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POMO Studio, Sunshine Coast

Working across traditional disciplines

POMO are specialists in urban design and delivery projects that have a placemaking focus. We collaborate with landscape architects and local governments on projects for public places that seek to tap into and express the narratives of place and the aspirations of the community.

We also have a long history in communication design including graphic, brand and digital and we therefore bring a visual rigor to everything we do.

 
Stephen Burton
Founder + Design Director

Stephen is founder and design director of POMO having started the business in the late 90’s. Stephen has evolved the practice by focusing not just on the design of ‘things’ but on the design of experiences, in particular the process of generating connections between people and physical places. This has led to a focus on design and delivery projects that have a placemaking focus.

Stephen has an undergraduate degree in Arts (Media and Culture) and Law (Hons) and postgraduate qualifications in Urban Design and Planning. He has also studied Art History & Theory.

John
Senior Designer

John holds a Bachelor of the Built Environment (Architectural Studies) and a Graduate Diploma of Visual Arts (Graphic Design). John is a senior designer with a unique skill set that spans graphic, environmental and built environment design.

John’s background in architecture means he understands the built environment and how people experience spaces.

Nathan
Digital Developer

Nathan works to translate design into practice, using a logical approach to define the hidden structure and foundation of a digital project, working on the parts you don’t see in order to ensure the stability and usability of the parts you do.

He enjoys problem solving, regularly challenging himself with difficult puzzles and practicing logical thinking, his work consists of looking at the goals and expectations of a digital project, defining an efficient way to meet those criteria and then implementing it.

Nathan has a Certificate IV in Website Design and Development and a Bachelor of Interactive Media at QUT.

Richard
Placemaking & Research

Richard works to build frameworks of cultural heritage and identity that inform design strategies adopted by POMO for urban revitalisation and placemaking projects.

His passions lie in the realm of human centred design, where spaces and places are designed to enhance liveability and add value to the surrounding environment.

Richard is currently completing his Urban Design and Town Planning studies at the University of The Sunshine Coast.

Kathryn
CAD Designer

Kathryn has a background in interior design for commercial and residential fit outs.

She has developed her career as a CAD designer in the U.K with a speciality in industrial and fabrication design.

Kathryn is also a keen illustrator and artist and brings a cross-disciplinary skill set to POMO’s projects.

Research, engagement and delivery

We research, engage, report and carry out all phases of design and project delivery - a unique beginning to end methodology that helps create meaningful, rich, highly bespoke urban environments that are deeply connected to the people and places in which they exist.

Awards

 

National Landscape Architecture Awards 2018
Queensland Landscape Architecture Awards 2018
Building Designers Association of Queensland inc 2014 State Winner
W3 2017 Gold Winner
Telstra Business Womens Award
 
 
 

View our projects

POMO Bush Studio

 
POMO Bush Studio

When we set out to design our studio we approached it like any design project, we began by identifying the priorities and creating a strategic framework to guide the decision making.

The initial priority was to create something simple to build, something sustainable, creatively inspiring and something that was cost effective. Through research it became clear that achieving these things was not necessarily difficult.

Palmwoods Town Square

 
Palmwoods Town Square

Working with the landscape design team POMO were able to create a number of key design initiatives that would contribute to the locally inspired placemaking program and deliver on practical community needs.

POMO was engaged to design and construct a number of landscape elements. Each element was custom designed and born from the uniqueness of Palmwoods, they reference local history, using locally sourced materials and were being made collaboratively with local craftspeople and artisans.

Underlying this was a larger design and management process run by POMO involving construction design, design reporting, engineering certification, construction and project management and installation on-site. A true multidisciplinary and multi-skilled program with a wide range of stakeholders and projects participants.

The project won the Excellence Award at the 2018 Queensland AILA awards for Civic Design. It also won gold in the same category at the national awards.

Cribb Street Landsborough

 
Cribb Street Landsborough

POMO was engaged to work alongside the Sunshine Coast Council in the renewal of Cribb Street - Landsborough’s main street. The project was part of a larger master planning process being run by council.
Specifically we participated in the community engagement process to help ascertain community attitudes and expectations around the revitalisation project.

C-Square Nambour

 
C-Square Nambour

Wayfinding is the process of finding one’s way through an unfamiliar environment; signage is one part of a wayfinding strategy, the part that most of us rely upon. In this project, POMO was engaged to create a comprehensive wayfinding strategy for what was arguably the Sunshine Coast’s most difficult to navigate urban precinct.

The owners of the precinct identified wayfinding as a very real need that, is addressed properly, could help improve people’s experience of the space and play a key role in creating of a more vibrant urban centre.

Southport Broadwater Play Attraction

 
Southport Broadwater Play Attraction

Our design response for the Southport Broadwater Parklands play attraction is unique to the complex environment of the Broadwater estuary - a place which marks the confluence of river to ocean and denotes a powerful connection between land, sea and sky. We are proud to be shaping the detailed design and delivery of this project, teaming up with Fleetwood Urban, Simone Eisler, LVX and Burchills to create this exciting new play attraction for the region.

Maroochydore City Centre

 
Maroochydore City Centre

This project involved the detailed design and construction of smart city digital concrete signs for the new Maroochydore City Centre. These signs hold large format digital touch screens which advertise community events and wayfinding information for the new Maroochydore town centre.

The signs are currently in operation at the new Maroochy Town Centre.

State Library of Queensland

 
State Library of Queensland

Marking 100 years since the First World War, the State Library was tasked with putting on an important exhibition that told the personal stories of Queenslanders’ involvement in the First World War. POMO was asked to assist in the design of this important event.

USC & Sunshine Coast Council Co-lab Studio

 
USC & Sunshine Coast Council Co-lab Studio

In early 2019 the Sunshine Coast Council funded a cutting edge experimental design studio which was run as a capstone industry based subject for students at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Students were given the chance to work collaboratively with industry professionals to design something that would be built in a public place.

Sandgate Kids

 
Sandgate Kids

The environment in which this project was undertaken was a child care centre that had been renovated and changed a number times throughout a long period of time. The centre has a number of distinct areas of care, separated into sections for children based on age plus a number of staff rooms and administration offices. This method of expansion coupled with the need to direct people to distinct areas in a confined space configuration presented a special wayfinding challenge.

Downtown Nambour Public Art

 
Downtown Nambour Public Art

Public art has an important role to play in placemaking projects, helping to establish a sense of place and an identity for urban environments.

This project involved three installations of public art, all with different objectives. POMO played a different role within each of these projects.

Sunshine Beach Noosa

 
Sunshine Beach Noosa

Sunshine Beach is one of Queensland’s most beautiful seaside villages. It has a long history as a surfers’ coastal enclave nestled against the pristine Noosa National Park. This project aimed to upgrade a local public park using a placemaking process and gathering views through a community engagement program.

A 20 Year Vision for Downtown Nambour

 
A 20 Year Vision for Downtown Nambour

POMO spearheaded a pro-bono urban renewal project for the benefit of the local Nambour community. The project involved the creation of a sustainable plan aimed at revitalising the downtown Nambour CBD re-shaping the future of Nambour.

Nambour is expected to grow in population by 50% over the next twenty years. With this change comes immense opportunity for Nambour to revitalise and recreate itself as a sustainable and unique Sunshine Coast community. This change must be managed carefully in order to retain the unique character of the township as well as accommodate the changing demographic and land use patterns that will invariably occur.