When architects get to design a city from the ground up, it's one of the rarest opportunities in their profession. It's also a profound responsibility — and the team behind Bradfield City knows it.
In February 2026, SOM and Hassell unveiled the masterplan for Bradfield City — the first new major city to be built in Australia in over a century, the last being Canberra. The 114-hectare development sits in western Sydney, around 50 kilometres from the CBD, adjacent to the Western Sydney International Airport, which is due to open for passengers in late 2026. It has been designed in close collaboration with Indigenous cultural design partners Djinjama and COLA Studio — a partnership that shapes the project at every level, not just aesthetically.
That Indigenous connection is woven into the city's DNA from the ground up. The masterplan draws on the Aboriginal principle of "enoughness" — taking only what is needed, and no more — which guided decisions around scale, material use, and the relationship between built and natural environments. The material palette of terracotta, timber, and low-carbon finishes reflects the colours of the landscape and sky rather than imposing a generic urban identity. Traditional knowledge of the land, its waterways, and its ecological systems informed how the city sits within its surroundings, rather than displacing them.
At the centre of the design is the Green Loop — a 15-metre-wide linear park threading through the entire development, connecting residents to the natural systems of Moore Gully nearby. A timber community pavilion anchors the space as a gathering point that honours the cultural significance of communal life on Country.
The first phase will deliver more than 1,400 homes, including 10% affordable, alongside a university, offices, a hotel, and public spaces. The full development envisions 10,000 homes, backed by more than A$1 billion in public investment.