Case Study: USC Co-lab Studio, Urban Design Project

Multidisciplinary Design Process

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.

The subject was “Creativity, Design and Communication” and was a cross-disciplinary collaborative workshop that attracted students from courses as diverse as psychology, creative writing, media and screen production, urban planning, communication design and game design. The students came together to learn how to use design to help deliver a real world urban design project. The co-lab was inspired by the City Studio run from Vancouver Canada.

The urban design project was part of councils streetscape upgrade of Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs being the area in which the university is located. The students were given the task of designing a gateway entrance to the Sippy Downs suburb.

POMO was engaged to help guide the students through a process that would deliver place-driven urban design concepts. The students also gained access to two artist consultants, an indigenous consultant, a landscape architect from council and were supervised in the subject by two university staff, one from communication design and one from urban design and planning. Together this team worked closely with the students across an intense eight week period and together undertook:

>a cultural immersion tour to understand local indigenous history
>a lecture and input from artistic consultants to understand the role of creative practice and art in public places
>a formal lecture and mentorship from POMO to outline a design and research methodology that would help students to create realistic place-driven urban design concepts

Students were required to keep a creative journal, write a return brief which responded to the design challenges and prepare and present their final refined design concepts.

The outcomes from the students proved the value of cross-disciplinary thinking, contextualised to a local place and driven through POMO’s placemaking methodology.

Other projects

High Street Armadale Melbourne

POMO worked with local Melbourne contractors and suppliers in Queensland to build and install the final outcomes in the street.

Understanding & Applying Place Character

The Sunshine Coast Urban Corridor

Its not everyday that we can lay claim to a world first but as far as we know this is the first report of its kind in the world. So what is it exactly?

Winter Street Malvern Melbourne

This early work set the foundation for a design development process where POMO developed a place-driven community minded response for the park that catered to the different user groups in a practical and spatial way.

Dinosaur Sculpture

Bringing an Australian dinosaur to life as a found object metal sculpture.

We were given the job of creating a prehistoric art piece for a project led by our good friends at Vee Design.

We researched the right species, worked out all the anatomical details then created a design for an Australovenator Wintonensis metal sculpture (a uniquely aussie dinosaur unearthed in Winton Qld).

Miles Streetscape

POMO was engaged to collaborate with FourFold Studio and Vee Design in the revitalisation of the main street in Miles Western Queensland. Our role was to delve in the cultural history of the town and then design a number of bespoke creative elements in the landscape that express the uniqueness of the town.

Mooloolaba Concept Design

Creative Placemaking Design for the redevelopment of Mooloolaba Foreshore

We were asked to create a series of place-driven design concepts that would tie in with the landscape design of the Mooloolaba Foreshore. These concepts took everyday objects and elements that were to appear in the revitalisation and applied a place-driven artistic lens to their design. This process occurred after a place analysis was conducted and local themes and narratives were identified for expression.

Nambour CBD Creative Renewal Program

Through a grant from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts POMO was engaged to deliver a city-wide creative placemaking renewal program in the Nambour CBD. The aim of the project was to creatively enhance the town’s night time appeal, encourage foot traffic and visitation.

Nambour Placemaking Analysis

This report analyses the unique place context for a city wide urban renewal design process in the town of Nambour Queensland.

This document, running to 158 pages, offered the urban design team a detailed insight into the town so a revitalisation could be created in a way that was driven by Nambour’s unique qualities, represented its culture authentically and positioned it for future demographic changes.

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.

Southport Broadwater Parklands Play Attractor

This project was unveiled in August 2022, having been in the making for over three years. POMO was first involved in the project before it was awarded, then involved in placemaking design and later delivery of a range of custom playground items.

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.

108 Wickham Street Fortitude Valley

POMO was engaged by principal contractors Buildcorp to undertake the detailed design and fabrication of a number of placemaking elements at 108 Wickham Street Fortitude Valley Brisbane.

The public space between two commercial buildings was being revitalised be lead designers AECOM and POMO worked alongside AECOM to inject meaning, history and locally appropriate stories and overlays into the space

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.

Terry Summers Recycled Book

Terry Summers is a Brisbane based practising visual artist and sculptor. Terry wanted to create a coffee table book that would be a retrospective of his life’s work focusing on the years 1999-2009.

Birtinya Library Placemaking Analysis

Birtinya Library & Arts Development Space Placemaking Analysis

The purpose of this project was to inform the architectural design team of the specific culture, identity and history of the Birtinya area so a design could be generated that was deeply connected to the place.

The report also laid the foundations for a series of short term concepts for activating the currently empty land before development.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Placemaking Design Studio, Urban Placemaking, Placemaking Design and Construct

Placemaking – Design and Construct