Planning Submitted for Burswood Point in Perth, Western Australia
Australian developer Golden Sedayu has submitted planning for Precinct B of the multi-billion dollar Burswood Point waterfront redevelopment, marking the next stage in the transformation of one of Perth’s most significant riverfront sites.
The masterplan is being led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), with the landscape and public realm for Precinct B designed by Grant Associates.
Set along the Swan River at the tip of Burswood Peninsula just 3.5km from Perth CBD, Precinct B will deliver a new mixed-use waterfront neighbourhood on a previously untouched stretch of the Swan River foreshore. It will be anchored by a generous network of public open spaces, riverfront parkland and civic gathering places. Golden Sedayu has described the wider project as a world-class riverside destination for Perth, and the recently submitted Local Development Plan for Precinct B places landscape at the heart of that ambition.
Grant Associates’ landscape concept is inspired by the historic estuarine character of the Swan River, known as Derbarl Yerrigan in the Noongar language, reinterpreting former tidal inlets and wetlands as a contemporary urban waterfront. Sculpted landforms, rehabilitated foreshore edges, constructed wetlands, boardwalks and viewing platforms will combine to create a sheltered lagoon-like river edge that reconnects people directly with the water.
Alongside the public open space in Precinct B, is a new district-scale foreshore park designed to host everyday recreation, community gathering and major public events. This is supported by a finer-grain sequence of neighbourhood spaces including family play areas, lawns, civic plazas, shaded seating and informal recreational areas embedded within the urban blocks. Together, these spaces connect the significant residential, commercial, entertainment and retail offering to establish the public realm as the social and environmental backbone of the new precinct
The landscape has been conceived as the primary structure for movement, activity and identity across the site. Waterfront promenades, retail edges, laneways and hospitality terraces are all shaped around public open space, ensuring that daily life within the precinct is closely connected to green spaces and water at every touchpoint.
A comprehensive Water Sensitive Urban Design strategy underpins the proposal, with rain gardens, vegetated swales, permeable surfaces and extensive native planting working together to manage stormwater, support biodiversity and improve water quality before runoff reaches the river. This approach positions Precinct B as a climate-resilient waterfront neighbourhood designed for long-term environmental performance.
Cultural identity also plays a central role. The landscape draws from Whadjuk Noongar heritage, Indigenous art and native ecologies, with material palettes, planting and spatial patterns grounded in local Country and Perth’s distinctive river environment.
With planning now submitted, Precinct B represents one of Australia’s most vibrant new waterfront neighbourhoods currently progressing through approval. For Grant Associates, the project demonstrates how the public realm, ecology and urban life can be brought together at scale to shape a distinctive, liveable and future-focused riverside destination.
"Precinct B is conceived as a contemporary estuary — a place where river, landscape and city are gently woven back together. By shaping the land in response to water, heritage and climate, the public realm becomes both grounded and fluid — a sequence of spaces that shift from wetland to plaza, from quiet edge to civic gathering. It’s a landscape designed to be experienced slowly, across seasons and generations, always in dialogue with the Swan River.”
Project Team
- Developer: Golden Sedayu
- Precinct B Masterplan Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
- Landscape Architect: Grant Associates
- Location: Burswood Point, Perth, Western Australia
Image Credits: Golden Sedayu, SOM