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Brief
Stewart Architecture were invited to take part in a design competition ― to reimagine the current Dickson Tradies site. The brief asked for a master plan that retained the current social club, gym and urban nursery alongside 650 new apartments and public spaces. Our studio won the competition, and we were asked to formally prepare the site master plan and development approval design.
Design
The master plan proposes a precinct with a park at its centre facing Sullivan’s Creek, itself restored into a biodiverse creekfront. The plan includes a public promenade along the creek and steps leading down to the water, providing space to sit and stay a while. This reorientation to face the creek will encourage activity along the Territory Plan’s blue-green corridor ― a pedestrian and cycling route that connects the site to the Australian National University, Lake Burley Griffin via Dickson, Lyneham and Acton.
The central green, named Dickson Green, is framed by a village of new, mixed-use buildings. A mix of dwelling types sit at the upper levels and a mix of commercial and retail at the ground level. These ground-floor tenancies define and activate the edges of the central green and line a series of connective laneways and pedestrian streets into the site. The fine-grain public realm is walkable, diverse and designed to a human scale. The plan pedestrianises the precinct as much as possible, moving carparks below ground and mapping direct and walkable routes and views to The Green and the Creek.
Mindful of the need for visually diverse architecture on site, the design of each building has been tasked to a different team within the studio. This ensures a different but complimentary aesthetic and unified sustainability strategies across the precinct.
The master plan proposes a mix of commercial tenancies that complement the current 259 tenants found in the broader Dickson village, augmenting the amenities and experiences available to Dickson visitors.
Impact
The master plan has been heavily informed by Connecting with Country workshops led by Ngunnawal Elder, Aunty Violet Sheridan. The naturalisation of and connection to Sullivan’s Creek has the potential to act as a new standard for developments to restore habitat values in blue-green corridors and create and support living infrastructure in urban settings.
The master plan’s sustainability ambitions, created in collaboration with Finding Infinity, propose water neutrality, zero waste to landfill, a potential anaerobic digestor that allows the site to manage more waste than it produces, a zero-waste retail strategy, 100% renewable energy, buildings designed according to passive design principles and zero carbon construction.
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