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 Award for
Research and Communication
Excellence
CENTRAL
DANDENONG GATEWAYS STRATEGY
Landscape Architects:
ASPECT Studios Pty Ltd and Charles Anderson
The temptation when given
a project to design a ‘gateway’ to a city is to create an iconic element
that delimits the boundary of the place in question. The strength of this
project lies in the landscape architect’s and artist’s willingness to look
firstly to develop a tool that will enable informed consideration of
‘gateways’ in their fullest meaning, from the virtual to the tangible.
In their Central Dandenong
Gateways Strategy, Aspect Melbourne and artist Charles Anderson have given
the profession a beautifully presented, well researched primer grounded in
an exploration of the history of gateways past and present. The tool
provides a guide for decision-making about how ‘gateways’ might be
addressed in any place - from the boundary marker, to the transition
between spaces, to the threshold of a single building - and in any form -
from graphic landmark, to emblematic image to transformative avenue.
Having explored, defined
and established priorities for the creation of gateways, the authors then
apply their understanding to the peculiarities of Central Dandenong.
Grounded in the history and character of the place, responsive to the form
of its built environment and informed by an analysis of possible
audiences, the resulting case study is detailed in its consideration, and
again, a beautifully illustrated approach to the opportunities available
in the town. The outcome is the identification of a multiplicity of ‘type’
and ‘place’ based project potential. These then become the basis for
landscape architects, artists, architects and others to create gateways
throughout the city, as well as providing evaluation tools that decision
makers can use in assessing the value of ideas that might be put to them.
Using
precedent images, hand drawings, photo montages, annotated maps and clear
concise text, the Central Dandenong Gateways Strategy is an exemplar of
the kinds of detailed research that should underpin our project work. That
it comes out of the daily work of a commercial practice is particularly
laudable.
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