Gone is the hotel over the water, but Crown's James Packer still harbours inspirational architecture for Barangaroo hotel

The judging panel for the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort will soon go into deliberation, having released the architectural designs submitted after a design competition for the proposed project at Barangaroo South.

Internationally acclaimed architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill, Kohn Pedersen Fox and Wilkinson Eyre Architects submitted their designs to be reviewed by the judging panel.

Vote for your preferred design in Property Observer's poll.

“These designs are truly inspiring, they literally take your breath away,” says Crown Resorts chairman James Packer.

“With these sorts of designs, Crown Sydney will be the most iconic building constructed in this city since the Opera House.

“I want this building to be instantly recognizable around the world and feature on postcards and memorabilia promoting Sydney,” says Packer.

The judging panel is made up of representatives from Crown Resorts, Lend Lease, the Barangaroo Delivery Authority and the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure.

The Crown Sydney Hotel resort will have  350 guestrooms and suites if the casino operator actually secures final operating approvals from the state government and casino authorities.

Entry by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG):

Entry by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF):

Entry by Wilkinson Eyre Architects (WEA):

The three short listed designs for Crown Resorts demonstrated a "new approach to the design of tall towers," according to the Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson.

"The three architects have incredible global track records in designing tall buildings. Clearly each team can deliver a quality final product."

"With my background as the NSW Government Architect for 10 years it is hard to resist giving some preferences even based on early information."

"The proposal by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill (pictured below) is a fraction ahead in my assessment with its dynamic shape and its approach to the ground plane. These architects have designed some of the world’s tallest buildings from the beautiful Jin Mao tower in Shanghai, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai to the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah at 1000 metres and more recently their design for the 119 floor Greenland Centre in Wuhan in China."

"Following close behind is the design by Wilkinson Eyre (pictured below) with a series of interwoven curves that emphasise the vertical form. This firm has designed the elegant Guangzhou International Finance Centre which has a flowing cigar shape to the 103 storey tower with a triangular atrium through the upper levels."

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"Kohn Pedersen Fox have another flowing design (pictured below) with some midrise wings. Their impressive 118 storey International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong demonstrates the quality of their architecture and how an iconic building on the waterfront can add value to the city. "

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"The three designs carry the spirit of the original design for a hotel in the water onto the land. These new designs add the spark that the hotel in the water provided back into the overall design. "

"Clearly there will be more refinement of the designs and a planning approval process that will assess the winning proposal in detail but Sydney looks like is getting a world class sculptural building that demonstrates our confidence as a global city," said Chris Johnson.