SELECTED WORKS
MA Urban Design, PG Cert. Env. Design, B.Arch
Bianca Lajara
OPPORTUNITIES
THE RIVER CAMPUS
Team: Vivienne Albin, Jerah Fox and Keeley
Samways
Role: Design Team Member
University: The University of Sydney
Type: Academic, urban design
Location: Parramatta, Sydney Australia
Size: 18 ha
Key skills: Heritage, regeneration, mixed-use, health, hospitality, education, transit
Academic advisors: Deena Ridenour
Located on the Parramatta River and just a stone’s throw from Parramatta Park and the CBD, the new River Campus is focused on a central spine that will connect the country’s largest health and medical research precinct with worldclass education facilities.
Its network of communal spaces will foster dynamic shared experiences, while the tranquil landscape setting provides a place for respite, reflection, and healing, welcoming students, workers and the community.
Topographie creates W to E movement
Activity hubs
Public spaces and uses
Interface with private uses
Defined entry points
CONSTRAINTS
New connections into surrounds
New connections within the site
Points of height and density
View corridor
Light rail network
Meeting point on the river
New open spaces
Green network connection
Existing heritage conservation area
River segregating site
Street network
Entry points into site
River crossings Heritage containment walls
Inaccessible river edge
area
Development site
conservation area
Segregated and insular activities
DEFINING TOWERS ON THE WESTERN ENTRANCE
SETBACKS ALONG RIVER CREATE A REVITALISED PUBLIC PLACE
GLASS PAVILLIONS TREAD LIGHTLY
PEDESTRIAN SPINE IS WIDE AND GENEROUS FOR WALKING AND EVENTS
ADAPTIVE REUSE AND SYMPATHETIC ADDITIONS
LANDMARK LIBRARY AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS
SOFT AND HARD LANDSCAPING
PLACES TO EAT AND SIT DAY AND NIGHT
DIVERSITY OF OPEN SPACES
CONNECTED MOVEMENT
LANDMARK BUILDINGS
STAGE 1: KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
Comparison of uses delivered in Stage 1 and Stage 2
STAGE 2: LONG TERM MASTER PLAN
Delivery of program vs spatial brief
THE IN-BETWEEN SCHOOL
Team: Theano Karafoulidou
Role: Design Team Member
University: ENSA Paris-Belleville
Type: Academic, urban
Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia
Size: 20 ha
Key skills: Community engagement, research, sustainability, regeneration, place-making, transport, education, GIS
Academic advisors: Cyril Ros, Pijika Pumketkato, Aline Pottier
The redevelopment of the In-Between School involved a playful exploration of the concept of ‘in-between states’ in a variety of local and global contexts. This was developed in the context of the evictions of locals due to government enforcement of the Angkor UNESCO World Heritage site heritage zone.
Through a process of iteration through sketch, sketch models and community engagement, our final project reimagined Muk Neak Elementary School and Hun Sen Secondary School along a revitalised canal, whereby a mixture of community and community-blended facilities would span across new and re-utilised infrastructure.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA NICOSIA, CYPRUS
MANILA, PHILIPPINES
INITIAL CONCEPTS HIJACKED CONCEPTS
SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
SCHOOL (SITE 5)
CONTEXTUAL CONCEPTS SITE STUDY RE-ENRICHMENT OF CONCEPT INDEX
HUNSENHIGHSCHOOL
ON SITE : REINFORCING A SCHOOL DIVIDED IN TWO
Challenging spatial ‘frontof-house vs back-of-house’ hierarchy of spaces
Faciliate mass movement of up to 9000 students between both schools after and before school and during lunchtime
Enriched identification of needs through engagement with school directors and teachers, locals and academics from EFEO
Renaturalisation of canal in order to mitigate flood risk, expand spatial requirements and create beautiful spaces
Linking with surrounding public realm through canal, including expansion of cycle network
2 Library 6 Promenade
5 Evening Classrooms and Canteen/Restaurant
MARINA VITA
Team: Antonella Branizza, Penelope Silva, Antonio Garaycochea
Role: Design Team Member
Type: Competition, landscape/urban
Location: Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy
Size: 3.5km²
Key skills: Sustainability, conservation, transport design, landscape design, research
Result: Finalist
PEDESTRIAN CONNECTION BETWEEN FOREST AND UNICEF PARK
At the heart of Marina Vita lies a commitment to three fundamental principles: Connection, Protection, and Enjoyment. A primary objective was to safeguard urban and natural landscapes from potential threats. Furthermore, we aimed to cultivate a vibrant, year-round destination that caters to the diverse needs and pleasures of local communities and visitors alike.
This was developed through three key design moves: 1) creating a green corridor that linked the forest to the sea through the UNICEF Park, 2) introducing a new waterfront atop the existing wall to connect the city border and Paseo Barca seamlessly, and 3) enhancing accessibility by connecting Piccanto paths to the main thoroughfare of Ricardo Riva.
PLAYGROUND AND SOCIAL AREAS SAND DUNE AND PICNIC AREA
MOLONGLO VALLEY URBAN PRECINCT
Office: Stuart Mackenzie Design
Role: Design Assistant
Client: Suburban Land Agency
Type: Greenfield town centre
Location: Canberra, Australia
Size: 97 ha
Status: Construction commencing 2026
RIBA Stages: 1-3
Responsibilities: CAD, 3D modelling, urban design, senior stakeholder engagement, people management
Consultants: SMEC, EVO Energy, Coleman Engineering, ACT Government
Role: 3D Model (Impressions by artist)
AN ACCESSIBLE PLACE
STORMWATER DESIGN FEEDS INTO COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES
The Molonglo town centre is a major greenfield project near Canberra, Australia. A transit-oriented project around Canberra‘s tram line extension and development of John Gorton Drive, I worked under the lead urban designer for the project, Stuart Mackenzie.
The Molonglo Valley district has a projected population growth of over 70,000 people by 2050.
Nestled atop the Molonglo Valley, we worked with complex topography and an intimate sense of landscape in the ongoing creation of the proposal.
Role: 3D Model (Impressions by artist)
JOHN GORTON DRIVE STREETSCAPE CONCEPT
CHAINAGE 14750
CHAINAGE 14750
JOHN GORTON DRIVE
GIS MAPPING SAMPLES
University: The University of Sydney
Key skills: ArcGIS, GIS, urban data analysis
Academic advisors: Dr Laurence Troy
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IN NSW, AUSTRALIA
RELATIVE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE IN SYDNEY
The production of data driven maps has been a tool I have used in supporting urban planning and design arguments not only in an academic capacity, but in my current role as a Graduate Transport Planner/Designer, where I have used QGIS developed maps to support proposal bids, planning applications and stakeholder consultations.
SELECT POST-GRADUATE ESSAYS
The University of Sydney
• Accessibility in the Parisian Metro: Station Scale Adaptations at Gare du Nord
• The Aerotropolis and the Glocal Interface
• The implementation of fine grain in a globalised market of cities: evading the spectacle and building resilient Australian cities
• The Role of Heritage Conservation in Sustainable Development
The University of Melbourne
• The Urban Renewal of ‘Arden’ in a Changing Climate
École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture (ENSA) Paris-Belleville
• Learning from Ho Chi Minh and Manila: re-framing the notion of public space and valorising the in-between
MA Urban Design, PG Cert. Env. Design, B. Arch bianca.lajara@gmail.com
Bianca Lajara
