Moore Park Gardens Recognised with NSW Enduring Architecture Award
June 2025
AJC Architects is honoured to announce that Moore Park Gardens, a pioneering urban renewal project in East Redfern, has received the 2025 Enduring Architecture Award at the NSW Architecture Awards, presented by the Australian Institute of Architects.
The Enduring Architecture Award recognises significant, long-lasting and innovative architecture, with typically more than 25 years having passed since the completion of construction. It celebrates buildings of outstanding merit that remain relevant and of high quality when considered in contemporary cultural, social, economic, and environmental contexts.
Completed in stages between 1994 and 2000, Moore Park Gardens transformed the former Resch’s Waverley Brewery site in East Redfern into one of Australia’s leading examples of medium-density residential development. The 2.6-hectare site integrates heritage buildings with new apartment towers, townhouses, public open space, and community amenities — centred around a new pedestrian-focused urban street, Charles Moore Avenue.
From the outset, AJC’s vision was bold: to demonstrate that density could be done well — without sacrificing liveability, community, or sustainability. The project includes 560 dwellings, public courtyards, retail spaces, and a strong emphasis on environmentally sustainable design. Innovative crossover apartment layouts ensured that over 90% of homes enjoy natural cross-ventilation and north-facing living areas — concepts ahead of their time.
“Moore Park Gardens was a landmark moment for AJC — and for Sydney,” said Michael Heenan, CEO of AJC Architects. “It redefined what medium-density housing could look like in this city, balancing commercial viability with architectural quality, heritage sensitivity, and social value. The project delivered 650 apartments, with a remarkable 90% cross-ventilation rate and 90% north-facing living rooms — achieved 25 years ago. It proved that good design lasts. We’re honoured to see it recognised with this award.”
Architectural historian Trevor Howells described Moore Park Gardens as a “benchmark in medium-density living” and a project that showed “design-led development is not just possible, but profitable and enduring.”
Over 25 years after completion, Moore Park Gardens remains one of Sydney’s most desirable addresses and a proud legacy project for AJC.
As the need for quality higher-density housing becomes increasingly urgent, Moore Park Gardens is a compelling case-study for any architect grappling with multi-unit housing at a range of scales. Completed in 2000, the project was ahead of its time, setting new benchmarks in design standards informing SEPP 65 and the Residential Flat Design Code in 2002. Moore Park Gardens transformed a post-industrial 2.6ha site into a thriving high-density mixed-use neighbourbood, with 560 apartments, three rejuvenated historic buildings and new public amenities including a park, a street, a footbridge to Moore Park and childcare facilities. The site’s built form is both articulate and distinctive, with efficient planning and excellent apartment amenity that extends across towers, street edge blocks, maisonettes, and cross-overs. The robust and workmanlike material fabric shows few signs of age 25 years on, and the hundreds of residents that have maintained tenancy over this time demonstrate the ongoing success and relevance of the architecture, and the rich legacy it provides.
AIA Juror
View Gallery
