us to create a graphic system that transcended language.

Critically, we explicitly designed the Darling Square identity with the intention that it would ultimately recede into the background as the individual components of the precinct matured and stabilised, bringing their own nuances and flavours to the neighbourhood. Once realised, the collective experience would feel unique and distinct to visitors and locals alike – rendering overt branding unnecessary.

The sum of its parts
Within the precinct, there were many experiences, functions and moods to be explored.There was Steam Mill Lane, a larger-than-life, slightly masculine laneway that punched above its weight in an intimate urban setting. Then, Little Hay Street – an electric cacophony of tastes and tastemakers, where the streets pulse with energy day and night. A kinetic space of indulgence and intrigue, it drew the young and curious from the fringe of Chinatown.The site was divided by The Boulevard, a pedestrianised thoroughfare that linked Darling Square to the harbour. Then, in the heart of the Square was a place for the people: The Exchange. This destination was designed by famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, his first Australian building.  

On its ground floor is The Maker’s Dozen, a modern food hall that serves as an incubator for experimental and innovative hospitality operators (including Fishbowl’s first step toward global recognition). Modular by design, each space in the Maker’s Dozen lends itself to pop-ups and agile operators with low overheads. 

A place for people
Then, there were the civic spaces. The north-facing steps, which we dubbed the Sunny Bleachers, gave people space to soak up some rays while also serving as overflow seating for The Maker’s Dozen, as well as The Square, a natural meeting place grounded by greenery and open to all. 

Collectively, these individual components trace the contours of a complex neighbourhood. One built to accommodate many needs, wants and ways of moving through the city. All walks of life flow through Darling Square, interacting and overlapping in endless ways.

A place to exchange ideas
Architecturally, The Exchange represented an instantly recognisable landmark within the Darling Square landscape. As an icon of the neighbourhood, we created a distinct identity for the building, along with a bold mark and a suite of leasing and sales tools. We created a monochromatic identity that complements the minimal, honest material palette employed by Kuma and contrasts with the brightness of the wider neighbourhood identity. 

Inside The Exchange, which houses a research library, childcare centre and civic services, we referenced the architect’s focus on light and porosity in our signage and wayfinding approach – using see-through elements that invited curiosity and sparked intrigue. We also developed a series of playful pictograms that created an intuitive and engaging visual language that was easily understood by all. 

Hungry for more
When it came to The Maker’s Dozen on The Exchange’s ground floor, we recognised it needed its own distinct identity that could spill into the street and entice curious pedestrians into the building. Its role as a modular incubator of hospitality brands and pop-ups informed our approach, leading us to a vibrant identity that spoke to diverse components coming together. We channelled the modularity into our wayfinding, creating ‘stackable’ wayfinding comprised of individual signage elements.

Ready, set, game
Finally, it was time for Darling Square to step into the world. 

We designed our launch campaign to simultaneously champion the precinct as a singular destination – while also revealing some of the diverse experiential layers contained within it. Once realised, the campaign became the final tool that would help Darling Square connect the Ultimo, Haymarket and Darling Harbour neighbourhoods.

Visually, we drew on key signifiers from our target demos – reflecting a cultural moment defined by shopping and dining as lifestyle imperatives. Our art direction was dynamic, playful and expressive, channelling fresh energy into the new neighbourhood.

To complement this approach, we also created a broadsheet – The Square – to give a platform to the voices of the neighbourhood, as well as a suite of social media content.

As a result, the campaign received a staggering response in market, with digital and physical assets reaching many millions of people and an exceptional earned media response worth millions of dollars.

Within Darling Square, a number of precincts also won local and international recognition – with The Exchange making TIME Magazine’s 2021 World’s Greatest Places list and Steam Mill Lane winning Concrete Playground’s People’s Choice Award 2018.