| Overseas Passenger Terminal | |
|---|---|
 Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal in April 2015 | |
 | |
| Alternative names | OPT Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Architectural style | Post-War International |
| Location | Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°51′29″S 151°12′36″E / 33.8580°S 151.2101°E |
| Groundbreaking | 1956 |
| Construction started | 1958 |
| Completed | 1960 |
| Opened | 20 December 1960 |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Black Steel Portal Frame Truss |
| Floor count | 2 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | 1988 Lawrence Nield 1988 Peter Tonkin 1997 Bligh Voller Nield (BVN) |
| Other designers | 2001 NSW Architect's Office 2012 Architectus 2012 Arup Group |
| Awards and prizes | 1988 & 1997 RAIA Merit Award, Category: Civic Design 1998 & 1997 RAIA Lloyd Rees Urban Design Award |
The Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), known officially as the Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal,[1] is a public passenger terminal servicing cruise ships and ocean liners located in Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. Whilst commercial shipping operations on and around the site date from 1792, the current primary structure and waterfront promenade date from 1958, with subsequent on-going alterations and land reclamation throughout the latter part of the 20th century. The current design retains the black steel portal frame trusses of the original 1958 structure, with major additions completed in 1988 in the Post-War International Style through the collaboration of Sydney architects Lawrence Nield and Peter Tonkin.
The building's main structure, the two remaining uniquely designed extendable gangways and an interior mural known as Foundations of European Settlement by Australian artist Arthur Murch are all listed as individual items of significance within the State Heritage Inventory by the New South Wales Heritage Office.[1][2][3] Since 2006, the building and its surroundings have also been listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site buffer zone for the Sydney Opera House.[4]
Today, although there are other passenger terminals on Sydney Harbour, the OPT maintains a significant public role as the only major passenger terminal east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. As such, it has been host to many major international cruise liners which are unable to clear the underside of the bridge, including the largest liner to dock at the OPT to date, the Ovation of the Seas. The OPT promenade and viewing platforms are open to the public when ships are not docked in the terminal and a series of dining and entertainment venues within the building serve as part of the OPT's secondary function.
- ^ a b "Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal". Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal (Listing #4560023). NSW Government Office of Environment and Heritage. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:8was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Sydney Ports Corporation Heritage Inventory" (PDF). Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal Mural. Heritage Office of NSW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:13was invoked but never defined (see the help page).