Every great city in the world is built around a body of water. Paris and London consider the rivers Seine and Thames their lifeblood, while New York sits at the mouth of the mighty Hudson. But Sydney has one thing to say to these aquatic lightweights: That’s not a harbour… THAT’S a harbour.

Tourist jaws drop when they first behold the glistening gorgeousness of our fair city’s port against an azure sky, and who can blame them. Sydney’s harbour is staggeringly beautiful. Plus it’s home to Australia’s most iconic – and frankly bonkers – structures: the ‘Coathanger’ Harbour Bridge and ‘Nuns In A Scrum’ Opera House. However, tucked between these twin look-at-me landmarks is the ugly duckling of harbourside Sydney, poor ol’ Circular Quay.

When the most imposing cruise ships in the world arrive in Sydney they dock amid a random hotchpotch of structures, ranging from the steel trusses of the Overseas Passenger Terminal and the concrete monstrosity that is the Cahill Expressway to the much-maligned ‘Toaster’ apartment complex, while drab ferries chug in and out of shabby wharves. To top it all the Quay isn’t even circular – it’s square, if anything.

Since the 1950s, each development in this long-suffering spot of real estate has been more hated than the last. However, Circular Quay is finally in for a serious facelift. Back in 2015 the NSW Government promised a major revamp of the ferry terminal, and a proposal to transform the tired wharves into a futuristic, glass-panelled dining and shopping mecca is due to kick off next year.

More immediately, work is already underway on Opera Residences, an uber-swanky retail and residential development on the site of the old Coca Cola Amatil building on the eastern side of the Quay. It made headlines after one of its penthouses broke records when it sold off the plan for $27 million. Drawable has been busy drafting the electrical design for the development’s major electrical contractor – yep, prestigious much – and is set to deliver the electrical shop drawings, then the as built drawings at the business end of construction.

Also smartening up the neighbourhood is the $3 billion mixed-use Quay Quarter, slated for completion in 2020; another element of a grand scheme to transform Circular Quay into a sophisticated complex of skyscrapers, buzzing laneways and elegant public plazas worthy of its harbourside location.

All this adds up to a shipload of construction and, of course, the drafting to go with it. This is a busy time for everyone in the industry, so do yourself a favour and use an established drafting services crew that knows Sydney and has the skills to handle diverse and complex projects. Drawable can generate everything from Revit 3D models for BIM and clash detection at the design phase, to the as builts (or as constructed drawings) needed at final sign-off.

Our drafting genius is not just limited to electrical work, either. We’re totally on top of AutoCAD drawings and Revit models for data and comms, mechanical, plumbing and security and fire customers, too.

If you’re a contractor gearing up to tackle one of these ambitious developments, get in touch with Drawable for drafting services that’ll help give Circular Quay the wow factor it deserves.