In 2012, The Catholic Cemeteries Metropolitan Trust embarked on an ambitious journey to provide a visionary landscaped cemetery for the whole of Sydney. Our practice was entrusted with the task of designing an inspirational burial place on a large parcel of land (113 Ha) in Sydney’s West. Boasting panoramic views onto the Blue Mountains, Sydney CBD and the Campbelltown Valley below, it sits within the Scenic Hills and surrounds the historic Varro Ville House. The land presents multiple constraints, as is often the case on what is left of Sydney’s land suitable for cemetery development, including steep topography, the presence of Moist Shale Woodland and Cumberland Plain Woodland, heritage curtilage extending beyond the boundary of Varro Ville house, riparian zones and waterways, Aboriginal and European heritage, the potential for bushfires and tight Planning Control relating to the Environmental Protection of the Scenic Hills.

• A sculpture Park, offering opportunities for local and Australian artists
• An arboretum for future preservation and education of generations to come.
• A cemetery which respects and safe keeps the important colonial landscape.
• A concept which respects the Land, its landform and ecology by carefully laying roads and built environment and limit their footprint.
• Concealed, private and low laying burial spaces with no visible headstones, to minimise visual impact.

Buildings: FJMT.

Soft Landscape: BOTANICA.

Civil Consultants: WSP.

Stormwater Management: Stormy Water Solutions.