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Publications and NoticesUrban design charter
The South Australian Urban Design Charter (the Charter) commits government agencies to achieve good urban design and foster liveable, efficient, creative, sustainable and socially inclusive environments through the design of public places and their interaction with private buildings. It applies to urban areas, including metropolitan Adelaide, regional centres and country towns.
The Office for Design and Architecture SA (ODASA) provides assistance to other State Agencies in meeting the objectives of the Urban Design Charter.
The department directly contributed to the enhancement of South Australia’s public realm in 2014 – 15 through the following initiatives:
South Australian Government Architect and ODASA
ODASA supports the Government Architect’s role as an advocate for design excellence in the built environment.
In promoting the value of excellent and effective design, the Government Architect:
- Provides strategic advice to the South Australian Government on design, planning and development of major projects, policy and processes.
- Leads and delivers design review in South Australia.
- Measures and communicates the value of design and publishing best practice guides.
- Establishes policy and practice frameworks for achieving design quality in the built environment.
- Values the successful development of our future heritage.
The Adelaide Festival Plaza, Riverbank Precinct, and the preferred location for the new CBD High School were significant state projects in 2014-15 that were guided and enhanced by the Government Architect’s advice on design generally, urban design and public realm specifically.
The most direct influence of ODASA and the Government Architect is through the Design Review Process that is offered as part of the Inner Metropolitan Design Review Panel (IMDRP). Design Review offers independent and impartial advice on the design quality of proposed construction projects and supports design excellence in our state.
The Design Review process has also informed a series of design guidelines. These guidelines assist design teams and developers in generating projects that meet good design principles for built form and public realm outcomes anticipated by the Inner Metropolitan Growth Development Plan.
The IMDRP supports the Government Architect, as a statutory referral body, in forming advice to the Development Assessment Commission (DAC) on the design merit of proposals assessed by the Commission. Development in the City of Adelaide and the sections of inner council areas are defined under the Inner Metropolitan Growth Development Plan Amendments. As part of this new policy framework, the IMDRP is essential to the pre-lodgement process for development proposals over $10 million in the city and over 5 levels in surrounding metropolitan areas.
The IMDRP is one of the only statutory referrals regarding design excellence in Australia, and illustrates the ‘line of sight’ concept outlined in the National Urban Design Protocol for linking policy directly to project delivery.
Planning System Review
The department has undertaken a major review of the planning system, with an independent Expert Panel recommending significant system wide changes to the current planning system. While the recommended reforms are to streamline and simplify the whole land use planning and urban development assessment process, the value of design to achieve qualitative outcomes is repeated throughout the recommendations.
In the place making, urban renewal and infrastructure related reforms, the Expert Panel recommended that the planning system should “ Integrate open space and public realm in the planning system”.
The recommendations are currently informing a comprehensive legislation reform program.
The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide
The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide (the Plan) outlines the need for significant change during the next 30 years and is being used to guide state and local government decisions about managing growth and change, providing a leading approach to liveability, competitiveness, sustainability and climate change resilience.
The Plan aims to deliver the following urban design principles:
- maximise and increase the amount and quality of public open space in areas expecting a significant increase in population and development intensity, as well as integrating this space with private open space
- ensure active street edges in and around activity centres, mixed-use environments and transit-oriented developments
- create good connectivity to encourage walking and cycling and promote the use of public transport
- strengthen local character to maintain neighbourhood and township identity
- create good connectivity between major open space corridors.
The principles are being implemented through structure planning and rezoning for new growth areas. The department finalised the Inner Metropolitan Growth Development Plan Amendments, rezoning key corridors in the inner city in line with the Inner Metro Rim Structure Plan.
Growth areas are progressively being rezoned, and the Playford Growth Area Structure has been completed.
Places for People grants
The Places for People funding program is aimed at revitalising or creating public spaces that are important to the social, cultural and economic life of their communities.
The program aims to foster a culture of strategic urban design in councils and establish practices, including Design Review that will benefit future public realm projects. In 2014-15, eight Places for People grants totalling $3.4 million were provided to local government.
Since 2002 around $33.6 million has been made available for 247 Places for People projects, many of which have received professional and industry awards.
Capital Investment Program
The department plays a lead role in overseeing and providing across government/industry leadership in the planning, development and coordination of strategic projects.
With the completion of projects as varied as the new Adelaide Showgrounds Station servicing the Belair and Seaford/Tonsley lines and the duplicated Southern Expressway, the department has focused on provision of facilities that represent good urban design, as well as being highly functional and safe for use by all. For all major projects, quality urban design principles are developed and can shape the finished product. For example, urban design and sensitivity towards public space will be a major driver for new projects such as the O-Bahn City Access Project, the North-South Corridor upgrades at Darlington and Torrens Road to River Torrens.
The department also works in partnership with government agencies and private sector professional service contractors to plan, design and deliver social infrastructure projects.
The key principles of the Urban Design Charter are integrated into the planning and design process for building construction projects undertaken by the department on behalf of other government agencies.
Building construction projects currently being designed, and recently completed, incorporate good design principles. Specific attention is given to government policy for environmentally sustainable development, art in public places and safe work practices. Projects include attention to community consultation, as well as collaboration, cooperation and alliances with local government and the private sector to better meet government’s strategic priorities and community needs.
Our Buildings, Our Communities continues to articulate the objectives and principles for public building construction procurement. It complements the Charter by drawing attention to the importance of good buildings, ethical, transparent and fair procurement processes and meeting the objectives of South Australia’s strategic and infrastructure Plans.