New Illawarra Township a 'Blueprint' for Australian Urban Design
13 April 2006
A unique project to build a complete community for 5,000 people on the New South Wales South Coast is being hailed as a potential blueprint for sustainable urban design and town planning.
In a forward thinking and impressive demonstration of the concept of 'streetscape', developer Miltonbrook has addressed all aspects of the town's look and feel, as well as its liveability and viability, to produce an outstanding blueprint hailed by industry and government alike.
Internationally acclaimed architect and urban designer Steve Thorne is heading the design team for Tullimbar Village, which will be built on a 150 hectare site 90 minutes south of Sydney near Albion Park.
Mr Thorne, previous Director of Urban Design for the Victorian Government joined the Tullimbar project because he believes it is the most significant urban design project in Australia with the potential to become the model for future urban planning.
Tullimbar Village has been designed around the key elements of social interaction between residents, cultural considerations and environmental sustainability. Its architectural style draws strongly from the much loved colonial architecture of the surrounding South Coast towns such as Kiama and Berry.
Mr Thorne said while homes will have exterior design features that evoke images of the classic colonial architecture of the South Coast, they would be utterly contemporary and practical inside. The houses have been designed to minimise their effect on the environment and ensure their ongoing sustainability, using design, orientation and products such as roofing made from COLORBOND® steel. For instance, roofing made from the grey colours in the COLORBOND® steel range will be installed on the majority of the buildings.
Also, in a major departure from current urban planning, the town is specifically designed to encourage residents to walk to the town centre for their needs, rather than use their cars. Sixty five percent of Tullimbar's residents will live within 500 metres of the town centre, and will be encouraged to walk there by its proximity and through design features to encourage pedestrians.
"Great importance has been placed on the creation of a vibrant town centre which will give Tullimbar a unique identity and strong sense of community," Mr Thorne said. "It will have a traditional main street with wide verandahs, shops and cafes, a town square with bell tower, town hall, church, pub, playing fields and school."
Officially launched in December 2004 by NSW Minister for Regional Development David Campbell, construction of the first dwellings has commenced and the first whole street is expected to be ready in July this year.
The project is the culmination of 10 years of planning by Illawarra based property developer Neville Fredericks, Executive Chairman of the Miltonbrook Group of Companies, who says it will help "re-discover the art of town building".
"This is a unique project," Mr Fredericks said. "Nowhere else in Australia is anyone attempting to create an entire township from scratch, and we are determined to create a town that will demonstrate that there is a viable, attractive and highly liveable alternative to urban sprawl.
"Tullimbar will be a sustainable, walkable community utilising world's best practice in its design and features. We have a wonderful opportunity to create a very special place. We believe Tullimbar will become a model for urban design, not just in Australia but overseas as well.
"There will also be major environmental dividends, from the high level energy efficiency that will be built into every building to the reduction in vehicle dependency from people walking to the town centre for their shopping and other needs. Research in the United States of communities with similar design features to encourage pedestrians suggests that there will be up to 30 percent less vehicle kilometres travelled per household."
The project is expected to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the Illawarra economy over the 10 year construction phase, and provide a major boost to the City of Shellharbour.
Miltonbrook will design and build the entire township, from its town square and public buildings to its 1,500 dwellings ranging from "live work" apartments and terrace house to large residential home sites and a retirement village. The result will be a diverse community with a mix of ages, family types and income levels.
"We are proud to be involved in supplying COLORBOND® steel to Tullimbar Village because of its extensive and impressive scope as a project," said Ken Clark, Business Development Manager at BlueScope Steel. "Genuine consideration of a development's overall 'streetscape', as well as its effect on social and economic realities for homeowners is critical to urban design. This looks set to create a blueprint for other developers and communities to benefit from."
