Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Zaha Hadid Architects (“ZHA”) on its successful joint venture bid with local partner Cox Architects (“Cox”) for the design contract for the terminal precinct and interior of the new AU$5.3bn Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, New South Wales, Australia.
ZHA and Cox have entered into a contract with the Western Sydney Airport Company (“WSA”), the contracting body established to deliver the airport by the Australian federal government. The new airport opens in 2026 and will be the largest international gateway in Australia by 2060. It is expected to support almost 28,000 jobs within five years of opening.
ZHA is a British international architecture and design firm founded by the renowned architect Dame Zaha Hadid. It has notable expertise in large-scale airport design, having designed the newly opened Beijing Daxing airport and is currently designing the new Navi Mumbai airport, on which WFW is also advising the firm. Cox is a leading architecture house based in Sydney.
The WFW London team that advised ZHA was led by Construction Partner Barry Hembling. Partner Christina Howard led the corporate aspects, supported by Senior Associate Hayley Arrow and Trainee Jamie Tiru. Dispute Resolution Senior Associate Alexander Creswick and Associate Emily Sadie also advised.
Barry commented: “We are delighted to have advised ZHA on their successful bid for this important transport infrastructure project. This demonstrates our ability to provide expert legal advice on major, high value construction projects and the firm’s expanding global footprint in this sector”.
WFW has a highly regarded construction practice whose expertise was recently recognised by winning the Construction and Engineering Litigation Team of the Year at the 2020 Legal Week Awards.
