New home needed for controversial ‘milk crate’ sculpture after Clover Moore defers project indefinitely to fund Cloud Arch cost blowout

A new home will have to be found for Clover Moore’s controversial $2.5 million “milk crate” sculpture after the City of Sydney Lord Mayor revealed the project had been indefinitely deferred.

The Pavillion, designed by Hany Armanious, was destined for Belmore Park — a location deemed untenable due to a master plan currently under review for the park.

A new home will have to be found for Clover Moore’s controversial $2.5 million “milk crate” sculpture after the City of Sydney Lord Mayor revealed the project had been indefinitely deferred.

The Pavillion, designed by Hany Armanious, was destined for Belmore Park — a location deemed untenable due to a master plan currently under review for the green space.

“It’s been deferred because of all the work that’s happening with the proposal for the development around Central Railway,” the Lord Mayor said.

An artist’s impression of the Pavilion, a huge “milk crate” which was originally slated for Belmore Park.

“It is an artwork that we can look at for another place at another time,” she said.

When pressed on a time frame for the installation of the sculpture Cr Moore said it would be reconsidered “at another time, maybe in another park,” but that she had “no more information” on the location at this stage.

The revelation followed the release of an updated design for the Pavilion’s sister sculpture, Junya Ishigami’s Cloud Arch.

City of Sydney’s updated design for Cloud Arch designed by Japanese artist and architect Junya Ishigami

The new details come with an updated price tag — an increase from the slated cost of $3.5 million to $11.3 million.

Cr Moore fronted the media on Friday morning to defend the project, calling the Cloud Arch “the most significant public artwork in Australia in decades,” one which would create a “heroic and celebratory entrance to George St”.

“We’ve done a lot of work on Cloud Arch since we announced it in 2014 because it’s had its challenges, as we knew it would,” the Lord Mayor said.

The original design for the $3.5 million sculpture

The updated design increases the cost of the project to $11.3 million but reduces the height of the Cloud Arch from 75m to 58m.

Despite the increase in cost, which the Lord Mayor partly attributed to the increased cost of steel and complicated works on George St, the height of the sculpture has been reduced from 75m to 58m.

The design is also much plainer when compared to the original arch.

The proposal will go to council on Tuesday as part of an extraordinary council meeting.