Title : The end of the concrete mushroom - the Sydney Harbour Control Tower
link : The end of the concrete mushroom - the Sydney Harbour Control Tower
The end of the concrete mushroom - the Sydney Harbour Control Tower
[By Chris Haldane in Sydney]
One of my favourite structures in Sydney is no more. Having kept its eye on our harbour for four decades, the 87m tall control tower in Barangaroo Reserve has been deconstructed to restore ‘a naturalistic look to the area after a century of industrial use’. Consisting of a concrete column topped by an observation room with amazing views, it gave controllers the ideal position from which to oversee shipping movements around Sydney Harbour.
The decision to remove it was controversial. Some suggested it be used for bungee jumping, abseiling, a viewing tower over Sydney Harbour, or a “pop-out” café, but for various reasons, including huge costs, the government decided against these, and in 2016 the process began.
The first time I noticed the demolition, a crane was already at work, followed soon after by scaffolding. Contrary to what you might expect, no dynamite was used. Instead, a method not used in Australia before was chosen, producing less dust, noise and vibration for the heritage buildings from the early days of the colony that lay at the tower’s feet.
Workers first removed the control centre from the top of the tower ( above). Then came the column removal using two remote-controlled robots, each weighing about 1.6 tonnes, munching away at the tower and pushing the debris down the shaft, from which it was transported away. Interestingly, because they didn’t see or hear the robots at work, many Sydneysiders didn’t seem to notice this huge structure slowly fading from the skyline, and when I bemoaned its disappearance people often looked puzzled, until realisation suddenly dawned.
As the tower reduced in height, so did the circular platform along with it. I stood at its base for the sketch above of the last of the column, a far cry from the original 87 metres. And that was the last time I was able to sketch the demolition before all traces of the tower disappeared, so I unfortunately missed the last stage. It has taken a while for me to adjust to the Barangaroo headland without the tower high above it and, whilst it’s lovely to embrace the new, it seems a shame that yet more evidence of Sydney’s days as an industrial port has been wiped away.
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