The City of Ryde has announced the shortlisted winners of its international design competition to create a new regional gateway for culture and commerce.

The following architecture teams will now proceed to the second stage of the Design our Ryde contest:

• Team2 in collaboration with Arcadia Landscape Architecture

• MORQ

• Architensions

• Beijing Institute of Architectural Design

The competition launched in February 2016 to find a design able to unlock the potential of a civic hub in Ryde, northern Sydney, by finding “new, unexpected and iconic solutions to engage the community.”

The brief called for multi-functional indoor spaces for community and private hire, public open space, housing facilities and infrastructure which better connects the site with the rest of the city, particularly for pedestrians.

“Great architecture can rejuvenate a city and it takes creative minds to imagine and shape a new place,” said NSW government architect and competition jury chair, Peter Poulet.

Out of hundreds of entries, Team2’s submission was the most popular in a public vote, and so is included on the shortlist as the “People’s Choice.”

Their design, titled The Orchard, reimagines the space as a series of landscaped public plazas and community gardens in a newly pedestrianised zone. A tree at the centre of the site would “bear a bounty of different fruits – symbolic of Ryde’s history, multiculturalism and future growth.” Smart building façades, canopies and storm water collection would provide energy and recycled water to the precinct.

MORQ’s proposal, Ryde392, is centred around a series of mixed-use green-roofed towers. It includes a chain of pedestrian oriented public open spaces with retail space and gardens that hinge on a main plaza. A green buffer would screen the site from the surrounding road traffic and noise.

New York practice Architensions propose Rising Ryde – a hill-shaped building formed of a white steel lattice supporting public spaces such as suspended gardens and observation decks. The architects said the lattice frame creates “transparency, openness and democracy” and encourages users “to find their own paths and favourite gardens without following the paradigm of scripted circulation.”

Finally, the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design have proposed Ryde Hub, a new district with an outdoor theatre, cafe, upgraded library and Funland play area for children. Green roofs and walls would be added to buildings to reduce summer heat and energy costs.

The successful teams now have the opportunity to revise and expand on their plans before a final winner is chosen by 8 August. In addition to Poulet, the jury consists of Shaun Carter from the Australian Institute of Architects and sustainability strategist Maria Atkinson.

The winning scheme will be considered for feasibility and will be used as a starting point in discussions over the site’s future.

The Design our Ryde competition is underpinned by the region’s 2025 Community Strategic Plan to ensure lifestyle offerings and economic opportunities are available “close to where people live, work and play.”