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the active retail experience
seamlessly connects with
adjoining bus interchanges and
the street network, reaching up
to access the towers above, and
activated by the flow of people
and new public areas on every
level. By untangling pathways,
making visual connections and
being suitably finished, the main
spaces do not feel mall-like or
privatised.
This major civic transport and
shopping node, with its mix
of durable finishes and good
daylight, feels urban, dense,
and exciting. It awaits its next
phase, where the city takes
over at its fringes leading to the
invigoration of laneways, and the
settling-in of its residential use.
URBAN DESIGN
COMMENDATION
This complex mixed use project
- a case study of the potential of
Transport Oriented Development
- achieves the restructuring of
a whole city precinct. It forms
a new civic spine that unites
transport, retail and genuine
urban places with the existing
street and open space network.
In combination with the
redevelopment of the railway
station, the project includes a
major retail mall and towers
of residential and commercial
space, which are arranged
to maximise sunlight and
connectivity. Its scope was large
enough to enable the resolution
of the complex levels and
circulation patterns at the heart
of what has become a new major
city, and unite the previously
severed halves of Victoria
Avenue, Chatswood’s historic
main street.
Described by the architects as
a ‘permeable urban catalyst’,
Photography: Brett Boardman
Chatswood Transport Interchange
COX Richardson and DesignInc Joint Venture
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