Tenants, local professionals and many more interested parties joined state parliamentarians Jenny Leong and David Graham, City of Sydney councillor Linda Scott and Lord Mayor Clover Moore to celebrate this significant milestone for the community.

On Saturday June 24, the centre opened the doors to WPHAG’s new base of operations, a place fit for purpose as an “independent, inclusive and democratic space for discussion, debate and action”.

As residents enter the first round of community engagement for the Waterloo master plan in the form of “visioning” workshops, a different kind of approach to planning was on display at the centre’s open day.

A physical model of Waterloo dominates the space, which within hours of operating, was covered in street names, small models of buildings and annotated with notes – some historical, others more curious. “GOOD OLD PUB, THE ABBOT’S” one read. “PIZZA SHOP”, another.

“I’ve learned a lot in the past five minutes,” says Eddie Ma of Sydney-based spatial design practice, Vigilanti. Ma is working with the WPHAG team to construct a 3D model of the estate to begin putting the future needs of the community into some perspective.

Looking down at the sprawling estate lands, Ma commends the built environment of the central tower blocks and the surrounding Waterloo Green, a significant part of Sydney’s geography and “almost the only precinct that’s purely social [in its design]”. Other parts of Waterloo, he says, suffer from poor provision of community space.

Photo: Julie Cheng