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This is one of a series of
integrated projects aimed
at creating a centre in
Wollongong that ‘supports
an active city life’. At the
historic heart of the city, it
links the railway station with
the ocean, in a gentle sweep
of space that had suffered as
a cluttered and dysfunctional
1980s ‘mall’.
By careful design process the
project amply succeeds in
its aims, providing a flexible
and durable place for people
which stretches 360m
through the city. Painstakingly
considered detail and finishes,
without wilful display, create
strong linear and cross
connections, and a variety
of functional spaces that no
longer interrupt the continuity
of the street.
Simple and elegant paving
distinguishes the place,
enlivened at night by an array
of subtly-changing lights. A
twin avenue of spotted gum
trees provide shade and a
distinctive landmark quality,
whilst the space either side is
articulated by subtle variations
in paving and the swelling of
volume at gathering nodes. A
suite of urban design elements
creates rhythm and order for
all; details of these - like the
cantilevered seats - reveal a
spirit of quirky but appropriate
innovation.
Many of the project’s strategic
design initiatives are not
visible, but their results will
support the future of the
mall: well-resolved systems
to recirculate water, the
deep and specialised soil
pits for trees beneath a
pavement designed for full
vehicular traffic, and the smart
consolidation of services for
future maintenance.
The Mall renewal
demonstrates how absence
and restraint give more, and
how the removal of existing
elements can facilitate new
urban functions alongside
everyday city life.
PROJECT TEAM
Practice Team:
Judith Fritsche
Project Architect
Barbara Schaffer
Design Architect
Helen Lochhead
Luke Wolstencroft
Saneia Norton
Libby Gallagher
Consultant Team:
Northrop
Civil consultant
Haron Robson
Electrical Consultant
Government
Architect’s Office
Landscape
Consultant
Haron Robson
Lighting Consultant
Wilde and Woollard
Cost Consultant
Urban Tree
Management
Arborist,
Horticulturalist
McGregor Westlake
Urban design, Public
art
Alluvium
Water Sensitive
Urban Design
Accessibility
Solutions NSW
Access Consultant
SESL Australia
Soil Science
MEL Consultants
Wind Tunnelling
Kayder
Programming of
decorative lantern
movements
Construction Team:
Lahey Constructions
Builder
Wollongong City
Council
Project Manager
NSW Public Works
Construction
Manager
Established 1979
This award for excellence in the design of
the public domain commemorates the artist
Lloyd Rees. Rees, although not an urban
designer or architect, was well known as
he taught drawing to many architecture
students in Sydney.
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