city of sydney 1999

City Exhibition Space in Customs House at Circular Quay was opened in early 1999. It was a Council initiative designed to provide a space for discourse about urban planning and for inbound tourists to learn about the city in the lead up to the 2000 Olympic Games staged in Sydney.

CDP worked in conjunction with Council staff, project manager Root Projects Australia, and exhibition designer Desmond Freeman Associates, to conceive, develop and deliver this innovative Council initiative.

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Introduction and City History
LCD monitors were inset into large glass graphics display panels. One at the entrance advertised the themes of the space. As visitors moved into the exhibits, three floor-to-ceiling glass blades displayed graphics, texts, encased objects and an LCD monitor.

Each display related to a period of time from 1788 to 2000, using motion graphics created by artist Chris Caines and a soundscape evoking a sense of each time period.

Sydney Model ‘Sky-Cam’ and Video Portraits
An eight metre long scale model of the entire CBD of Sydney was created using leading-edge modelling technologies and techniques. Visitors used a control pad and joystick to examine the model in detail via an overhead colour video camera mounted on an electronically controlled gimbal.

A series of LCD screens around the perimeter of the model showed video programs commissioned by CDP and produced by Porchlight Films. These showed aspects of life in various parts of the city.

Sydney – Harbour City
This multimedia show involved the activation of the main exhibition space to present a panoramic visual exploration of a day in the life of Sydney Harbour. Lights dimmed, automated blinds covered the windows looking out onto the harbour, and an 11 metre wide screen rolled down from the ceiling.

A multi-speaker soundscape and 3-source synchronised video program was enhanced by the cued illumination of showcased objects in the space, a twinkling fiber-optic starscape and video images projected onto a huge glass table representation of the harbour outline.

Icon Histories
Two showcases displayed specially produced videos telling the history of the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, revealed through archival media.

gary warner 2012