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Port Coogee – Innovation Wins Awards

Author

Mark Bancroft
Principal

19 Jun 2012

In an encore to last September’s impressive hat-trick at the Western Australian UDIA awards, Port Coogee has again received accolades, this time on a National level, at the 2012 UDIA National Awards for Excellence.

This is an exciting achievement for Taylor Burrell Barnett, representing the culmination of more than a decade in our role as Port Coogee’s Lead Consultant in Town Planning and Urban Design (view the project page here). This article highlights our contribution to the development’s success, including the innovative Port Coogee Marina Village Built Form Codes and how they support the Port Coogee vision of a “unique coastal village”.

Port Coogee's National Success

The only Western Australian development to win a National award, Port Coogee took home top honours in two categories - Best Residential Development and Environmental Excellence - at the UDIA National Awards for Excellence, held in Perth in March.

For Taylor Burrell Barnett, the Awards recognise more than a decade of comprehensive planning and extensive infrastructure works to transform the site. From the outset, the vision for Port Coogee has been well defined - a "unique coastal village". The challenge has been to transform an area of old industrial coastline into a prestigious water-based residential community, with its crowning jewel, the Marina Village. In pursuing this goal, Taylor Burrell Barnett is particularly proud judges praised the estate’s level of town planning detail.

Judges also acknowledged the development’s significance to the future of Perth’s coastal waterfront. Once completed, the Marina Village will become a tourist attraction and a local destination for the people of Coogee. It will be a focal point for community interaction, entertainment and employment - a modern, vibrant, welcoming place to live, visit and work.

A unique coastal village

Thinking Outside the Box

For a project of this scale, history, nature and location, designers and planners were required to think outside the box. Emphasis was placed on creating and sustaining quality of place. The result is a high quality estate that reflects its unique setting on the Australian coast; an iconic coastal destination with a strong image and enviable lifestyle.

Quality of Place

Attention to detail within the streets and public open spaces, is a key feature of the project. Most noticeable, even before the houses emerged, was the lot walling, fencing, stairs, letterboxes, street numbers and the careful placement of footpaths adjacent to the lot boundary giving ample verge space for trees. Parks have not only been well landscaped and contain public art, but they have been positioned to reinforce the borrowed views both within the project and outside - particularly ocean views.

Planning for the Future

Future built form by others, both within the residential subdivision and within the Marina Village centre, must maintain and enhance this quality of place. To this end, key planning and design elements are instilled in Detailed Area Plans (DAPs), which are adopted over every residential lot within Port Coogee. The DAPs are complemented by developer controlled guidelines, which deal with non-planning related design matters.

Marina Village Built Form Codes

Specific to the Marina Village, a set of industry-leading Built Form Codes was developed by Taylor Burrell Barnett in association with Julie Harrold Architect and TRCB Architects in collaboration with the City of Cockburn, to replace the Residential Design Codes.

Taylor Burrell Barnett's Mark Bancroft, a key contributor to the new Codes, says they “guide the development of the Marina Village, ensuring each built form element contributes to a remarkable setting - creating a place with distinctive identity and character, while meeting community objectives and master planning principles.”

The Built Form Codes ensure Marina Village developments fulfil the wider Port Coogee vision of a “unique coastal village”. More specifically, the Codes define a mixed land use strategy, ensuring a hub of activity including residential, retail, commercial, recreational, entertainment, community and specialist Marina activities.

Approval Signifies Success for Built Form Codes

The approval includes retail (including a 3200sqm Supermarket) and food and beverage uses, commercial (office) floorspace and approximately 100 dwellings, comprising one, two and three bedroom apartments. The Built Form Codes have already been adopted by council and approval is now granted for the first stage of the Marina Village - a mixed use development. Day to day shopping facilities, residential apartments and entertainment via cafes, restaurants and a tavern will bring residents into the Village centre.

The development’s scale, its high quality built form and the genuine mix of uses proves the success of the Built Form Codes. Furthermore, extensive and detailed planning and design consultation with the City of Cockburn was enabled via the Built Form Codes Design Review Panel.  This collaborative process was invaluable, subjecting the design to rigorous review and, importantly, providing the opportunity to assess and add value.

An Application for Approval to Commence Development was approved by the South West Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) in November 2011.

Just the Beginning

As the foundation project for the Marina Village, this approved development represents a quality outcome and sets a desirable precedent for further similar development within the village. It will also serve as a reference for other similar development within the City of Cockburn.

Reinforcing this precedent and the Marina Village Built Form Codes are the whole-of-estate Detailed Area Plans and additional developer controlled design guidelines. Together, these ensure future built form not only maintains, but also enhances the sense of place.  A place in which to live, relax, socialise, wine, dine, shop, play, browse and soak up the unique marina atmosphere and the beauty of the West Australian coastal environment, all in an engaging village setting.

TBB's Port Coogee Team

Author

Mark Bancroft
Principal

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