3XN-designed Sydney Fish Market opens to the public

Sydney Fish Market, which claims to be the largest fish market in the southern hemisphere and features an undulating 20,000-square-metre roof canopy, has opened its doors in "an underutilised harbour area" in Sydney.

Designed by Danish architecture studio 3XN's GXN arm, in association with BVN Architecture and landscape architects Aspect Studios, the market aims to become a major new civic landmark in Sydney, Australia.

"The new Sydney Fish Market is transforming an underutilised harbour area into a vibrant public realm filled with programs that attract both locals and visitors," said Audun Opdal, senior partner at 3XN.

"The fish market uniquely blends a fully functioning commercial operation with high-quality public space, delivering an authentic market experience rooted in the context of its prime waterfront location while enhancing the entire surrounding precinct."

According to 3XN, one of the main goals for the market upgrade was to balance the operational needs of a working market with public accessibility for locals and visitors.

"We have turned an introverted industry inside out, putting the back-of-house operations on display and making the theatrics and intense choreography of seafood trading and movement part of the public experience," said Fred Holt, partner and Australia director at 3XN.

“The recognisable SFM blue bins with fish on ice remain at the heart of it all, but now visitors can witness an authentic, behind-the-scenes performance of one of Sydney's biggest attractions."

Twenty-six lifts connect the four levels of the market, which include an underwater basement, a wholesale market on the ground floor and retail and office spaces on its upper levels.

The publicly accessible wholesale market has doubled in size from its previous site to 12,200 square metres and will be occupied by fishmongers, restaurants, cafes and speciality vendors.

Next to the wholesale market is an auction hall, separated from the market by glazed walls. Here, 160 buyers will bid for fresh seafood produce in daily auctions, and visitors will be able to watch the live action of the trade without disrupting it.

Full-size glazed facades connect the market interiors to the harbour view, while allowing passersby to peek inside.

The Sydney Fish Market will be accessed from amphitheatre-style steps leading from a new plaza with seating and views across the harbour.

The most identifiable feature of the building is its 200-metre-long undulating roof canopy. Comprised of 594 timber beams and 407 aluminium cassettes, it weighs 2,500 tonnes, floating above the market hall below.

The pyramidal shape of each cassette was arranged at an angle that maximises the flow of daylight into the building, while also providing shade.

The modular nature of the roof structure, in addition to its solar panel lining and passive ventilation, will help reduce the building's energy consumption both during construction and operation.

The roof also supports two rainwater collection and filtration locations. Half of the rainwater collected by the roof will be reused, which, combined with a wastewater treatment plant, will cut the potable water consumption of the building in half, according to 3XN.

A series of integrated systems was developed to lower the environmental impact of the building, while also meeting its stringent humidity, hygiene and operational demands.

"The ambition was always to create a building that could carry both the weight of industry and the joy of public life," said Catherine Skinner, principal of BVN.

"The project demanded a structure capable of managing salt water and air, humidity, cold-chain logistics and heavy machinery – all while welcoming millions of visitors a year. Achieving that balance of opposing pressures shaped every decision that was made," she continued.

"This is a deeply technical building, but it never loses sight of its civic role."

The Sydney Fish Market forms part of the urban renewal of Blackwattle Bay and the redevelopment of Sydney's harbour foreshore, connecting a series of the city's iconic harbour sites, including Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

3XN GXN's design for the new Sydney Fish Market was selected from an international design competition hosted by the New South Wales government in 2017.

Copenhagen studio 3XN was established by Kim Herforth Nielsen in 1986. It founded GXN, a strategic consultancy for the built environment, in 2007.

Together with BVN, their renovated Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney was named Best Tall Building Worldwide by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in 2023.

It has recently completed a sports stadium in Munich's Olympic Park featuring rib-like aluminium facade.

The photography is by Rasmus Hijortshoj, unless stated otherwise.

Project credits:

Gross square footage: 65,000m2 GFA
Total project cost: $836 million
Client: Infrastructure NSW
Owner: Placemaking NSW
Sustainability lead: GXN
Civil engineer (general): Mott MacDonald, AT&L
Civil (roof): Aecom, CSS
Electrical: Aecom, Stowe Australia
Hydraulic: CJ Arms, Harris Page & Associates
Mechanical: Aecom, Equilibrium/Climatec (Joint Venture)
Structural: Mott Macdonald, WSP
Transportation engineer (nSFM): PTC
Transportation engineer (site surrounds): Arup
Vertical transportation: Aecom
Façade: Apex, PRISM
Logistics: S2D
Sustainability: Stantech, EMF Gri`iths
Ergonomic: Dohrmann Consulting
Art consultant: WallnerWeiss
Wind: Windtech
Acoustics/Vibration: SLR
ESD consultant: Wood & Grieve
Flooding: Cardno
Heritage and archaeology: CityPlan / Comber
Maritime navigation: Royal Haskoning DHV
Visualisations: Mir, Doug & Wolf, Aesthetica Studio, 3XN
Urban masterplanners: FJMT
Planning consultant: BBC
BCA consultant: Steve Watson Partners/Group DLA
Biodiversity: EcoLogical
Visual impacts: UGDC / Clouston
General contractor: Multiplex