Defining arrival at the M12 and Western Sydney Airport

The Great Emu in the Sky marks a key entry point at the M12, connecting Western Sydney Airport to the broader motorway network. Our client sought a landscape design that complements the Great Emu in the Sky sculpture while shaping the arrival experience for people using this infrastructure. This culturally significant sculpture was co-created by Aboriginal artists Danny Eastwood, Jamie Eastwood, Danielle Mate, Jasmine Seymour, Leanne Watson and Balarinji Studio. The work was conceived by Tim Moriarty, the Balarinji lead artist behind its genesis.

The broader M12 Motorway establishes a new 16‑kilometre east–west link between the M7 Motorway and The Northern Road, improving access, capacity and freight movement across western Sydney. Within this context, the Motorway sits within a large and complex infrastructure environment, requiring coordination across road design, structures, drainage, utilities, environmental constraints and adjacent transport networks.

The challenge extends beyond landscape. The project requires alignment between detailed road and civil design, geotechnical conditions, environmental requirements and construction planning. Site investigations, utilities coordination and environmental approvals all influence how the design develops, creating interdependencies across disciplines that must be carefully managed.

Balancing these conditions introduces several challenges. The design must function within a transport corridor, where constructability, staging and long-term maintenance shape decision-making. The project also requires coordination between multiple stakeholders, including Indigenous cultural groups, utility asset owners, authorities and delivery partners, to resolve interfaces and avoid conflicts across infrastructure systems.

At the same time, the site operates within an airport environment where planting and seeding cannot attract fauna or increase the risk of bird strike, placing clear limits on landscape outcomes. The design must also respond to the Great Emu in the Sky sculpture and surrounding infrastructure, requiring a cohesive outcome that integrates visual identity with technical performance.

This project reflects the challenge of delivering complex transport infrastructure that integrates Country, engineering, environmental and landscape considerations, while supporting how people experience key arrival points in a growing region.

Our team was engaged to undertake detailed design, geotechnical assessment and interpretation and environmental assessment, delivering the detailed design for the M12 Central section. We were also engaged to undertake the structural, lighting and electrical design of the Great Emu in the Sky. We provided construction-phase support for the M12 Western and Central sections.

A coordinated, multidisciplinary approach brought together landscape architecture with road and civil design, pavements, bridges and structures, drainage infrastructure, active transport, urban design and Connecting with Country, lighting and intelligent transport systems. This approach also incorporated construction documentation, quantity survey inputs, value engineering, risk, HSiD and constructability considerations across the project.

Site investigations informed design development, including geotechnical, utilities, pavement and drainage, contamination, heritage, non‑Aboriginal heritage and biodiversity inputs. Ongoing coordination with utility asset owners supported the protection or relocation of services and resolved interfaces across road design, drainage and roadside infrastructure.

Environmental considerations were integrated into the design to reduce impacts on the site, while close collaboration with Transport for NSW, utility authorities and delivery partners supported coordination across interfaces. A full suite of digital engineering services helped manage constraints and identify clashes, improving alignment between disciplines and adjacent projects.

Within this broader scope, a complementary landscape design was prepared to support the Great Emu in the Sky sculpture at the interchange between the M12 and Western Sydney Airport entry road. The design balances constructability with visual intent and responds to functional requirements such as maintenance access and water management. Aviation constraints informed the planting approach, avoiding fauna‑attracting species while using native planting and natural logs to reflect a nest-like setting on which the Great Emu in the Sky sits.

The M12 Motorway improves access, increases road capacity and supports more efficient freight and travel across western Sydney, strengthening connections to Western Sydney Airport and the wider motorway network. The coordinated design approach brings together road, structures, drainage, utilities, landscape and active transport into a single, integrated outcome, reducing complexity and supporting reliable delivery across the corridor. Close multidisciplinary collaboration resolves interfaces between assets, supports alignment with environmental requirements and reduces risks during construction. Digital engineering and integrated design processes improve coordination and visibility of constraints, contributing to a more efficient and connected solution. Within this broader context, the Great Emu In the Sky and its associated landscape works create a clear sense of arrival at Western Sydney Airport, linking infrastructure performance with how the place is experienced.