oaklands crossing community connections

Project Description

The Oaklands hub is part of a residential and retail precinct straddling the Adelaide to Seaford Rail line at the Oaklands Railway Station. This two-phase project explores placemaking on both sides of the newly developed Oaklands Crossing Project in the City of Marion to integrate the development into the fabric of the community and encourage community use of this major public transport facility.

Phase one includes involvement in a community consultation process for placemaking plans to provide engaging, comfortable and safe connections for pedestrians and cyclists on the eastern side of the development, from the Oaklands Railway Station to the nearby Regional Activity Centre. The activity centre to the south of the station includes Westfield Marion, SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre and Marion Cultural Centre and is a key destination from the station. Students will be involved in the planning of and undertaking of the consultation process.

Phase two explores the design of potential placemaking interventions and activations on the north western side of the Oaklands Crossing development specifically around a strip of neighbourhood shops on the corner of Railway Terrace and Diagonal Road, Warradale. Students will engage with local community residents, businesses and organisations in the design process. This pilot project will help inform streetscape treatments in the future.

Learning Methodology

This studio is run as an landscape architecture studio throught 12 weeks. The students will be immersed in the community having an opportunity to take part in site visit and community survey early in the studio. The studio is open to all built environment disciplines with assessment strategies adapted to allow skill development and evaluation based on their future role as placemakers.

Students will work collaboratively in small groups to plan, design and implement strategies for translating community survey into a Place Plan proposal. Then, their designs will reflect and respond to the community perceptions gathered during this engagement. Each group will be expected to manage their budget, safety and policies for implementation. These place making proposals are supervised by the teaching team including professional landscape architects, urban designers and local council representatives.

How does this studio match PlaceAgency Objectives?

Oaklands Crossing Community Connection studio deeply engages with the local community in multiple stages of the project development to provide a Place Plan based on community needs, environmental considerations and urban planning policies. It enables students to learn the essential skills of community engagement and incorporating community feedback in the design process.