Returning to Yorketown with a vision

As WAX Design prepare for a presentation of the Yorketown Urban Design Framework & Masterplan back to the community, a youtube video has been prepared to show the vision for the town. This was informed by the community, the Yorketown Progress Association and the District Council of Yorke Peninsula, following consultation by WAX Design, URPS and Algo Mas in Yorketown last March. The Urban Design Framework provides a vision for the future development of Yorketown. It identifies a range of opportunities, directions and detailed actions that aim to reinvigorate the town by increasing tourism and economic development, attracting new residents and improving the quality of life for the local community’.

The video can be found at http://youtu.be/MWbV4Cmay3w

Welcome Johnny

Johnny has recently joined the WAX team and brings with him a creative attitude towards landscape architecture and exploring the dialogue between people and place. He has worked in local government and was at the forefront of open space design, decision making and development assessment for the rapidly expanding City of Playford.

Johnny has a strong interest in how physical and ecological components of the landscape affect the social experience of our communities and believes there is an opportunity to engage with the both tactile and emotive elements that surround us. He recognises that relationships are what give meaning to the places we inhabit, and appreciates the importance of context base design solutions in strategic progression from consultation towards collaboration.

Place Making is easy...just be human.

Matt Baida from the WAX office recently attended the Place School Master class. Hosted by Gilbert Rochecouste and Kate McMahon from Village Well with guest speaker Neil McInroy from CLES (Centre for Local Economic Strategies) the master class looked at innovative solutions for creating great and resilient communities for turbulent times.

McMahon introduced place making fundamentals that assist in building creative and strategic frameworks, with authentic community engagement practices to better connect people and place. During the class participants were asked to reset their thinking on what is thought of as ‘normal’ in their approach to place making as today’s communities must be able to deal with the evitable ebbs and flows of social, political and economic change. By altering the way we think when dealing with place making and community resilience, McInroy expanded, we are able to better understand and open discussions on the interconnectedness of a community’s commercial, public and social economies. It is within this network where that resilience of community can be created.

Through the creative exploration of effective solutions to place making challenges, Matt, not only walked away with powerful new knowledge, tools and approaches on authentic community engagement and place making strategies but it also reinforced WAX’s approach to such projects as the Dysart, Inner West and Yorke Town Urban Design Frameworks.