Hardcover
Sydney’s public spaces: beauty, function, and identity revealed.

$175.99

  • Hardcover

    240 pages

  • Release Date

    17 July 2026

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Summary

What makes a city beautiful, functional, memorable?

Public Sydney reveals the city through its most powerful public spaces. Presenting more than 100 key sites in plan, section and elevation, it uncovers the layered history, harbour-shaped geography and design intelligence that give Sydney its distinct urban character.

Meticulous drawings are paired with historical and contemporary images in incisive essays to trace how Sydney’s public realm has been shaped over time -…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781760765415
ISBN-10:1760765414
Author:Philip Thalis, Peter John Cantrill
Publisher:Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd
Imprint:Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:240
Release Date:17 July 2026
Weight:2.75kg
Dimensions:60mm x 310mm x 440mm
A-Format
B-Format
C-Format
A4
Public Sydney by Philip Thalis - ISBN: 9781760765415
310 × 440 mm
mm / in
About The Author

Philip Thalis

Philip Thalis is founding principal of Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects, who led the drawings in this book. The practice has won many architecture, planning and landscape awards for their work. He is a Professor of Practice in Architecture at UNSW since 2017 and lectures widely across Australia. Philip served as a Councillor on the City of Sydney from 2016-2021, chairing committees on planning, heritage and transport issues, as well as advocating for public and affordable housing. He was co-recipient, with Peter John Cantrill, of the NSW Architects President’s Prize in 2009, made a Life Fellow in 2019, and in 2024 was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal - the Institute’s highest honour.

Peter John Cantrill is an urban designer at the City of Sydney, where he has worked for over ten years. In 2024, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Urban Design Association’s highest recognition. He is a respected leader within the broad community of practitioners he works with in the design of the public Sydney, and a mentor to younger professionals. He studied architecture at the University of Sydney and IAUV, Venice, and for many years was director of a leading architecture and urban design practice. He is dedicated to making public places that improve people’s lives and that they will love.

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