The new Sydney Fish Market, the Blackwattle Bay landmark that opened in January under what its entry describes as Australia’s largest engineered timber roof, will contest three awards in 30 days, starting with the Commercial Building category at the 27th Australian Timber Design Awards in Sydney on 21 October.
Designed by 3XN in association with BVN and Aspect Studios and built by Multiplex, the market is also shortlisted for Commercial Architecture at the National Architecture Awards, to be announced in Brisbane on 29 October, and in the Mixed-Use category at the World Architecture Festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 18 to 20 November.
The entry rests on the roof, a timber and aluminium canopy spanning 20,000 square metres, or two hectares, made from 6,000 lineal metres of engineered timber and 594 glulam beams. The glulam is European spruce, manufactured by Rubner in Italy from PEFC-certified forests with full chain of custody, and it spans up to 32.7 metres over a marine structure.
According to the submission, timber makes up 20 per cent of the building’s structure, and the lightweight roof reduced demands on the supporting building and its foundations, a material consideration for a market built over water. Delivered using design for manufacture and assembly principles, the double-curved canopy admits diffuse daylight, allows natural ventilation, carries a photovoltaic array, harvests rainwater and shades the public domain below, while storing more than 1,000 tonnes of biogenic carbon.
Kyle Low, the Timber Development Association structural engineer organising this year’s awards, told Wood Central the way the roof was delivered was as notable as its design. “The timber never really parked itself on land. It went straight from the boat in the harbour, straight into the building.”
Beneath the canopy, a public market hall twice the area of the previous site holds 12,000 square metres of fishmongers, restaurants, cafes and specialist vendors, kept column-free by the large-span timber structure. Timber continues into the public realm, with integrated seating in the promenade stairs overlooking Blackwattle Bay and recycled timber along the eastern boardwalk, wharf edges, seating and public furniture.
The project achieved a 5 Star Green Star Design and As Built rating. Passive design, centralised plant, heat recovery, thermal energy storage and a large solar array cut operational energy by 35 per cent, dual rainwater harvesting and industrial water reuse cut potable water use by 50 per cent, and 70 to 80 per cent of operational waste is diverted from landfill. Marine habitat work includes 3D-printed sea tiles, submerged fish habitats, Seabins and mangrove planting.
The market is attempting a double completed last year by Searle x Waldron’s Northern Memorial Park Depot, which won the timber awards’ Commercial Building category on 14 October 2025 and the Harry Seidler Award for Commercial Architecture at the National Architecture Awards three weeks later. It is one of three finalists also shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival, alongside the Adelaide Aquatic Centre and the University of Tasmania’s The Forest. Winners will be announced at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney on Wednesday 21 October.
