Part Four: The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games 25th Anniversary - Studio.SC

This is part four of Studio. SC's involvement, 25 years on since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. As the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games came to close 25 years ago, today with the closing ceremony on the 1st of October, we reflect on the privilege of helping to shape one of Australia’s greatest global sporting moments. Across 16 Olympic projects, our work spanned new build, expansion, overlay, event mode planning, and the design of temporary media and commentary facilities.

Highlights included the Sydney International Aquatic Centre expansion, where Australia won 21 medals; the Sailing Shore Base at Rushcutters Bay, the hub for Olympic sailing; and the Equestrian Centre at Horsley Park, which remains a world- class equestrian venue.

The Games however were about more than sport. They were a platform for     temporary and adaptable architecture, sustainable solutions, and the creative reuse of structures.

Our design for the Media Centre focused on temporary architecture, where we designed a temporary wall panel constructed from cardboard encapsulated in PET plastic. Our temporary grandstand at the Aquatic centre was designed to be fully repurposed and later reassembled as Wollongong North Stand, ensuring that the legacy of the Sydney Olympics resonated beyond sport and into both regional areas with sustainability at its’ core.

These projects helped define an approach to design that looked beyond the Games themselves, proving that Olympic skills - innovation, lateral thinking, and environmental design - can make a lasting impact far greater than the event.

25 years on, we celebrate this legacy, the stories it continues to inspire, and we look forward to the Brisbane Olympic Games in 2032.