Project:
Lara Town Centre Urban Design Framework
Location:
Lara, Victoria
Client:
City of Greater Geelong
Date:
2006
The Task:
Lara is a satellite suburb of Geelong, located to the north east of Geelong’s Central Activities District. It has many highly valued a attributes, including its strong semirural qualities and its location in proximity to both Geelong and Melbourne. We were engaged by the City of Greater Geelong to undertake the Lara Town Centre Urban Design Framework
The Outcome:
We identified appropriate growth in response to the changing needs and aspirations of the Lara community, traders and stakeholders.
We increased the visibility of the town centre and provided strong links with the railway station to ensure a vibrant and functional town centre, in additional, also improved the retail facilities on offer in the town centre and address the lack of room for expansion.
The catalyst for the UDF is the pressure on Lara to grow to accomodate the increasing number of people who wish to enjoy a semi rural lifestyle while still being able to easily commute to work. This has resulted in an increase in Lara’s population and an inability to satisfactorily meet the needs due to a shortfall in facilities, services and residential land.
The central issue to be resolved by the UDF is to facilitate appropriate growth in response to the changing needs and aspirations of the Lara community, traders and stakeholders.
