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Taylor Square, like many urban places in Sydney, is the outcome of a pattern of land subdivision and existing roads. The square, which forms an eastern gateway into central Sydney, has two distinct identities- On the northern side of Oxford Street it Is a civic precinct of major nineteenth-century institutions: the old gaol, the elegant Creek Revival court house, and a police station, all built of characteristic Sydney sandstone, and a large hospital. The southern side of Oxford Street is commercial, lively and sleazy. The square is notorious as the centre of the popular annual gay Mardi Gras parade, a Sydney institution. Street closures following completion of the Eastern Distributor road system provided an opportunity to revitalise the badly scuffed and tatty Taylor Square as a landmark public space. Granite paving provides a pictorial order to the vast area. Small intersecting modules are patterned into bands setting up a bold, dynamic composition. The gay culture is acknowledged in the pink granite, triangle motif and steel cast studs on light poles, bins and stone seats (anti-skateboard devices). Oxford Street lies above Sydney‘s second colonial water supply, Busby‘s Bore.The underground tunnel contains twenty-eight shafts sunk into the bore. Shaft No 5 is located at Taylor Square. This historical reference is translated into a design feature: a fountain that provides the perpetual sound of running water The fountain announces the new heart of Taylor Square and refreshes this high-use precinct. It is interactive and dynamic, with programmable shows that include fog and vertical and angled jets. Mature Angophora trees encircle the raised north terrace and establish an urban character that will further develop as they mature. |