CRAFTY Studio C Folio PT1

SOUTH MELBOURNE

STUDIO C, LED BY DAVID O’REILLY

MASTER OF ARCH & URBAN DESIGN

SEMESTER 1 2022

NICOLE FARNELL 102102092

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO COUNTRY

We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, who are the Traditional Owners of the land on which Swinburne’s Australian campuses are located in Melbourne’s east and outer-east, and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We respectively acknowledges the traditional owners of the Yaluk-ut Weelam Clan of the Boon Wurrung, the City of Port Phillip. We our respect to their elders past and present. We acknowledge and uphold their continuing relationship to this land.

We also acknowledge and respect the Traditional Owners of lands across Australia, their Elders, Ancestors, cultures and heritage, and recognise the continuing sovereignties of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations.

CHAPTER 1: SITE - SOUTH MELBOURNE

Context & Identity

South Melbourne is characterized by an amalgamation of different communities. It would be remiss for us to say individually one of these diverse communities accurately represents the identity of South Melbourne.

South Melbourne has experienced various shifts in its cultural identity. Most notably the shift from a working class society to society’s elite. South Melbourne is now the locale to some of the most prestigious real estate with Melbourne. Introduction of immigration programs following WWII initiated the steady increase of multiculturalism. 55.5% of residents of South Melbourne were born in Australia. (Census, 2016) Spiking the need for the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services to introduction social housing programs.

Building Types:

Typology:

Shop Top

Low-rise

Mid-rise

Warehouse

Social Housing

Chamfered Corners

Wedding Cake

New Construction

Material:

Brick

Blue Stone

Multiple districts make up South Melbourne including activity centers, residential and business areas. These districts make it a suitable place for people to live, work and shop without going too far from home. These districts are represented on the map using various colours. There are some overlaps such as the market and activity center where both functions for the main activity for the precinct.

The Lynchian map represents our trip through South Melbourne. Landmarks and nodes are areas we have noted as well as taking into consideration what other people would consider key aspects. There are 2 versions of this map, one which includes the building profiles to gain knowledge of position and the landmarks location within it context. Images show a few of these landmarks and nodes.

Group work also completed with Jasmine Day & Alyssa Rodwell.

Community Profile

Lone person household

• Age 32

• Rents a unit 1 bedroom

• Works in docklands full time as professional

• Does not own a car

• Rides bike to work

• Working in Melbourne from an international office

Young family of 3

• Ages 36, 28, 7

• Owns unit 2 bedroom but wanting to sell and move out for more room

• Works in cbd in a management position full time and creative industry in art part time

• Owns 1 car for trips away

• Walks and catch public transport to work

• Child goes to local primary school. Walk drop off to school on way to work

Older couple

• Ages 67 and 62

• Own house 3 bedrooms in heritage area

• Own 1 car

• Need some assistance with daily needs

• Have carer assist a couple times a week

• Travel locally a lot and sometimes use public transport to avoid parking

• No longer in labor force but help in community

Interests

• Cycling clubs and outings

• Photography

• Sport

Interests

• Playgrounds

• Art

• Social outings (zoo, museum, aquarium, gallery)

Interests

• Gardening

• Family and friends

• Puzzles

most distinctive problems

PROBLEM 1

Equitable design - Disability assistance and access

PROBLEM 2

Safety / Low quality of space

PROBLEM 3

Problem Areas?

Flood prone raised floors

High percentage of those in care

Topographic Variation

Ramps out back or a distance from entrance

Public Transport if lifted

Stairs

How could it be fixed?

Lifted tram, train and bus stops

Ramps near entries

More chairs for rest stops

Tree cover for cooling and rest stops

Problem Areas?

Protection

Enjoyment of spaces

Comfort and thermal comfort

High crime rates

City road and Ferras street

Protection score low 1-2

Comfort score low 1

Enjoyment score low 1-2

Quality score low 1-2

How could it be fixed?

Lower speed limits

Protected bike lanes

Tree cover

Vegetation, natural planting

Garden beds near roads

Separate cars, bike and pedestrians more clearly

Lights and Illumination

Transparency of shopfronts and roadside buildings

Cafes or shops in lane ways

Transport Problem Areas?

People only use what’s closest (walk, cycle, tram, bus)

Mostly Car use

Not many pedestrian and cycle paths and amenities

How could it be fixed?

Link methods of transport closer

Make it a safer and more enjoyable walk or ride

Increase amenities such as bike lanes, service stations, seating, bike racks.

Transport corridors (walking and bike)

Make better stops for buses, train and trams

Land Use Zones

Zones

NRZ- Neighbour hood Residential Zone

CCZ- Capital City Zone

C1Z- Commercial Zone 1

TRZ- Transport Zone

C2Z- Commercial Zone 2

MUZ- Mixed Use Zone

GRZ- General Residential

TRZ1- Transport Zone 1

RGZ- Residential Growth Zone

PPRZ- Public Park and Recreation

IN1Z- Industrial Zone 1

PUZ- Public Use Zone

South Melbourne is home to 12,941 people(About the profile areas | South Melbourne | profile.id 2020). The people of South Melbourne are independent and love the homely lifestyle thats not far from the city or the beach. Luscious streets capes, a delicious market, and a thriving cafe culture as well as living in Victorian style architectural homes with a modernist mark. The increasing population overtime of the City of Port Philip is seen by the Population graph. The red shows the percentage of South Melbourne Residents.

The median age is 36 as shown in the ageing age-sex pyramid. An Ageing pyramid shows low birth and deaths and higher bulk in the ages in the middle.

Ancestry

English (30.7%) is the most popular ancestry followed by Australian (21.5%), Irish (13.2%), Scottish (10.2%) and Chinese (8.2%) creates a diversity of people. (About the profile areas | South Melbourne | profile.id 2020)

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 0% 4%

General Population (per hectare)

South Melbourne Population City of Port Phillip Population

Employment

5,741 people living in Port Phillip are employed, 73% full time and 26% part time. The main sector of employment is professionals/ managers/ admin. This data can be seen in the table below. Tourism supports 3,239 jobs in the City of Port Phillip accounting for approximately 4% of employment opportunities. (REMPLAN Online 2022)

62.5% Port Phillip hold educational qualifications and 25.4% hold no qualification. The diagram shows the amount of people whom hold certain levels of educational qualifications.

Bachelor or Higher

43.6%

Diploma or Certificate

9.5%

Vocational

10.1%

No Qualifications

23.9%

South Melbourne is unique place to live with the Victorian style homes, and terraces lining the streets. The cost of living in South Melbourne and Port Phillip is high with pricing of houses and units as follows.

House buy 2br $1,235,000, 3bd $1,755,000, 4br $2,700,000

House rent 2br $595pw, 3br $800pw, 4br $1,100pw

Unit buy 1br $431,500 2bd $632,500, 3br $932,000

Unit rent 1br $350pw, 2br $475pw, 3br $790pw

(South Melbourne Property Market, House Prices, Suburb Profile & Investment Data 2022)

South Melbourne is home to more couples without children (54.1%) than any family composition. Couples with children account for 28.9%. This number factors into the 54% of family households, with lone person (37.8%) and groups (8.2%) accounting for the other household compositions.

Crime 2016 (Amalgamated Locksmiths 2017)

22% increase in theft from 2015-16

40% increase of drug offenses in 5 years

7% increase of total crime in 5 years

The liveability score of South Melbourne rates the crime in the area as one of the Worst 10 suburbs in Victoria. (Barnes 2019)

7% Increase over 5 years

Assistance/ wellbeing

4.9% of the South Melbourne Population need assistance in their day to day lives due to a disability. The graph shows that this is more common in older age groups with 60% of people 85 and older needing assistance. The map shows the location in which most people need assistance. This is based of housing location which is why we do not see much in the commercial districts.

Wellbeing is graphed using Social Economic Indexes of Areas (SEIFA) using data from the bureau of statistics and census information. The graph looks at social economic advantage and disadvantage, general conditions and social conditions of people in the area. The lines show that both South Melbourne(1026) and Port Phillip(1069) have high scores in the green area, showing there are more advantages to disadvantages. (REMPLAN Online 2022)

Liveability Score 25. Previous Score 70 (Barnes 2019)

Top 10: Culture, Retail, Cafes, Public Transport, Employment, Walkability

Last 10: Crime, Congestion, Topographic Variation

36.3% of people traveled to work in a private car, 26.6% took public transport and 21.5% rode a bike or walked. 5.4% worked at home. The trends can be seen on the combined and individual transport maps. It can be seen that people use the transport thats closest to home and work. We see lots of walking in the north, cycling in the central region and more public transport in the eastern parts.

Most residents like to own a car with 2,481 households owning 1 car, 983 with 2 cars and 135 with 3 or more cars. However we do see a large amount (1,176) of households that do not own a car. There people would use other forms of transport such as walking, cycling or public transport. The graph below compares the number of cars per household to greater Melbourne.

The walk ability and public transport of South Melbourne is classed as excellent by residents and community pages. (The ultimate suburb guide to South Melbourne, Victoria 2022). Walk score rates South Melbourne 92 out of 100 for walk ability. (South Melbourne neighborhood in Melbourne 2022)

Street Types

Primary Roads

Secondary Roads

Tertiary Roads

Minor Roads/ Lanes

Bike Spot

Shows the safe and unsafe spots of South Melbourne. Safe spots take into consideration separated bike lanes, wide bike paths, off road paths and little traffic. Unsafe spots note poor driver behavior, no bike lanes and dangerous intersections. Bike spot in a community run page in 2020 collecting data to be mapped so bike users can prepare for unsafe bike rides.

Free To Be Me

Identifies crowd data for happy and sad spots from the 2016 survey and mapping. The size of the dot represents more community engagement such comments, similar experiences and other spots. Happy spots include good experiences with traffic, shelter, public transport stops and lighting. Sad spots usually have a fair amount of text explaining the experiences people have felt. In most cases stalkers, harassment, abuse and crime.

(crowdspot 2016)

(crowdspot 2020)

Street Lighting

Street lighting plays a large part in which people feel safe on the streets at night or early hours of the morning. Central areas such as Clarendon Street are fairly well lit but the outer edges such as City Road and Montague Street are dim in which statistics and evidence from Crowdspot shows that people feel unsafe at night at bus and tram stops in these areas.

(Existing Conditions Document) & (Google Maps)

CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND RESEARCH

Urban Design Framework (UDF)

What is a UDF?

Universal Design Framework is a policy framework and strategic planning tool enabling planning and development authorities as well as the community to effectively deal with design issues and constraints to produce a cohesive neighborhood character in terms of the framework’s vision, aim and strategic directions. Unlike a masterplan a UDF should provide flexibility in its aims and strategic directions to enable infinite solutions.

Why do we need it?

A UDF dictates what can and can’t be done in future developments, constrains the are to create fluidity in design and assists planning and development authorities to quickly accept or reject proposals.

What is included in a UDF?

A vision for the area, aims for the future, objectives and strategic directions, constraints to fit the neighborhood character and overlays.

South Melbourne

The UDF for South Melbourne breaks down the outcomes into strategic directions making it simple and easy to follow, providing some ideas for design development in the precinct.

Vision

“South Melbourne Central will be a sustainable mixed use precinct focused on the South Melbourne Activity Centre. It will continue to provide a unique urban village character and street life, while the number of residents, workers and visitors continue to grow.”(David Lock Associates)

Objectives

● Promoting sustainable transport options.

● Protecting heritage areas.

● Providing opportunities for residential growth.

● Supporting the important economic role of SMC’s business areas.

● Protecting and enhancing the diversity of SMC - of its population, housing stock, land uses and activities.

● Developing the network of cultural, educational and community uses in SMC and strengthening the role of the Emerald Hill community hub.

• Defining land uses suitable to each precinct.

• Defining a preferred new character for areas that will undergo change, including maximum building heights.

• Promoting excellence in design of new buildings and the public realm.

• Supporting the retail role of the activity center, including the south Melbourne market.

• Encouraging street life.

Principles

1. The design of buildings and spaces within SMC will support the realisation of the Vision and the Strategic Objectives of the Structure Plan.

2. The distinction in building scale between SMC, which is characterized by low to medium scale buildings, and the higher-rise buildings of Southbank, the CAD and Kings Way will be maintained.

3. The variety of spatial experiences within SMC – from the 30 meter wide streets to the network of lane ways - will be retained and reinforced in the design of buildings and the public realm.

4. The streets capes of SMC’s business areas will be given a greater sense of definition and design consistency in their built form and the public realm.

5. SMC will have vibrant, attractive streets as spaces for outdoor activity. The year-round sunlight access to the principal outdoor street spaces in the Activity Centre will be maintained.

6. The built and cultural heritage of SMC will be protected and enhanced through responsive new development and encouraging expression in the built environment.

7. New development in SMC will achieve architectural and urban design excellence.

8. The industrial character of SMC’s business areas and the highly valued ‘fine urban grain’ of SMC will be reflected in the design of new buildings and spaces.

9. A high level of amenity will be provided for the residents of SMC, in balance with their location within a busy Activity Centre.

10. SMC will be a sustainable transport hub, with pedestrian movement as the priority form of transport, followed by cycling and public transport. Cars shall be accommodated in SMC in such a way that they do not detract from the quality of the urban environment or the available sustainable transport options.

11. New development in SMC must be designed to achieve a range of sustainable outcomes.

12. A range of new developments of different type, scale and function will be encouraged within SMC, provided that the strategic intent of the Structure Plan is honored and all urban design principles and objectives are met.

Pedestrian Oriented Design (POD)

Pedestrian oriented design (POD) focuses on the pedestrian and how they feel within a space. The examples shown examine the use of colour, fun, lighting, separated traffic, activation, vegetation and flexibility of use. The plaza spaces enable pedestrian only use creating seating, parklets, colour, way finding techniques and vegetation. Due to the grid street formation of South Melbourne to implement a pedestrian only street will divert traffic around blocks but will create a safe haven for pedestrians and community space for people to enjoy. This is currently being trailed in Cecil Street near the market where one direction is closed off to enable the stalls and seating to spill onto the street.

Principals of POD:

• Connected

• Humanized

• Activated

• Sheltered

• Legible

• Flexible

• Comfortable

• Safe

• Traversable

• Natural

• Artful

• Accessible

• Universal

• Public

• Way Finding

• Furnished

• Networks

• Engaging

(Micromobility, Third Lanes, and Tomorrow’s Streetscapes 2018)

(José Antonio Blasco 2022)

(Hill 2019)

(José Antonio Blasco 2022)

Universal Design

Universal design comes in many forms including: tactile, vision, hearing, speaking and thought processes. These can be permanent, temporary, situational or cognitive. Many spaces do not design with Universal practices as a first point of reference. For example the steps in Robson square in Vancouver have a ramp integrated into the steps to enable wheel users to integrate with other people, however this design is poor as there are harsh stops and 180 degree turns, no rails and no gutters or ground railing to stop them flying down the stairs on decent. Not all ramps are used for wheel users, many are used by elderly who cant make the step up and rely on handrails for support.

Universal design is not just about adding ramps, but genderless bathrooms, space for walkers/ prams or chairs, way finding and signage, and calming effects in architecture. The success of a project comes down to how well its designs for everyones needs, being equip for accessibility and being inclusive. Universal design is invisible and feels and looks right, it doesn’t separate users making them take an alternate path with a ramp out the back or hundred of meters away.

Design Principals to achieve Universal design.

• Equatable Use

• Flexibility In Use

• Simple And Intuitive Use

• Perception In Design

• Tolerance For Error

• Low Physical Effort

• Size And Space For Approach And Use

• Comfort

• Awareness

• Understanding

• Wellness

• Social Integration

• Personalization

• Cultural Appropriateness

(Universal Design: Creating Spaces and Places for All - Part 1 - FORREC 2020)

(Zver 2021)

Lighting Strategy

The strategy is divided into five key themes:

• Designing a luminous city: reinforcing perceptions of Melbourne’s physical form

• Safety and amenity: improving pedestrian safety and amenity

• Attracting the evening crowd: bringing more activity to Melbourne’s public places

• Designing the sustainable city: minimizing the negative environmental impact of outdoor lighting

• Keeping the lights shining: Actively maintaining quality lighting assets.

(City of Melbourne Lighting Strategy 2021 2021)

A CITY FOR PEOPLE

“A city for people welcomes all. It is accessible, affordable, inclusive, safe and engaging. It promotes health and wellbeing, participation and social justice.” (City of Melbourne Lighting Strategy 2021 2021)

The lighting Guidelines

Objectives:

• To facilitate safe movement

• To provide orientation

• To improve hazard identification

• Provide a unified approach to urban design

• To improve environmental sustainability

Pedestrian comfort and safety

• Illuminate edges of streets and ensure public areas are well lit

• Ensure changes in level are visible

• Enable a person’s features to be recognized from at least 10-15 meters away

• Enable orientation and way finding to take place

• Illuminate the built form to enhance the overall visual perception space

(City of Melbourne Lighting Guidelines 2022)

Creative Industries

There are many creative industries in the city of Port Phillip as shown in the map. South Melbourne is categorized in the pie chart showing its main areas and percentage of the industry mix. South Melbourne hosts 170 known creative businesses.

32% of creative industries are made up by design. The following categories fall under design: Architects, Arts organizations, digital design, creative agency, education, graphic design, game design, printer, web design, print media.

The second most found industry is music accounting for 19%. Music is made up of: music venues, nightclubs, orchastra, post production, radio stations, recording studio, sound design, education, equipment hire, music entertainment, publishing and schools.

The third most popular industry is film and TV with 15%.

Film and TV can be broken into the following categories: cinemas, creative agency, digital design, education, equipment hire, sound design, recording studio, film production, casting agency, talent agency, and film and TV services.

“The majority of creative businesses in South Melbourne are clustered within the Commercial 1 Zone, the Commercial 2 Zone and the Mixed Use Zone. The Commercial 2 Zone provides the strongest protection for creative industries as residential uses are not allowed. They are therefore less likely to be subject to development pressure and rising land costs. There are also a significant number of creative businesses clustered in the Capital City Zone to the north-east of South Melbourne, otherwise known as Montague in Fishermans Bend.”(Hodyl + Co 2019)

Top creative occupations by number of local jobs in the City of Port Phillip

ASSIGNMENT 1: PROFILE, PROBLEMS, VISION, OBJECTIVES

GROUP 2 with: Ali Aljowair & Jason Trajkovski

Urban Context Map

Site overview, images showing problems, OFI, and good aspects. Some of the bad included bins and rubbish on pathways, stairs, low objects such as trees and bridges. Good are meeting places, market weekly ritual, artworks, bike lanes.

Site Context

• Separated Precincts (Residential, Employment)

• Limited development potential in residential precinct due to historic overlays

• Low rise

• Heritage character of Clarendon Street

• Development potential in mixed use and commercial districts

Employment Zone

Residential Zone

Recent Development

Possible Development

Low development

Access & Movement

• Multi-modal transport options

• Lack of connection to each other

• No designated walk or cycle paths

• Connection to places of interest

• Separated Precincts (Residential, Retail, Employment)

• Limited East- West transport

Retail Precinct

Employment Precinct

Residential Precinct

Nodes

Edges

Paths

Public Open Space

Accessible Public Space

Potential Sites For Public Space

• Lack of connectivity.

• These existing public spaces range from local, state wide and neighborhood parks.

• Creating a central gathering space.

• Not supporting growth of the community.

• Lack of cultural meeting or historical space.

• Sustainable Environments

• Improve Living Quality

• Connect Attractions/ Places of interest

South Melbourne is fairly dense with 5,486 people per square kilometer. There is an increasing population change by 2.3% annually. South Melbourne rates the most livable of all of Port Phillip with a score of 25, its top 10 ratings are culture, cafes, transport, employment and walkability. It was let down by the high crime rates, traffic congestion and topographic variation that plays a large part in if people feel safe and can manage. More recently it has moved up to 16th place in another study.

Street safety is one of the biggest influences the space has on people. For example low bridges can cause accidents if drivers don't know their vehicle height, tree roots uplifting pavements, bin storage and rubbish on pavements cause a tripping hazard as well as are aesthetically displeasing. There are some aspects of safety that could use some improvement such as protected bike lanes, tactile crossings, and illumination of streets and laneways. Another aspect of safety is crime.. In 2016 there were 2337 offenses including theft, break ins and property damage. If safety was improved would we still see these figures?

• Large amount of people are commuting by car.

• Cycling is a popular source of transport and a effective sustainable way of traveling. Which we need to support in future growth.

• Tram is popular which is not surprising.

• Need to support these transportation systems and provide users with storage, parking and paths.

• Walking popular in the North. Closest to CBD so may not be worth driving or catching PT.

• Cycling most popular in the central district. May be too far too walk or to get to public transport

• Public transport common in the East near PT routes.

(Jason T) (REMPLAN Online 2022a)

“To promote a healthy lifestyle, through enhancing and preserving existing cultural and neighborhood character. Supporting the interests of the community by developing safe streets with quality amenity and diversity.”

Problem 1: Lack of Good Universal Design

One of the problems we found was a lack of good universal design. Problems including, Raised Floors, Topographic Variation, Lots of those in care, Little Cultural Heritage, No lifted transport platforms, Tree roots uplifting paths, and Missing some tactile surfaces for vision impaired crossings. To ensure good design we need to think about the principles of universal design which we see listed on the right in blue.

Problem 2: Poor Street Safety

Poor street safety accounts for some of the problems in South Melbourne streets. Problems such as limited protection from car in bike lanes, no amenity for rest stops and comfort, limited lighting leading to a lack of enjoyment and high crime in the street scape. Solutions would be to increase amenity, connect people, create functioning spaces and create a space for people to interact with each other.

Problem 3: Lack of Meeting/ Cultural Spaces

Our last problem we identified was the lack of meeting and cultural spaces across South Melbourne. We found problems in the lack of connectivity, eating spaces for residences and visitors to the site, accessibility, gathering spaces and lack of promoting healthy life styles.

We have solutions to the identified problems which are creating parklets across the city, more public access, more passages and linkages throughout lane ways and streets, cultural connections such as parks or memorial areas, active paths for cycling or walking and services and infrastructure.