Inside-out town centre sets sustainability benchmark

The inside-out town centre achieves cool shaded environments supported by integrated transport, schools and parks, and medium and high density living. The main street with its leafy green environment is the focus of the town centre, rather than a shopping centre.

Rouse Hill Town Centre is the commercial, retail, transport and social hub of Sydney’s northwest.

Designed around the main street, it is an attractive and thriving community with more than 1,800 homes for around 4,500 residents. It is home to more than 12,000 permanent jobs.

Rouse Hill Town Centre is a lively and green town centre with a diversity of buildings including apartment buildings and retail and commercial buildings.

We explored cities across the world for inspiration to deliver pedestrian comfort and sustainability features applicable to the local environmental conditions.

Today Rouse Hill Town Centre is a thriving mixed-use precinct that supports the growing region. The inside-out town centre achieves cool shaded environments supported by integrated transport, schools and parks, and medium and high density living.

Facts at a glance

Where?

Rouse Hill Town Centre is 39km northwest of Sydney CBD in the Hills Shire.

What?

A 122ha Town Centre developed in a greenfield setting, offering more than 200,000m2 of retail and commercial floor space and 1,800 homes.

How?

As masterplanner Landcom prepared the concept master plan for the site, and then selected Lendlease and The GPT Group as preferred tenderers through a tender process.

Landcom then worked with Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, The Hills Shire Council, Lendlease and The GPT Group over 18 months to resolve planning matters before the Lendlease/The GPT Group joint venture commenced development.

Timeline

Government identified site for future town centre

School opens

 

Town centre construction commences

First stage opens with two major supermarkets and 80 specialty stores

Second stage of town centre opens with department stores, specialty stores apartments, town square, Library, Community Centre and Learning Space

Sydney Metro services commence

 

Project highlights

Vision

Our vision was for a sustainable regional master planned town centre modelled on some of the best cities across the world. This required integrated decision-making and innovation in design and collaboration.

LandcomRouseHill vision 2

Creating a place for people

Right from when Rouse Hill Town Centre opened it has always been a special place. A library and community centre, 2,000m2 of learning space, 104 apartments, 140 additional shops and the all-important main street and town square were all opened in March 2008. A month later a weekend growers’ market and a nine-screen cinema complex were launched.

We designed extensive cycle and walking trails, and an outdoor environment centre educates the community about the environment and local Aboriginal and cultural heritage.

LandcomRouseHill Places for People

Integrating environmental sustainability

Rouse Hill Town Centre achieves a balance between public space as a meeting place, marketplace and traffic way, with links with the natural world and Metro train services.

Guided by ecologically sustainable design principles that account for the warmer local climate, and to maximise the feeling of openness, smart building initiatives reduce shopfront heat and provide shady and waterproof routes for pedestrians. Underground parking means that aboveground areas are a domain for people and not cars.

Rouse Hill Town Centre uses 40% less energy, is on track to use 60% less water and has an eco-footprint 25% smaller than a comparable town centre.

We restored Caddies Creek and its parklands to recreate a thriving 27ha eco-system, which, combined with several parks, provide 32ha of public open space.

LandcomRouseHill Sustainability

Creating a place through heritage and community development

In an early initiative, a full-time travel coordinator helped people to minimise car use in travelling to the Town Centre by developing a green travel plan and working with residents and workers to devise personalised green travel plans.

Our partners established Learn2, a not-for-profit business that provided a learning environment to foster relationships between groups, schools and business.

The public art program reflects the site’s history. It includes The Paddock, Mungerie House Park interpretative paths, and an Aboriginal grinding groove viewing platform.

Rouse Hill Town Centre includes several parks, play areas for children and respite areas for families all within 32ha of public open space.

LandcomRouse Community development

Awards

2008 BANKSIA FOUNDATION PEOPLE’S CHOICE

Category
Award for Environmental Excellence

2008 AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS

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National Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design Award

2008 AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS

Category
Lloyd Rees Award for Urban Design (NSW)

2009 PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA (PCA)

Category
Innovation and Excellence Award for Shopping Centre Developments and Overall Winner (‘best of the best’)

2009 URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA (UDIA)

Category
Award for Excellence for Sustainability

2009 AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY INSTITUTE (API)

Category
Excellence in Property Award for Property Development

2010 URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

Category
Global Award for Excellence

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