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 Award
for Design Excellence in Landscape Architecture
NICHOLSON STREET MALL UPGRADE
Landscape Architects: Hassell and
Maribrynong City Council Design and Place Making Team
Construction: JA Dodd and Multipro Civil
The jury was immediately taken by the vivid clarity of
expression and layered consideration of culturally diverse public uses
evident in the Nicholson Street Mall project.
Embedded messages regarding water management and an
enthusiasm for shared engagement with this new space, along with enjoyment
of contemporary materials, forms and colours was apparent throughout the
presentation and in the outcome. The design elements and spatial
organisation were at all times rendered with a provocative yet restrained
hand, resisting the urge to fall back on proprietary products and standard
responses at every turn.
The precast furniture was thoughtfully and beautifully
considered and resolved with clever use of embedded lighting. The
super-graphic of the striking, integrated colour of articulated pavements
and furniture is recognisably drawn from local graffiti, contextualising
the gritty texture of Footscray. It was refreshing to see a specific
approach to lighting for a distinct night-time identity, expressive of a
fantastic stage rather than a suburban shopping Mall.
While brash at one level, the composition also reads as
a confident and comfortable environment, complete yet anticipatory,
expectant of gatherings and interactions, watchings and musings, a space
of listening and observing, of trade and also of swapping ideas big and
small. It is a place of contemporary social complexity, depth and delight.
Images
Photographs: Dianna Snape
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