The Wharf’s green makeover

The Wharf, home of the Sydney Theatre Company, will soon undergo a green makeover with the Federal Government to commit more than a million dollars towards a major sustainability push for the building.

The announcement came earlier this month after Artistic Directors Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett met with Peter Garrett, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, and Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change.

Together, the Ministers allocated $1.2 million of the Commonwealth Government’s Green Precincts Fund towards the Greening the Wharf project.

Believed to be a first for any theatre company in the world, the redevelopment will include the installation of a state-of-the-art solar array and the introduction of a rainwater harvesting, storage and reticulation system which will supply all of the Company’s non-potable water.

“There is an arts precinct beginning to emerge on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour and The Wharf is perfectly placed within it to help make it the first green arts precinct in the world,” said Andrew Upton. “We believe Greening The Wharf not only delivers enormous practical outcomes for Sydney Theatre Company, but offers a vision of how we might all creatively embrace the challenge and opportunities that climate change presents.”

A further two million dollars was donated by the family foundation of solar energy magnates Dr Zhengrong and Vivienne Shi, to help fund the largest capacity solar array mounted on a building in Australia.

Two thousand solar panels will be erected on the roof of The Wharf to help reduce Sydney Theatre Company’s traditional power consumption by up to 70 per cent.

by John Duckett