ITDP China’s Post

With sustainable design and construction in mind, many public spaces, urban developments and commercial precincts appear to be increasingly focused on creating community spaces that encourage gatherings and inclusion. This idea of creating a village atmosphere could be described as a reinterpretation of the old “town square” concept, a space that encourages people to congregate, offering entertainment, food outlets and a general community feel. We’re seeing it in more of the projects we supply like this one at Morris Moor in Moorabbin. Is it driven by a shift to higher density living? A desire to build stronger connections within our communities? Are there other drivers contributing to this? What are your thoughts? Image courtesy of Morris Moor. #communityspace #collaboration #communitydevelopment #orca #localmanufacturing

Zoetermeer is the second out of fifteen cities joining the New Towns New Narratives Programme! In the beginning of the 1960s, the small agricultural village of Zoetermeer was designated as a satellite town for The Hague. The area's landmarks, dating back to the 13th-century, were preserved in the face of rapid growth from 8,000 to 100,000 residents. High-rise construction, influenced by CIAM's functional city theory, aimed to balance development with the delicate landscape. A masterplan, featuring a central H-shaped network of parkways and a city heart, accommodated the influx. However, gallery flats with parking decks, central to the plan, faced criticism as "inhuman." From 1968, Zoetermeer explored lower-rise experiential architecture based on structuralism, now celebrating its green and architectural character. Challenges persist, particularly addressing car dependency threatening public spaces and green areas. Older neighborhoods grapple with intertwined issues of obesity, poverty, and loneliness, necessitating a comprehensive approach encompassing both physical and social improvements. The city is in the midst of a recent building boom, adding some 15.000 dwellings, while also enforcing the green identity and heritage. Gemeente Zoetermeer #zoetermeer #newtownsnewnarratives #internationalnewtowninstitute Photo Source: Historisch Genootschap Oud Soetermeer

Listening to the priorities of local people is central to our community-led approach at Fire to Flourish. In the Clarence Valley, many of these conversations have centred on building resilience by improving shared and public spaces, where connections are made and resources shared. Locals have identified the need for changes to public spaces, including halls, amenities and parks, as well as how the community could better utilise them. The Clarence Valley Fire to Flourish team, in collaboration with the Monash University Urban Design and Planning Team, recently completed a series of Placemaking Workshops in the area to gather information about what's important to the local community. In the practical, hands-on workshops held in Woombah, Glenreagh, Nymboida and the Blicks area, the team worked with community participants to better understand the ideas of the community and the places and spaces that are important to them. Placemaking is a collaborative and people-centred approach to improving the built and natural environments of neighbourhoods, towns and regions, which involves people collectively reimagining and reinventing public spaces, strengthening the connection between the people and the places they share. It can also explore the relationship between people and Country, delving into the history and stories and First Nations connections to these places. So, what's next? The concept ideas discussed in the Placemaking Workshops will be further developed over a three month period, and, at the end of that time, the community will be able to prioritise some seed funding supplied by Fire to Flourish to help kick-start their ideas. They'll also be provided with documentation, plans, data and statistics to help build additional funding applications for the bigger projects they identified. #firetoflourish #disasterresilience #disasterrecovery #communitydevelopment #sustainabledevelopment #emergencymanagement #clarencevalley #placemaking

🔥 Exciting News! 🔥 Cadre Plan's Associate Spatial Planner and Urban Designer, Annemarie Loots, will present at this year's @Green Building Convention 2023 in Cape Town - Green Building Council South Africa. Annemarie will address the Ilisolethu Gateway Node project's spatial planning and urban design node geared to transform Thembalethu in George Municipality - Official LinkedIn, Western Cape. Annemarie is keenly interested in the spatial functioning, look, and feel of cities and is fascinated explicitly with African cities. She is passionate about creating quality urban environments (on all scales of the city) that are sustainable (& resilient), liveable, imageable, and manageable. Loots believes this should be achieved pragmatically rather than through visionary, often idealistic proposals supported by numerous strategic documents with high-level theoretical principles and too little attention given to practical spatial applications. She further believes developers should be held accountable for creating quality living environments supporting walkability for a city and continent, walking out of necessity and not for pleasure. Annemarie consistently advocates for revising overly strict standards and regulations. She encourages creative design solutions that enhance lives, even if they challenge existing norms. Space matters! It shapes our lives and the environment. At Cadre Plan, we're reimagining space to breathe life into towns and places, redefining and enhancing the built environment. Tackling town planning issues in South African informal areas head-on is always challenging but incredibly exciting! Annemarie's session takes place on Friday, the 17th of November, on Spatial Design in the Reality of Informality: Thembalethu Township, George Municipality (Hall C) - Track 4 Session 3 (Cities) between 11:30 and 13:00. Embracing informality, working with it for a viable future and designing innovative ways of enhancing South African cities, towns, and places. #GBCSA2023 #InformalityInnovation #TownshipRevitalisation #urbandesign #greenbuildingcouncil #RethinkSpace #BuiltEnvironment #Transformation #randwater #capetown #townplanning #spacetoinspire #yourspace #CreativeSolutions

https://lnkd.in/et_y7BGn This clever design by Bo-DAA reinforces the community experience by building with intention of bonding, even from afar. This project has designed a central atrium which visually connects people. People in their private spaces can always observe the public space. They have access to it and the option to join in so as to not feel forced into socialising. “The community cannot exist without the individual, and the individual is anchored by the community. Residents look upon the garden twice: upon entry into the ground floor and as they enter their unit. Community is not forced but coaxed.” The ladder of ledges creates an open space which reinforces an interconnected network. This is really healthy for communities as they are given free will to interact with others. #wellnessarchitects #wellbeingarchitects #wellbeingarchitecture #communityarchitecture #communityliving #housing #treehouse #colivingtreehouse #colivingapartments #coliving #colivingdesign #colivingwellbeing #colivingcommunity #colivingarchitecture #colivingsouthkorea

Changing Places UK reported that Elland Road Stadium has become the 2,000th Changing Places toilet to be added to the official map of UK Changing Places. The Changing Places campaign began because standard "Accessible" toilets were found to be inaccessible by a considerable population of UK disabled people. But after nearly two decades of campaigning, innovation and implementation, Changing Places facilities have become more common worldwide and remain the gold standard for accessible restrooms. Fun fact: Direct Access has delivered access audits at sites across the UK and recommended Changing Places en masse, and we are extremely proud to have been responsible for introducing the first Changing Places WC in the Middle East region. #UniversalDesign #Accessibility #Architecture #Inclusion #ChangingPlaces #ADACompliant #AccessibleEnvironments #Toilets #Lavatories #AccessibleToilets

For my architect/designer contacts. What got you into architecture? For me, I knew from a very young age that design has the ability to impact lives. Better yet, it SHOULD impact lives. If it doesn’t, we aren’t doing our job to the best of our ability. The Abundant Village is an example of how even the most simple design concepts can greatly impact the lives of others. Check out this great blog post about BSB Design’s involvement with the project.

Over time, urban parks and other open landscaped areas are being lost to development. One solution to mitigate this issue is to reconsider undeveloped areas such as building roofs to create green amenity spaces. Amenity decks can provide some alleviation of lost green space, while affording developers the potential to monetize underutilized spaces in their buildings and provide an advantage over older buildings to attract tenants. https://conta.cc/3wIH3LT

Resource Consent is moments away from being granted for these new homes being delivered by CORT Community Housing in Tāmaki Makaurau to provide more New Zealanders with safe, warm, dry and affordable housing.    We have designed the five two-bedroom terraces and fifteen one-bedroom apartments for Cort’s tenants to provide a home that they can call their own. The new homes are located within the Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities Roskill Development that will bring 10,000 new homes to the area over the next 10 – 15 years.   Designed to achieve a 6 Homestar rating and to connect with the wider community, the terraces have a modest street presence with raised entry and living areas overlooking Dominion Road. The apartments are located to the rear of the site, all with east, west or northerly aspects looking out over landscaped grounds and toward Akarana Golf Course to the east.    Design documentation is now underway for an anticipated construction start in early 2024. #ministrynz #architecture #community #communityhousing #auckland #homestar #healthyhomes

Is this the best seniors living development in Australia? With Architecture and Interior design by Marchese Partners | Life3A, we are proud that The Green at Tarragindi QLD has been given high praise in the weekly source, by DCM suggesting it could be the best seniors living development in Australia?   Quote from the weekly source: ‘We have visited hundreds of retirement villages across the country. In our opinion, the just-opened The Green Tarragindi Retirement Village by RetireAustralia is perhaps the best project we have experienced thanks to its suburban infill, the sense of space, the flow of communal areas, generous apartments, and bigger community interconnection.’ Is this the best village apartment? Is this the best new village infill project? (theweeklysource.com.au)