Ecological Design Principles

2009-09-02T01:52:00.000-07:00

For a 5 minute overview of Eco-design principles and strategies for human habitats play the video.
Key focus: architectural adaptation towards ecologically sustainable futures; 7 principles; 6 strategies; 18 goals.

Holistic Design/Placemaking Principles

2009-06-14T00:05:00.000-07:00

To create an environment that meets human needs and over time expresses a connectedness to the wholeness of life I apply Christopher Alexander's big picture place making (design) principles.

My video explains each principle:

A framework for Holism

2009-06-06T02:52:00.000-07:00

My eco-logical design philosophy is grounded in holism, as my video explains:

From this foundation, I work with the multi-dimensional skins of architecture and the meta-criteria for city development.

Interview with Queensland Courier Mail re Maroochydore Directions Plan

2009-06-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

A transcript of a recent email interview with the Courier Mail's James O'Loan about the Sunshine Coast Regional Council's Directions Plan for Maroochydore follows:

Hi Philip Thanks for calling back. Could you please respond to the following:

1 - What is your current job and job title?

Architect/ Urban Designer and Futurist; Principal Futuresense

Also SC Chair of the Australian Institute of Architects

2 - David Oliver said you worked as an architect/planner for the Maroochy Council that made the 2000 Maroochy Plan. Is this correct? If so your former position & duration?

Yes, I was an officer in Maroochy Shire Council’s Planning and Development Dept from 1994-2005 holding various positions. My last position was Program Coordinator, Urban Design, Heritage & Landscape. A Key achievement whilst in that role included:

· Advocated to Council and secured $1.5 million grant for the Development of the Maroochydore City Square and upgrade of Cotton Tree Park, from the Qld Government’s Regional Centre’s Program.

3 - Council last week released its Maroochy Centre Plan. Why has it taken so long to get to this stage?

Integrated Local Area Planning for Maroochydore began in 1995, and I can remember at least 3 studies prior to the current 2009 Master Plan. Being blunt, I think that poor, inconsistent political leadership, fearful of innovation has meant that the community has lost out on good place outcomes for the Centre for lack of collaborative partnerships between the public, private and community sectors. E.g. Inaction of the proposed civic square, car parking infrastructure, local public transport and urban improvements, all converge to erode trust between Council, the development industry and businesses within the Centre.

Since 2000, Council has gone through 4 restructures, the most significant being the amalgamation and the combined lack of a “long view”, combined with the bureaucratic tendency of re-working plans by new administrations added up to few outcomes on the ground. The major tangible achievement being applauded by Council last week (rightly so) is the Cornmeal Creek beautification – however funding for this was applied for in and granted in 2003 through the Qld Regional Centre Program (I made the successful application)… the fact that it took Council 6 years to design and build it shows that leadership at all levels is poor.

4 - Has the delay (and it still has not been given approval by the State Govt) impeded Maroochy CBD's capacity to attract businesses?

The sequential delays, have cost the region in terms of its design and sense of place, social benefits and economic returns. The cost is incalculable in my mind.

5 - Is the plan being put forward good enough to live up to its aim of making the CBD the Sunshine Coast's capital?

As a futurist, I applaud any good vision developed by affected stakeholders to create their preferred future. Whether affected stakeholders in Maroochydore have ownership over the plan is an unanswered question in my mind. The other uncertainty is the implementation framework. Has Council learned the mistakes of past poor leadership and governance to start making it happen and get wins on the board?

6 - Has Kawana (as David Oliver suggested) or any other areas overtaken Maroochy CBD as a business/progressive building location?

The Kawana vs Maroochydore contest has been a long running one. The advantages of one Master developer for Kawana Town Centre (Stockland) is clear. That is why alternative delivery/governance models need to be considered for Maroochydore. E.g. Urban land Development Authority. The colourful implementation diagram (Fig. 7.1; p.54) is not very convincing. I have seen similar intentions in past centre development plans for Maroochydore since 1995.

7 - Has the ongoing delay cost the CBD a great chance to build itself up, especially because the state's investment boom appears to be over and investors/developers that were interested have now walked away or are unable to fund their formerly sound plans?

Same answer as Q4. A positive spin-off of the delays and the missed development cycle is that Maroochydore could emerge as a resilient, green centre, able to adapt to the challenges of climate change and peak oil.

8 - If so, could you put a figure on the loss of business (not) generated?

$ beyond my calculation

9 - What are the plan's major shortcoming from a commercial/retail/social interaction/aesthetic perspective?

The plan doesn’t drill down as to how key blocks will be developed and that a layer of built form analysis is missing. This analysis would show a fine grain of small urban squares, parks and lanes throughout the centre (e.g Barcelona or Savannah USA) to provide diversity, and accessible creative third spaces. The open space design of the Directions Plan is focussed on big corridors and water spine which has merit (e.g. Central Park, New York; Brisbane South bank) as an iconic landscape. A finer grain of spaces will add variety, comfort and opportunities for spontaneous meeting places. E.g. The key block that butts onto the station is massive (probably about 6-800m in perimeter. As a key block some understanding of how it should be developed and how it will interface with any future interchange/station is pretty important.
The position paper only talks about providing adaptable buildings by specifying suitable ground floor heights. I hope this is rectified in the development of the Centre Code because a resilient centre in the long term (50yr+) needs to allow uses to change with ease within buildings. E.g from residential to office and back to residential if required, particularly in mixed use precincts for the podium level and or first 4 floors.
The PedShed (walkability) analysis shown on Maps 1 to 4 is flawed. That is the 800m walking distance is shown as an ideal ring (as the crow flies). People cannot fly, so we should not be placated into a false sense of pedestrian connectivity or walkability. This basic urban design method which ought to underpin the scope of the Directions Plan has been misused and therefore seriously erodes its validity. A proper PedShed analysis measures the actual area of the Centre accessible by a 10 minute walk (400-600m) along paths from key transport nodes. (see diagram below).

10 - Any comments you would like to add stemming from your time at council in relation to this 9 year (and counting) wait?
I think I covered that above.

Maroochydore Directions Plan

Streets for Living

2009-05-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

Ninevah; Illahun (Egypt); Priene (Greece)

People have been using streets for thousands of years to create civilisation and futures. The Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all built streets through their diverse landscapes.

Timgad (Roman Colony)

However, technological developments such as the car and utilities have dominated the street and the qualities of our modern towns and cities.

So what is the future of the "Street" due to climate change or peak oil?

New Orleans; Marcoola

Bagdad

What is your preferred future for your street?
Tell us with the online poll, on the right.

My hope is that streets connect communities to change the world.

FutureSense

Ecological Design Principles

Holistic Design/Placemaking Principles

A framework for Holism

Interview with Queensland Courier Mail re Maroochydore Directions Plan

Streets for Living