Location: Edmondson Park, Australia.

Architect: HDR Inc.

Ed Park’s treatise on mixed use goes beyond architecture and city shaping to consider issues such as obesity, social isolation, inclusiveness, inter-generational care, loneliness, mental health, societal cohesion, and diversity. Architecture is used as a mechanism for change, particularly in the context of car-dominated, low-density, dormitory suburbs that have made us fatter, lonelier, more anxious, and less connected as a community. The vision for Edmondson Park Town Centre is to create a place where connections are made between suburbs and the city, urban lifestyle and the natural environment, and most importantly, between people. The town centre includes a mix of over 700 terrace-style houses, 900 apartments, and 35,000 sqm of retail, commercial, and community uses. The cornerstone of the town centre is permeability, connection, social spaces, lifelong learning, health and wellness, and a rich public domain. The town centre is designed to move from mono-use to multi-use, from disconnected to connected, and from driving to walking as an everyday occurrence. The architecture enables and celebrates these principles, creating communal and social places for the community. The town centre pivots on Main Street, creating new urban spaces along its length where communal and social places for the community are formed. The pedestrian spine places the town square at its centre and engages family play, outdoor dining, and community events, becoming the ‘living room’ for the community. Overall, the town centre is designed to create a healthy, connected, and sustainable community. It honours the past while creating a future that becomes the “third place” – the true embodiment of live, work, and play. The town centre is a place where people can come together, form connections, and build a sense of community. It is a place where people can live, work, and play in a way that promotes health, wellness, and social cohesion.

Photo credit: Frasers Property, Australia.