The national architectural competition for the Olympic Village at Homebush Bay aimed to provide a model athletes village with the dual potential to rethink the Australian suburb.

Hill Thalis were one of the 5 Stage 1 winning projects, out of 102 submitted entries. The winners collaborated on a joint scheme that became the key component of Sydney’s official Bid documents, launching the initiative of the ‘Green Games’.

The project was equally ambitious in its urban planning intentions. 87 hectares of redundant armaments depot was to be redeveloped to a coordinated plan, reserving the low-lying half of the site for a large wetland park.

The new street layout related closely to the elevated slopes, setting out a connective street pattern of well scaled blocks. All remnant elements of the depot were retained and reused in an adventurous approach to adaptive reuse.

Accommodating 3000 athletes during the Games the residential component was designed to be more than double the density of typical suburbia, creating a range of dwelling designs that used their compact sites efficiently. The project show cased green initiatives at all scales, from the urban layout to the details of the house design.

The original project launched a new agenda for progressive urban development in Sydney and was instrumental in helping Sydney win the bid for the 2000 Olympics. The project has been widely published in Australia and internationally.