The New Rouse Hill

Page 1 of 8 The New Rouse Hill Paper for Town Centres Conference 2006

ROUSE HILL TOWN CENTRE:
FROM CONCEPT TO DETAILED DESIGN

By
Keith Cottier and Jenny Rudolph

____________________________________________________________________________

Jenny Rudolph
J enny Rudolph qualified in South Africa as a town planner in 1989. J enny has lived in Australia for the past five years and worked in
both the public and private sector, joining Landcom two years ago.

J enny has vast experience in strategic planning and policy, masterplanning and residential development. This includes managing large
projects in the planning phase. J enny is a Senior Development Manager at Landcom and responsible for ensuring the good quality
design, social, economic and environmental visions of the government are met through the development of the RHRC.

Keith Cottier
Keith Cottier is one of Australias most highly regarded and awarded architects. A director of Allen J ack+Cottier since 1965, he remains
a driving force behind the quality of the companys work today. In 2001, he was awarded the Gold Medal, the Royal Australian Institute
of Architects highest honour. In 2004, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. His work includes three major wineries, the
redevelopment of Woollahra Council Chambers, and Wylies Baths. Keith is currently the principal architect for the Rouse Hill Town
Centre design directorate.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

Located in the growing north-west corridor, the Rouse Hill Regional Centre, now called the New
Rouse Hill (NRH), has been identified by the New South Wales Government (Government) as a
major emerging centre for Sydneys expansion.

To realize its vision the Department of Planning, as landowner, called for Tenders to obtain a
development partner to create both the regional centre with significant residential, infrastructure
and open space and a vibrant town centre focused on a Main Street model. The Tender outlined
specific design, planning and ESD benchmark criteria and objectives, which were required to be
achieved for the regional centre. In 2003, the successful Tenderer chosen to partner the
Government (represented by Landcom and the Department of Planning) in the development of the
RHRC was the consortium of Lend Lease and The GPT Group (Developers).

In developing the principles for the New Rouse Hill masterplan, the Developers and Government
considered how to integrate the best of what makes traditional town centres work as well as
elements that make retail centres successful. This included the integration of significant
community, learning and residential components both within the Town Centre and within the
Regional Centre. A masterplan, developed according to these benchmarks, was approved in 2004
by Baulkham Hills Shire Council (Council). The Developers in consultation with Government
embarked on a challenging journey to convert the masterplan principles and concept into the
detailed design of the new Rouse Hill Town Centre.

This paper focuses on the Rouse Hill Town Centre component of the New Rouse Hill. The New
Rouse Hill, principally the residential, and open spaces is being jointly developed by the
Developers and provides context to the detailed presentation. The Rouse Hill Town Centre is
being developed and will be managed by The GPT Group.

This paper provides an overview of the project and the design vision for the town centre, followed
by a discussion of the design elements that were refined or amended during the process of taking
the concept to detailed design. The paper concludes with a few challenges that have been
addressed during this process.
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BACKGROUND

The State Government had a long-term vision to create a major regional centre in Sydney that
would set benchmarks in urban design and sustainability for future centres in Sydneys growth
areas. This vision is being realized with the construction of the $1.5bill Regional Centre of which
the Stage 1 of the Rouse Hill Town Centre will be $470m.

The site, which is approximately 120-hectares, will evolve over the next 12 to 15 years to
showcase a state-of-the art regional centre. The NRH will comprise a new mixed use town centre,
with a Main Street, which will ultimately comprise of up to 200 000m of commercial and retail
space (including homemaking), a library, community centre, integrated health care, learning space,
youth space, business start-up, transport interchange and major public squares and spaces. The
RHRC will also comprise up to 1800 new homes, community and recreational facilities, a high and
primary school, 30 hectares of open space, and new infrastructure. Stage 1 of the Town Centre,
anticipated to be complete by March 2008, will comprise approximately 76 000m of retail area,
commercial space, learning facilities, library and community centre, and up to 200 residential units
on Main Street.

The masterplan for the site incorporating these uses was approved by Council in 2004. The
Masterplan outlines the principles and concepts for the design and character of the centre, and
also outlines the land use, road hierarchy, height, density and water management requirements for
the various mixed use, residential or open space precincts. This meant that detailed planning could
commence, based on the common principles, for each of the precincts including the town centre.



EASTERN PRECINCT
CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN PRECINCT NORTHERN PRECINCT
TOWN CENTRE
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A consortium of architects Rouse Hill Town Centre Architects, namely Rice Daubney, Allen J ack
and Cottier and Group SA, were retained by the Developers to convert the town centre masterplan
concept to a detailed design for a new benchmark town centre. The consortium provided the scale
to develop such a significant project as well as the ability to ensure diversity of architecture and
diversity of place across the town centre. Diversity of architecture was a key design element
particularly as a substantial amount of stage 1 of the town centre would be developed upfront.
There were many issues that informed the design, however the key objectives and urban design
criteria outlined in the masterplan were embraced by the architectural team in order to achieve a
new town centre concept based on achieving an integrated model. The form of the town centre is a
combination of a traditional outdoor Main Street experience overlaid with a contemporary mix of
uses usually found in an enclosed shopping mall. The Rouse Hill Town Centre would, in fact, be a
new model.

The Architects, in association with the developers and the Government, used their experience; the
outcomes of community based research; key ESD requirements and the core principles and
objectives to undertake an assessment of the masterplan. Some refinements, minor changes and
substantial improvements over a time period of about 10 months resulted in a detailed design of
the Rouse Hill town centre being created.

VISION

The Rouse Hill Town Centre Architects constitute three separate entities with differing cultures.
The Architects found that there was much common ground in their attitude and philosophy with
regard to the challenges in Rouse Hill.

The Rouse Hill Architects were united on a number of key principles, which were essential in the
design of the town centre
Architecture as Place Maker; in terms of creating the three dimensional background or
stage, and never in terms of untruths-- no theming, no imported or plastic heritage;
Finding the appropriate forms and the scale that fits comfortably with the social
demographic of the Rouse Hill community, architecture should both reflect and inspire
community aspiration;
Responding to the market brief in terms of mix of business users, and refining these
needs within a town centre context.
Sitting the Town Centre into its landscape and making it belong.
Environmental responsibility from the outset, and not as a series of later add-ons.
The no-mans land between planning and architecture that critical area of urban
design plus a little extra. Rouse Hill provided the rare opportunity to finesse the spaces
between the buildings, the spaces first, buildings second, with the buildings reinforcing
the spatial qualities.
Continuity within its culture allowing the Rouse Hill past to enrich its future, but gently,
softly and with subtlety.

A vision for the new Rouse Hill town centre was developed by the architectural team to provide a
dream for the design, place and space making for the creation of mixed-use town centre. The
vision for the new Town Centre can be summarised as the following: -

In towns and cities, public space has always served as meeting place,
market place and traffic way. The enjoyable towns and cities have been
those that found a comfortable balance between these three demands,
without forfeiting their links with the natural world.

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In the town centre at Rouse Hill, we will achieve this balance, we will
create this harmony. Life will return to the streets and lanes. The comings
and goings of the pedestrians will dominate that life, yet they will always
feel connected to the unique Australian landscape. Interest in the town
centre as meeting place will be renewed, the centre will become an
attraction, people will stop and stay a while, participate, take pride in its
look, its structure and its innovations. It will become their second home.

The vision resulted in the detailed plan for the stage 1 town centre, which is depicted below.

























Town Centre design four quadrants (A,B,C and D), divided by two main streets, each with a major retailer
and other speciality stores linked by a pedestrian laneway.


CONCEPT TO DETAILED DESIGN

The concept masterplan of the NRH was the culmination of many years of strategic planning. The
concept plan has stood the test of time and remains virtually unchanged. Hence when the
Architects were appointed by the Developers to undertake the detailed design of the town centre
there were many principles and aspects that were already set for the Rouse Hill Town Centre.

The Developers with the Architectural design team realised that the process of moving from a
concept to the detailed design of the 11ha town centre site would provide many challenges. The
masterplan concept remained the benchmark design, however in moving to a detailed design the
Developer and Architects were able to further enhance the town centre through minor adjustments.
A summary of the key enhancements that resulted through the detailed design are the following: -



Leisure square
Belvedere
Court A
food terrace
civic spine
Town square
Court B
Backyard
Market Square
extended
landscape
spine
Court D
Expanded
laneway
streetside cafes
green parts
Expanded
laneway
Court D
Library/Community Centre
Transit Interchange
Main Street
Schofields
Road
Caddies
Creek
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1 Linkage from the town to its surroundings

It was critical to provide physical linkages from the town centre and to the town centre for
pedestrians, motorist and cycles. However it was also critical to obtain and retain visual linkages
whether through landscaping, open space corridors or architectural form. Through the detailed
design the Architects were able to enhance its integration and linkages with the surrounding
precincts.

2 Appropriate Spaces for the different users

It was recognised that there needed to be different types of places and spaces for shoppers,
children, residents, and workers in the town centre. The detailed design enabled each of the
quadrant loops to provide various opportunities for the creating different spaces, as well as create
better connections between buildings and places. The shape, use and feel of the spaces also took
into consideration the retail offers being made, and how the indoor and outdoors spaces could
support each other. Hence the detailed design process resulted in additional spaces and places
being created in the town centre.

3 Weather Protection

The design of the town centre buildings and spaces had to take cogniscance of the sun, wind, rain,
and the comfort of the community and shoppers using the streets and pedestrian walkways. The
climatic extremes of Western Sydney added to the challenge. The detailed plan carefully
considered different weather protection devices for different use of spaces and linkage pathways,
and the surrounding use of the buildings. Different types and height of weather protection devices
were designed to assist in creating diversity in the town centre design.

4 The Car Park

A key principle of the town centre is to accommodate predominantly underground car parking so
that there is minimal impact on the public realm and the creation of more pedestrian friendly areas.
The provision of underground parking was obviously a large commercial investment by the
Developer, but benefited the design and practical functioning of town centre. Being a relatively
large basement car park, accommodating around 2 800 cars, the design of the car park needed to
ensure a sense of arrival and orientation for visitors. The detailed design accommodated easy
way finding for visitors within the basement and assisted way finding and connections up to the
ground level. The design of the car parking basement also accommodated the design and location
of services as well as ensure overland flow. The detailed design therefore modified the masterplan
basement design and created an improved layout.

5 Diversity of Experience

The town centre needed to accommodate a balance of order and diversity, to ensure a pleasant
experience when moving through the town centre. The Architects created diversity in the
architecture by designing different horizontal and vertical elements in the buildings or different roof
forms. Creating diversity in architecture was essential so the centre looked like a town that had
developed organically over time; primarily as a substantial part would be developed at day one and
would be managed and owned by The GPT Group.

A single robust paving material running throughout the pedestrian areas was also designed to
create a strong town identity. Whilst the sense of order this achieved is a prerequisite of all good
towns, it was also important to achieve a level of diversity. The necessary balance between the two
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attributes was achieved in form, material and colour, with each quadrant having its own strong
identity, and the journey around the pedestrian loop involving a great variety of spatial experiences.

6 Civic Quality

The design of the town centre needed to ensure a civic quality and presence particularly as the
civic library and community building are to be built at the heart of the town centre. The design of
library/community building will reflect the civic character and use of the building, but also respond
to the adjacent civic town square space. The learning space will be accommodated in a building,
with a spectacular roof form, across from Town Square, so to enhance the civic quality of the town
centre.

7 Pedestrian Amenity

The design considered that pedestrians needed cover and shade, but also needed to feel the
openness and see the sky so to feel the weather. Pedestrians will distinguish the different place
and the spaces through the variety of weather protection devices, floor finishes, building materials
or vegetation provided to create a good pedestrian amenity.

8 Permeability

As the retail and detailed design evolved, greater permeability in the block plan design resulted.
The Architects considered the following to increase the permeability: -
alternate pedestrian routes and links on the ground level and the first floor of the
buildings, and;
retail control to understand the type, size and location of shops.

9 A Fine Grain

A finer grain from the original block plan resulted in the finesse in the public realm. The design of
the ground floor retail faade on Main Street will also contribute to the fine grain. Although the
town centre is based on four major quadrants, the sense of township was derived through the
finer grain of public places, and building forms that broke the larger quadrants into more intimate
spaces.

10 Design with ESD in mind

ESD is a key input to the design of the town centre. The detailed design allowed the Architects to
achieve a balance between ESD outputs (central plant and chilled water), design of buildings (how
the sun related to shop front), spaces (consider wind tunneling) and landscaping (types of trees
and softening of spaces). The interconnected nature of many of these inputs to the design process
resulted in multiple iterations of the design for certain parts of the town centre before a final
resolution was achieved.

The result was that the ESD principles were not a series of add-ons or overlays to the
buildings, but were embedded in the design of the building forms from the outset. The
building forms, whilst assisting to maximize a feeling of openness within the public realm,
were also used to control solar penetration and reduce the shop front heat loads. The design
meant that energy loadings have been minimized thought the process. At the same time, the
building form and ESD principles were used to ensure pedestrian amenity that responds to
the Rouse Hill climate.


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11. Staging

It was acknowledged that the town centre would be developed in stages due to the market
conditions, regional population and extent of the centre. The architects therefore developed
a series of design and landscape treatments for those sites perimeter sites that would be
build out in the future, but will provide amenity at day 1. The design treatment provides a
more aesthetic outcome as well as flexibility for the town to grow naturally enhancing
authenticity.

CHALLENGES

The architectural design team, Developers and Government have worked hard to ensure that
Rouse Hill Town Centre is a success; and we are confident that in time the success of this venture
will set a benchmark for new town centres.

We have learnt through the process of converting the concept to a detailed design for a mixed-use
town centre, and a summary of some key challenges is provided below.

1 Management Arrangements

Due to the scale and complexity of the project, it was essential that all parties involved in the NRH
work together cohesively. The Developer held weekly meetings with all consultants, including the
Architects, for coordination to occur across the entire project. The Developers then reported the
detailed design to a J oint Management Committee, comprising of representatives from Lend
Lease, GPT Group, Landcom, Department of Planning and an Independent Chairperson.

In particular the organisation of the architectural team was discussed in the early stages,
particularly in light of the three office composition, as they were central to the detailed design. To
achieve diversity in design mixed teams were created comprising of people from each of the three
architectural offices. Each sub-team focused on a particular quadrant or area of the Town Centre.
A few additional people had particular management responsibilities, and a three-person design
directorate sat above the architectural team. This later group maintained a big picture focus
throughout, to ensure cohesiveness in the public realm. With a tight programme and technical
resolution challenges, the architectural management structure had to adapt and be much more
fluid in the early stages. The quadrant team structure did not establish itself until the later stages of
design development. The one constant was the design directorate, who took ownership of
formulating all critical design proposals for the Developers approval. This proved an important
management arrangement for the project.

The high degree of cooperation that has characterised the projects management process is a
testament to the stakeholders original aim for NRH to be a simple and transparent partnership.

2 Paradigm shift

The Developer proposed an integrated mixed-use town centre at stage 1 with significant scale.
The town centre will combine both the attributes of successful retail centres and of a main street,
major anchors, proximity to car parking, access for vehicles, diversity of uses and a variety of
places and spaces. The concept will lead the market in the evolution of retail centres that began
with the inclusion of cinemas and restaurants and are increasingly adding community and
commercial uses.

Rouse Hill Town Centre will also lead the way with the integration of residential with retail of the
scale proposed. This provided significant challenges including solving various servicing
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requirements around loading docks, creating amenity and aspect for residential and the overall
complexity of vertical integration

The Architects and project team challenged many of the preconceptions and fixed notions, but it
was realised that the proven concept and principles from both successful town centres and
shopping malls should not be summarily dismissed.

With a common vision in mind, and through good dialogue and mutual respect the detailed design
was developed to the advantages of all users (retail, commercial and residential groups).

3 ESD

Environmental engineers were part of the development team from the outset. The computer
generated programmes that quantified solar penetration, wind patterns, thermal conditions and
energy loadings were an invaluable tool in assisting to quickly understand the interplay between
issues and help make informed decisions. The model allowed the Architects to test alternatives
and arrive at energy efficient solutions. This is how it should be; no retro-fits!

4 Tolerance on boundary rather than a fixed boundary

The boundary area for the new town centre was confined due to commitments for services, the
existing location of a road and watercourses. This resulted in a challenge for the Architects who
often had to undertake the detailed design within the informal boundary area. Loading docks
came under pressure; any new regulatory standard had the Architects struggling to find the
necessary additional space. However through good co-ordination and design all requirements have
been met. For any future projects or designs it would be useful to plan for an additional 1 metre
tolerance zone that could be built into the widths of new roads.


CONCLUSION

From the outset, the new Rouse Hill has been much more than a bold, exciting concept for a new
regional centre in Sydneys north-west. The focus has been on having a commercially viable Town
Centre at the heart of the project with new benchmark design, ESD and social sustainable
outcomes. The New Rouse Hill has set some significant precedents for the level of cooperation
between the public and private partners, and ground breaking achievements in design.

The Rouse Hill town centre concept of turning the modern shopping centre inside out and building
on the traditional main street town centre model had risks and challenges. In undertaking the
detailed design of the new town centre, the Developer, government and the Architects looked at
the practical use of the land, the commercial realities of the project, as well as designing the
buildings, spaces, places and achieving ESD outcomes all at once form the outset.

Converting a town centre concept into detailed design required an appropriate balance between
being dedicated to implementing the vision, embracing elements of practical design and good
architecture. It also required consideration of the comfort of users in all public environments
balanced with environmental efficiency. However it was acknowledged that the detailed design
would only succeed when designers think like the communities who will use and feel the town
centre.