Jim Stynes Bridge

OCULUS Landscape Architecture and Urban Design

Tags BioMark JacquesOculus

The Jim Stynes Bridge swings out across the Yarra River and under the Charles Grimes Bridge, providing vital missing pedestrian and commuter cycle links between Melbourne’s CBD, Northbank, and Docklands. The project was a collaboration with Cox Architects and Aurecon engineers.

The Jim Stynes Bridge will have a strong visual presence along the river and will play an essential role in the animation of the Yarra and the Northbank of the city through its physical, visual, and programmatic integration.

A copse of trees is proposed to frame views as users transition from the horizontal landscape of the wharf and the road. The trees will sit back from the wharf’s edge in a vegetated point grid—ephemeral, not monumental and in contrast to the grid of the city and the old wharf pylons. The growing trees will register time and change, embodying the velocity of the high-speed bridge above. The underpass is an elegant integration of structure, architecture, urban design, and landscape.

This high-profile public project required extensive engagement and consultation with a number of key stakeholders including the Department of Planning and Community Development, the City of Melbourne, Heritage Victoria, and Bicycle Victoria.