RESEARCH BACKGROUND: Halpin Way, Settlers Square is part of 15 to 20-year urban regeneration project spanning 7 hectares in central Dandenong, a city 30 kilometres south east of Melbourne. The $290 million project, a partnership between state and local government, is Australia's second biggest urban renewal project (after Melbourne's Docklands). The project is an exemplar of urban renewal for regional Australian cities. Several top design companies collaborated with State Government authorities and community organisations to deliver design excellence. The project is expected to generate $2 billion in private sector investment and Grocon's $80 million government services block (2012) is one example of this.
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: Halpin Way, Settlers Square forms an extended civic link over 3 city blocks to the revitalised town centre of Dandenong. Halpin Way is a fully shared and kerbless street. Considered as a stretched urban room offering a range of spatial experiences, it becomes an important exemplar of pedestrian focus in Australian cities. The project will be delivered over a number of years so an associated challenge has been designing the street and the square to work in their own right without the immediate benefit of buildings with known uses along its edges.
RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The significance of Haplin Way and Settlers Square is demonstrated by it being awarded the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) Victoria 2013 Urban Design Award and by the many reviews it has received, such as: Beau Beza, 'Revitalising Central Dandenong', Landscape Architecture Australia, No. 141, Archimedia, 2014; Philip Hopkins, 'Going Green in Dandenong, The Age, 15 Feb 2012; and Dimity Reed, 'How a city is regaining its heart', The Age Domain 4 Sept 2010.
History
Subtype
Original Design/Architectural Work
Outlet
Australian Institute of Landscape Architects
Place published
Dandenong, Australia
Extent
Urban renewal, new public square and infrastructure project of 7 hectares
Language
English
Medium
Urban renewal, new public square and infrastructure project of 7 hectares in central Dandenong