OCULUS was involved both in the master-planning (with Civitas Urban Design and Planning) and the design of the public realm for Rouse Hill Town Centre, which forms a new model for the planning and design of a suburban or regional retail centre in Australia and internationally. The vision was to create not just another shopping centre, but a town centre, with all the complexities that involves.
This unique project involved creating a whole new town centre from scratch, something that has rarely, if ever, been attempted in this country. Furthermore, the brief from GPT stressed the need to ensure that all aspects of the design of Rouse Hill Town Centre were firmly embedded in the site’s physical, cultural and historical context. This involved trying to define exactly what “place-making” means, identifying the “layers” that would contribute towards creating a rich urban environment, and expressing those layers in a design which was to be implemented in a single point in time.
OCULUS formed an integral part of this “place-making” process, working in a highly collaborative way with the members of GPT, the architectural team and other specialist consultants. Our involvement in the original master-planning of Rouse Hill Town Centre and as landscape architects for the wider The New Rouse Hill put us in a unique position to maintain an overview throughout the process and to reinforce the connections between the two.
With the creation of comfortable external environments essential for this type of development, sophisticated climate control measures were required to moderate extremes of weather and move away from the “controlled climate within a box” typical of most shopping centres. OCULUS worked closely with the environmental consultants and architectural team to interpret the results of the detailed climatic modelling into a physical design that also married with the other multitudinous requirements of the brief.
ESD and environmental initiatives underpinned the whole development of Rouse Hill Town Centre. A series of specific ESD targets were developed in areas such as biodiversity, energy, water, materials and waste. These were closely monitored throughout the design, documentation and construction process to ensure that the project was delivered in accordance with the specified targets. OCULUS was closely involved in a number of these initiatives including:
- the use of endemic species in the landscape
- ‘green roofs’ on civic buildings
- careful selection of materials to ensure the optimum balance of criteria between recycled content, renewable resource, recyclability, waste created during production, longevity and durability etc
- specifying all timber from sustainable forests
- maximising solar access to public open spaces
- a water sensitive urban design strategy
- provision of rainwater and surface water capture and storage
- creating artificial wetlands for polishing stormwater run-off
- using treatment train approach to nutrient management
- inclusion of low water use, native plant species
- use of rainwater / recycled water for all irrigation and the use of water-efficient irrigation systems
- preserving site topsoil for use elsewhere on site
- providing a worm farm to compost organic waste and as an education tool
- providing waste and recycling bins throughout the town centre
- providing bicycle storage facilities throughout the town centre
Many of these are featured in the “Healthy Town Walk”, a self-guided ‘eco’ footprint tour of the town centre, which serves to explain these initiatives and reinforce the ESD message.
On a more detailed level, OCULUS carefully analysed each space in terms of location, microclimate, use etc in order to develop the design brief for that particular space (with GPT) and to ensure a range of spaces that catered for the varied needs of the community at different times of the day and year.
For example, Town Square had to create a civic space befitting its location at the intersection of the two main through-streets in the heart of the town centre and surrounded by the public library and residential apartment buildings. At the same time, the space also needed to function in terms of meeting place, circulation space, children’s play, public and licensed seating, events space and symbolic focus of the whole of Rouse Hill Town Centre to name but a few. The design aimed to create a unified space by paving out to the building line with the same bluestone material and downplaying the vehicle carriageways that passed through it. The space itself was kept simple, avoiding clutter, with just a few landscape elements within (water feature, custom seats, raised platforms planting beds and shade trees).
By contrast, the ‘Backyard’ formed a completely different type of space, one that was much more contained and focused on a particular user group (ie. young children and their parents). OCULUS’ design has created a unique play environment which uses the idea of abacus elements at an exaggerated scale set within an undulating soft-fall ground plane to create an imaginary landscape. The highly interactive design maximises play opportunities within a small space and provides a stimulating environment for young children by exercising them in terms of sight, sound, and movement. The ‘Backyard’ builds on OCULUS’ significant experience in the custom design of play areas, further developing the principle that play should work on a variety of levels including unstructured and cognitive.
Clarity and legibility of expression of design concept.
OCULUS’ involvement in the original master-planning of Rouse Hill Town Centre helped to ensure that the key urban design principles were retained and developed. In particular, our focus on increasing the connectivity and permeability of the town centre and improving links to the wider regional centre aimed to embed the former within the latter.
OCULUS then worked closely with the architectural team in developing the masterplan to create a richer, more sequential experience as part of the overall ‘place-making’ exercise. The basic structure of two main through-streets creating four quadrants all linked by the pedestrian loop was maintained and further developed by varying the alignments and cross section of the laneways to create a richer spatial experience. This helped to ensure that the basic design objective of creating a legible, well-connected public realm with variety of spaces was achieved.
The design of the individual spaces within Rouse Hill Town Centre were developed by OCULUS to respond to the brief, experience, mode and program which had been established for that particular space as an outcome of the ‘place-making’ workshops. OCULUS’ key role in the ‘place-making’ process helped to identify and then give physical expression to the layers that would contribute towards the creation of a rich urban environment.
Another key design concept was that the design of the external spaces should be driven and, indeed, characterised by their climatic variations. OCULUS collaborated closely with the architectural team and environmental consultants in the use of a range of architectural and landscape devices to provide a wide variety and types of cover/shade/shelter for these external spaces. This helps to mitigate the extremes of weather and makes the environment of Rouse Hill Town Centre pleasant all year-round.
The detailed design and materiality of landscape elements further reflected the design concept for the town centre. The use of a consistent palette of paving materials, plain concrete for the perimeter footpaths, honed coloured concrete for the footways of the main streets, and bluestone for the Quad Loop and internal spaces, with highlights or inserts in key locations, reflects the overall structure and circulation hierarchy. Similarly, a hierarchy was developed for the external furniture, with more utilitarian items such as bollards and bins kept simple in stainless steel, separate families of custom-designed seats developed for the streets, Quad Loop and Town Square with strong use of timber, and bolder, more colourful designs in such spaces as the Backyard (in this case using mosaic tiles).
Appropriateness to function.
The Rouse Hill Town Centre development is predominantly retail use, however, the objective was always to create a town centre rather than just a shopping centre. The challenge for the design team was to provide for not only retail, commercial and residential uses, but also to cater for the public (residents & visitors) and their diverse needs over time. OCULUS worked closely with GPT and architectural team to analyse the town centre and its component parts in terms of location, microclimate, use etc in order to develop the desired vision, experience, mode and program for individual spaces, related to the whole. This then formed the basis of OCULUS’ design brief for these spaces, with concepts tested against the brief throughout the design process.
Most of the spaces needed to cater for a wide variety of uses, for example Town Square which acts as a meeting place and symbolic focus, circulation space, children’s playground, public and licensed seating area, events space etc. These uses might change at different times of the day and year, and spaces had to be flexible in being able to accommodate changing program and organised events of various types. Conversely, a few spaces, such as the Backyard, had quite a specific program and well-defined user group, but these still had to be designed as part of the wider public realm. OCULUS’ design for the public realm aimed to respond to these challenges.
Part of the nature of Rouse Hill Town Centre, being predominantly retail, meant that there were a large number of competing demands for space within the public realm, particularly within the Quad Loop where activity was at its most concentrated and space limited. Thus, in addition to elements such as furniture, these areas also had to accommodate retail kiosks, signage and advertising. OCULUS prepared a set of detailed plans for each quadrant which showed all of these elements to enable their precise locations to be reviewed and adjusted. These were then set out on site for final testing before being installed.
With the external spaces at Rouse Hill Town Centre forming such a critical part of the overall experience, and given the site’s location in Sydney’s north-west, the need to shield the public from the extremes of weather was paramount. OCULUS, in conjunction with the architectural team and environmental consultants, closely reviewed the results of the climatic modelling and then developed a range of devices to provide an appropriate microclimate for these external spaces throughout the year. For example, the careful selection and placement of street trees was seen as an important means of providing shade and shelter to the footways along the main streets, in addition to their other environmental and aesthetic benefits.
OCULUS’ landscape design also sought to reflect and make evident the numerous ESD initiatives adopted throughout Rouse Hill Town Centre. For example, the Belvedere located at the east end of Main Street functions as a rain garden, storing and treating stormwater collected from the internal roads, before discharging it into the main detention and treatment pond. This area was designed to be publicly accessible with boardwalks crossing over and seating located to overlook the rain garden, and the pond and Caddies Creek beyond.
The detailed design and materiality of landscape elements were strongly related to function. OCULUS established hierarchies for paving, furniture and planting design which broadly reflected the type and use of various parts of the public realm. Thus the palette of paving materials went from plain concrete for the perimeter footpaths, to honed coloured concrete for the footways of the main streets, to bluestone for the Quad Loop and internal spaces, to bluestone with feature highlights or inserts in key spaces such as Town Square and the major’s forecourts. Similarly, separate families of custom-designed seats were designed for the streets, Quad Loop and Town Square, becoming progressively more complex and rich. One-off designs with bolder colours and forms were used in special spaces such as the Backyard (the mosaic tile planters) and the ‘learning’ laneway in Quad C (custom made wave-like seats).
Response to brief.
At its broadest level, the brief from GPT and stakeholders called for the creation of a new town centre and one that was firmly embedded in its ‘place’ and environmental / cultural context. This required the design team to engage in considerable discussion and debate as to what constituted ‘place’ at Rouse Hill and what was required to design a new town centre from scratch. A series of layers were identified which, when combined, would create an environment with the richness and complexity required. OCULUS, in conjunction with the architectural team, defined a vision for each part of the town centre and then set about analysing each space in terms of its location, mode, use and relationship to the whole. In turn, this helped with the development of a design brief for each space which OCULUS could work to and test solutions against during the design process.
One of the most important challenges facing the design team was how to relate the creation of a new town centre to its context, particularly when much of that immediate context was yet to be developed. OCULUS’ role as landscape architects for both Rouse Hill Town Centre and Regional Centre was critical in ensuring that the design of the town centre always looked beyond the site boundary to its regional context, and issues such as connectivity and permeability were integral to the design.
With the adoption of this unique model of new centre where the external environment was fully exploited and celebrated, climate control of the external spaces formed an essential part of the brief. OCULUS worked closely with the architectural team and environmental consultants to design spaces that would be comfortable for the public year-round. This required the adoption a wide variety of devices both architectural (awnings, canopies, louvres, screens) and landscape (tree planting, vines, shade structures) working in tandem.
As discussed in section 1 a) above, the development of Rouse Hill Town Centre was underpinned by a diverse range of ESD and environmental initiatives. The design was required to meet the series of specific ESD targets that had been defined in such areas as biodiversity, energy, water, materials and waste. OCULUS ensured that sustainability was an inherent part of the design and that the ESD targets were met. This involved working across a wide range of issues, areas and scales, for example species selection and materials selection, topsoil reuse and waste management, and WSUD.
As discussed in section 1 c) above, the detailed landscape design was strongly related to the brief for each individual space and the town centre as a whole. The design of the paving, furniture, structures and planting by OCULUS were all a reflection of functional, environmental and aesthetic requirements. The public realm also had to accommodate a number of other elements including casual leasing, licensed outdoor seating, signage, advertising, interpretation and public art. OCULUS played the key role in coordinating all these competing demands for space whilst trying to maintain a coherent and legible whole.
Finally, in spite of the scale of the project and its complexity, understandably it still had to be delivered within defined programme and financial constraints. Tight control during the design, documentation and construction stages was required by OCULUS to ensure that, as one of the final components of the project to be implemented, the landscape works were delivered on time and within budget for both the Stage 1 and Stage 2 openings.
Sensitivity to social, cultural, historical, physical and natural context.
The requirement to be sensitive to its social, cultural, historical, physical and natural context formed the basis of the design brief for Rouse Hill Town Centre developed by GPT and key stakeholders.
All of these aspects were taken account of as part of the ‘place-making’ process in which OCULUS played a key role. They helped to define the ‘layers’ that the design team identified as being important in helping to create a new town centre and imbue it with a richness of experience.
In particular, OCULUS’ design of the public realm and landscape for Rouse Hill Town Centre took account of its social, cultural, historical, physical and natural context by:
- Providing visual and physical links to the surrounding landscape, particularly to the key natural feature of Caddies Creek, the important cultural and historical Mungerie House precinct, and to future landscape elements within the wider regional centre such as streets and parks;
- Ensuring that connectivity and permeability formed an integral part of the design;
- Creating a legible and well-connected public realm with a wide variety of spaces;
- Taking account of the ‘place-making layers’ identified as being important in the design of the various spaces within the public realm;
- Ensuring that environmental initiatives relevant to our work were incorporated into the design and that relevant ESD targets were met;
- Making environmental initiatives explicit in the design (eg. the Belvedere) and interpreting them for the public (eg. the Healthy Town Walk);
- Helping to develop broad conceptual themes for each quadrant based upon the site’s social, cultural, historical, physical and natural context as a starting point for the design;
- Incorporating interpretation and public art into the design of the public realm.
Quality of implementation of built work.
OCULUS worked closely with The GPT Group and Bovis Lend Lease to ensure the quality of implementation of the built landscape work. This included:
- Detailed design/documentation reviews including an emphasis on “Fit for Purpose” (FFP);
- Thorough review of technical information and precedent examples for the use of materials;
- On-site testing of materials (eg. slip resistance, sealing and cleaning of paving);
- Inspection of samples of all materials and inspection of items under fabrication (eg. furniture, play equipment);
- Site meetings with construction managers, foremen and subcontractors to discuss quality issues prior to and during construction;
- Regular quality control inspections during construction;
- Preparation of site inspection reports and monthly QA reports;
- Review of the quality of recently completed work as part of the Design Directorate walks with GPT;
- Completion inspections and preparation of defects lists;
- Issuing of design compliance certificates;
- Cooperation with independent external audits (eg. of the Backyard play area by Kidsafe NSW);
- Preparation of maintenance guidelines and specifications; and
- Regular quality control inspections during the maintenance / defects liability period.
Addressing the Australian Landscape Principles:
Which of the Principles have been addressed and how?
Each of the Australian landscape Principles has been addressed in the design of Rouse Hill Town Centre as described below.
VALUE OUR LANDSCAPE: Projects should demonstrate innovative approaches to broader-scale landscape planning and pre-design strategies (e.g. landscape assessment & site selection strategies, collaborative/cross-sector planning initiatives, community participation/consultation, research programs etc.)
The whole Rouse Hill Town Centre project was a collaborative/cross-sector planning initiative delivered by a joint venture between Lend Lease and GPT (The New Rouse Hill) in partnership with the Department of Planning and Landcom.
The design of Rouse Hill Town Centre, within its context as part of the wider New Rouse Hill, respects the existing landscape and promotes biodiversity and supports local ecosystems.
The wider masterplan for The New Rouse Hill protected and rehabilitated the major creekline and its tributaries which runs through the site. Caddies Creek, located just to the north-east, and Trib 3, located immediately to the south of the town centre, are being restored as a riparian corridors in accordance with the requirements of the former DNR and the vegetation management plan.
In addition, a number of new linear open space corridors have/are being created eg. Trib 4 and The Paddock to form green infrastructure links between the Town Centre and residential areas and the creekline. Water sensitive urban design practices have been adopted throughout The New Rouse Hill, including the town centre as described below, as part of site-wide WSUD strategy.
The perimeter ‘sleeve’ sites, although temporary, have been planted as an interim measure using predominantly native or endemic species in order to create habitat.
PROTECT › ENHANCE › REGENERATE: Projects should demonstrate innovative landscape design and management processes, aimed at measurable, sustainable outcomes (e.g. creative project implementation & design development initiatives – innovative design, construction and evaluation techniques, procurement & delivery methods, cross-sector partnership arrangements, education & research etc.)
The design for Rouse Hill Town Centre demonstrates innovative landscape design and management processes, with measurable, sustainable outcomes. As discussed in section 1 a) above, the development of Rouse Hill Town Centre was underpinned by a diverse range of ESD and environmental initiatives. The design was required to meet the series of specific ESD targets that had been defined in such areas as biodiversity, energy, water, materials and waste. As a result, Rouse Hill Town Centre is forecast to have a 25% reduction in its ecological footprint compared to a standard regional NSW shopping centre of the same size.
OCULUS ensured that sustainability was an inherent part of the design and that relevant ESD targets were met. This involved working across a wide range of issues, areas and scales, including:
- the use of endemic species in the landscape
- ‘green roofs’ on civic buildings
- careful selection of materials to ensure the optimum balance of criteria between recycled content, renewable resource, recyclability, waste created during production, longevity and durability etc
- specifying all timber from sustainable forests
- maximising solar access to public open spaces
- a water sensitive urban design strategy
- provision of rainwater and surface water capture and storage
- creating artificial wetlands for polishing stormwater run-off
- using treatment train approach to nutrient management
- inclusion of low water use, native plant species
- use of rainwater / recycled water for all irrigation and the use of water-efficient irrigation systems
- preserving site topsoil for use elsewhere on site
- providing a worm farm to compost organic waste and as an education tool
- providing waste and recycling bins throughout the town centre
- providing bicycle storage facilities throughout the town centre
DESIGN WITH RESPECT - Projects should demonstrate innovative approaches to current socio-cultural, environmental and economic aspects of landscape (e.g. emerging economic, social, political & demographic trends, resource supply & distribution issues, biodiversity loss, impacts of climate change etc.)
The design of Rouse Hill Town Centre demonstrates innovative approaches to current socio-cultural, environmental and economic aspects of landscape. As described above, sustainability was an inherent part of the design and in particular:
- the masterplanning of the wider New Rouse Hill site provides a highly connected network and hierarchy of open space, creating a variety of public domain spaces across the site which cater for a wide variety of social/cultural groups
- a WSUD strategy was adopted for the whole site including using treatment train approach to nutrient management and creating artificial wetlands for polishing stormwater run-off
- provision was made for rainwater and surface water capture, storage and re-use
- materials were carefully selected to ensure the optimum balance of criteria between recycled content, renewable resource, recyclability, waste created during production, longevity and durability etc
- all timber was specified from sustainable forests
- public open spaces were located and designed to maximise solar access
- low water use, native plant species and endemic species were used in the landscape
- a new ‘green roof’ was created opposite the Library
- rainwater / recycled water was used for all irrigation and water-efficient irrigation systems were used throughout
- site topsoil was preserved for use elsewhere on site
- waste and recycling bins were provided throughout the town centre
- bicycle storage facilities were provided throughout the town centre
- an extensive network of pedestrian and bike paths were created liking to adjacent open space and residential areas
DESIGN FOR THE FUTURE – Projects should demonstrate creative approaches to building resilience in terms of enhancing socio-cultural, environmental and economic outcomes for future generations. (e.g. planning & resource distribution strategies, governance issues, community capacity building, education and research etc.)
Rouse Hill Town Centre demonstrates a number of creative approaches to building the project’s resilience in terms of enhancing socio-cultural, environmental and economic outcomes for future generations, including:
- the location of the Town Centre on a major public transport link with a transport interchange located on the west side of the Town Centre (currently dedicated busway with possible future heavy rail)
- the retention of key existing natural features and drainage corridors as part of the masterplan
- the creation of a variety and hierarchy of public open space within the Town Centre and the wider New Rouse Hill
- ensuring that the Town Centre is highly connected to the adjacent existing and future residential neighbourhoods by a highly connected, comfortable and legible network of pedestrian and cycle paths
- providing important community facilities for the local community within the Town Centre eg. transport interchange, library, child care, town square all easily accessible from the new residential neighbourhoods and surrounding communities
- the safeguarding of the perimeter ‘sleeve’ sites for future development with flexibility in use and staging to suit the social and economic climate at the time
- establishment of a regular Farmers Market for the local community at Market Square on the west side of the Town Centre in collaboration with Hawkesbury Harvest
EMBRACE RESPONSIVE DESIGN – Projects should demonstrate innovative, adaptable and responsive design processes, incorporate evaluative frameworks, and enhance potential to adjust to socio-cultural, environmental and economic change (e.g. integrated evaluation strategies; survey, monitoring & research programs, education/training & innovation initiatives).
Rouse Hill Town Centre demonstrates a number of innovative, adaptable and responsive design processes, incorporating evaluative frameworks, with the potential to adjust to socio-cultural, environmental and economic change.
In particular, OCULUS is involved in an ongoing basis with GPT who manage the Town Centre, to review the ongoing maintenance and management of the public domain and landscape. OCULUS prepared a thorough landscape maintenance manual for the Town Centre which is used by GPT Centre Management and their contractors as a guide in the ongoing maintenance. Regular site inspections review the performance of the spaces and landscape elements, particularly the planting, and assess changing demands. OCULUS are then closely involved with any design changes that are required as a result of this performance monitoring.
Our role with the planning and design of the wider New Rouse Hill including the streetscapes and parks within the adjacent residential precincts and the rehabilitation of Caddies Creek continues, ensuring a strong continuity of approach and design across the whole site.
How does the project promote environmental best practice through the landscape principles?
The Rouse Hill Town Centre project, within its context as part of the wider New Rouse Hill, promotes environmental best practice through its adoption and response to the landscape principles as described above. In particular, the ESD principles and targets developed specifically for the project across such areas as energy and water use, waste management and recycling, and use of indigenous species, heavily influenced the design and ensured a fully integrated solution for the entire built environment. These ESD initiatives have been described in section 1 a) but key to promoting environmental best practice are:
- The approach to site planning of the whole New Rouse Hill and the protection and enhancement of important natural systems and biodiversity
- The masterplan of the wider New Rouse Hill and in particular the creation of a rich, varied and highly connected public domain, linking the Town Centre with the surrounding residential neighbourhoods
- The development and achievement of the ESD targets for the project
- The development and application of a site-wide WSUD strategy
- The thorough and rigorous process adopted in the selection of all materials
- Interpretation of key sustainability initiatives as part of the overall interpretation strategy for the New Rouse Hill (including the Town Centre)
- The ongoing commitment to the maintenance and management of the landscape within the Town Centre by GPT with advice from OCULUS
Looking at the key areas of WSUD, biodiversity, materials, micro-climate, waste and energy in detail:
(i) WSUD
Water sensitive urban design practices have been adopted throughout The New Rouse Hill, including the town centre.
An off-line stormwater treatment system has been developed for The New Rouse Hill consisting of primary (eg. sediment traps), secondary (eg. bio-swales) and tertiary (eg. constructed off-line wetlands) treatment devices. One of the main storage and treatment ponds is located immediately adjacent to the town centre, and two major constructed tributaries lie to the north and south. The Belvedere rain garden, located at the east end of Main Street, stores and polishes stormwater from the internal roads of the town centre, before discharging into the pond. Individual tree pits located within parking lanes have been designed to accept surface run-off from the roads to achieve a reduction in piped stormwater reliance.
Rouse Hill Town Centre’s 150,000 litre water tank collects up to 20% of the centre’s needs to service amenities, cooling towers, washing facilities and our irrigation system. As a result of this and other initiatives, Rouse Hill Town Centre will use 60% less water than a standard regional NSW shopping centre of the same size. The centre as a whole is connected to the Rouse Hill recycled water scheme and therefore uses recycled rather than potable water.
The large areas of temporary landscape around the perimeter of the town centre are planted with predominantly native, low water use plant species. A temporary irrigation system, operated only as and when required, has been provided for these areas to minimise wastage of water.
(ii) Biodiversity
The design of Rouse Hill Town Centre, within its context as part of the wider The New Rouse Hill, promotes biodiversity and supports local ecosystems. Biodiversity formed one of the major categories of ESD targets for the project.
Caddies Creek, which runs through the regional centre and is located just to the north-east of the town centre, is being restored as a riparian corridor in accordance with the requirements of the former DNR and the vegetation management plan. An existing tributary located just to the south of the town centre has been realigned and reconstructed, and another major new swale created just to the north. Together, these create significant riparian corridors connected to the existing Caddies Creek.
The perimeter ‘sleeve’ sites, although temporary, use predominantly native or endemic species. In addition, best practice has been followed in site management during construction, including the stockpiling and re-use of existing soils and the protection of remnant vegetation and waterways.
(iii) Landscape Materials
Materials formed one of the major categories of ESD targets for the project. Materials were selected on the basis of the optimum balance between selected criteria including recycled content, renewable / non-renewable resource, scarcity of resource, ability to be recycled, embodied energy, waste created during production and durability. All timber was sourced from sustainable forests, non-structural concrete had up to 50% and subbase materials up to 100% recycled content.
Existing site topsoil was reused for the landscape works, ameliorated with composted greenwaste.
(iv) Microclimate
Climate control of the external spaces formed an essential part of the design brief for Rouse Hill Town Centre. The aim was to design spaces that would be comfortable for the public year-round. OCULUS worked closely with the architectural team and environmental consultants to mitigate the extremes of climate using a wide variety of architectural and landscape devices. All large common areas are naturally ventilated and microclimate is controlled using predominantly passive means such as solar access, shading, wind / rain shelter. The extensive street tree planting along both internal and perimeter roads will provide genuine long-term microclimatic benefits for the town centre.
(v) Waste Recycling
Specific parameters were established for waste reduction as part of the ESD targets for Rouse Hill Town Centre. Waste avoidance was encouraged through the careful selection of materials and the minimisation of site cutting and fabrication. Separate litter and recycling bins were provided throughout the town centre. A worm farm was included in the design of one of the external spaces by OCULLUS to compost organic waste and as an education tool.
(vi) Energy use
Rouse Hill Town Centre is connected to the regional cycleway being developed by Baulkham Hills Shire Council which will run along Caddies Creek. Numerous local on and off-road cycleways are being provided within the wider New Rouse Hill all linked to the town centre. Bicycle parking facilities (including both racks and lockers) have been provided at the transit centre and within the town centre itself.
The incorporation of extensive external spaces into the design with careful control of microclimate using predominantly passive means such as solar access, shading, wind / rain shelter, is a significant move away from the standard air-conditioned mall environment. As a result, Rouse Hill Town Centre will use a forecast 40% less energy compared to a standard regional NSW shopping centre. All large common areas are naturally ventilated and all public area lighting is energy efficient.
How does the project exhibit effective and programmed applied research?
Research formed a key part of the design process for Rouse Hill Town Centre and heavily influenced the design outcome across a number of areas including:
- The application and integration of WSUD devices within a town centre environment, including a review of relevant case studies
- The contribution that place-making can make to the establishment of successful urban environments, including a study tour to North America
- A review of how different public spaces within the Town Centre would be used at different times of the day and year by different user groups, including a survey of potential users
- The opportunities for interpretation within the Town Centre as part of the site-wide interpretation strategy
- The specific needs for children’s play across the Town Centre, including a review of relevant case studies
- The development of a specification for sustainable sourcing of timber
Relevance to the profession of landscape architecture, the public, and the education of future practitioners:
Expands the scope of the profession in formative, forward-looking and thought-provoking ways.
Rouse Hill Town Centre serves, in many ways, as a model for the contribution that the profession of landscape architecture can make on a major project. OCULUS’ role in feeding in to the original master-planning (by Civitas Urban Design and Planning) and subsequently in the design, documentation and implementation of the public realm and landscape associated with Rouse Hill Town Centre has ensured that landscape and environmental issues have remained at the heart of the project.
Our continuing involvement in the wider New Rouse Hill as well as Rouse Hill Town Centre has meant that relating to the site’s context has remained as a key design principle. OCULUS’ ability to work on a variety of scales and levels as a key member of the design team has resulted in a design that is sensitive to its social, cultural, historical, physical and natural context.
OCULUS played a key role in the ‘place-making’ process undertaken in the design of the external spaces. In our experience, this was a unique process involving the owner / manager (GPT Group), builder (Bovis Lend Lease), architectural team (AJC, Group GSA & Rice-Daubney) and other specialist consultants as needed. A series of “place-making” workshops were held, providing a forum for establishing all the various layers that contributed towards making “a place”, discussing design principles, strategies and priorities, and developing, reviewing and testing designs. These workshops were supplemented by study tours, case studies, best practice research, computer-generated walk-throughs, and by a regular series of “design directorate” site walks during construction to review the spatial experience on the ground.
With ESD engrained in the brief for Rouse Hill Town Centre, OCULUS, as landscape architects for the project, felt a particular responsibility to deliver the relevant initiatives and meet the relevant targets. This had to be achieved within the context of a broader design concept that needed to accommodate a wide range of other demands. Such challenges are likely to become more commonplace for the profession in the near future with environmental issues being at the forefront of public concerns.
Demonstrates the fusion of practice and theory.
Rouse Hill Town Centre forms a new model for the planning and design of a suburban or regional retail centres in Australia. The fundamental design philosophy was based upon the premise that it is first and foremost “a town” rather than “a mall”. As such the focus was very much on ensuring that the design sat comfortably within its social, cultural, historical, physical and natural context, and particularly on the design of the external spaces.
The original master plan (developed by Civitas Urban Design and Planning with OCULUS) established the basic structure of Rouse Hill Town Centre:
- major circulation and access points for both public and private vehicles kept to the perimeter;
- two main streets intersecting in the centre at ‘Town Square’ and dividing the development into four quadrants each anchored by a major retailer;
- a continuous circuit of pedestrian laneways (the ‘Pedestrian Loop’), running through the heart of each quadrant and connecting back to the main streets;
- a variety of public spaces located on or just off the Pedestrian Loop or main streets.
The master plan also strongly established the principles of connectivity and permeability to try and ensure that the town centre was firmly embedded into the structure of the regional centre.
As described in section 3 a) above, a unique approach to ‘place-making’ was adopted for the design of Rouse Hill Town Centre. This involved a highly collaborative and interactive process between GPT and the design team, whereby for each particular space, the qualities of similar successful spaces were analysed, the “layers” that would contribute towards creating a rich urban environment were identified, and designs were then developed, reviewed and tested. OCULUS played a key role throughout in this process.
Climate control of the external spaces formed an integral part of the design for Rouse Hill Town Centre. Detailed climatic modelling was used to inform a range of sophisticated environmental systems, particularly in terms of providing a wide variety and types of cover and shelter for the external spaces. OCULUS worked closely with the architectural team and environmental consultant to help mitigate the extremes of weather and make the public realm pleasant all year-round.
As discussed in section 1 a) above, the development of Rouse Hill Town Centre was underpinned by a diverse range of environmental initiatives. The design was required to meet a series of specific ESD targets that had been defined for such areas as biodiversity, energy, water, materials and waste. This involved OCULUS working across a wide range of issues, areas and scales, for example species selection and materials selection, topsoil reuse and waste management, and WSUD.
For multi-discipline/collaborative projects: The role and influence of the landscape architect.
The role and influence of the landscape architect on the Rouse Hill Town Centre project has been discussed in sections 3 a) and b) above. To summarise, OCULUS played a key role in:
- master-planning (with Civitas Urban Design and Planning);
- ensuring that contextual issues were considered at all stages of the project (in conjunction with our role as landscape architects for The New Rouse Hill);
- the ‘place-making’ process;
- contributing to the design of a range of environmental measures to help mitigate the extremes of weather and make the public realm pleasant all year-round; and
- ensuring that sustainability was an inherent part of the design and that relevant ESD targets were met in a landscape context.
OCULUS also took the lead in the following:
- the design of the public realm, including all external spaces (eg. Town Square, the Backyard, Market Square, the Secret Garden, the Belvedere, outdoor food terrace), laneways, and streets;
- the landscape design for the perimeter roads, transit centre landscape, at-grade car parks and temporary landscape areas;
- the detailed design, documentation and supervision of all external paving, landscape walls, furniture, water features, structures and planting.
introduction / overview / images / location / Projects
2010
