Masterplanning & Urban Design
Masterplanning sets the scene for how people will live, work and play in reimagined places. It is a slow game that requires nurture, flexibility and foresight.
Masterplan Approach
The best masterplans are mixed-used and have a timeless quality yet are fundamentally cohesive. Our sensitive and considered approach to design is people-centric and respectful of context. In this sense, context can be historical, man-made, natural or cultural – we don’t work to a set formula but create a sense of place specific to the context we find.
Characterful and desirable places
Successful masterplanning requires thoughtful and vibrant use of scale, mass, height, texture and materiality to create places that are characterful and desirable. The masterplan provides the backdrop for future buildings and communities so designing inclusively for different age and socio-economic groups creates a sustained lifespan.
Places are for people, so we spend a lot of time thinking about them and how they will use the spaces we envisage. We also incrementally engage and consult with existing communities to bring them with us on a journey towards the masterplan vision addressing concerns and limitations as well as providing inspiration for the future.
The beginning of the story
A strong masterplan is the beginning of the story, it creates the strong foundations of a destination for a future community. As time and vision progress, we work with our colleagues across the practice to draw on our unique strengths and as we design specific buildings the masterplan is an anchor we can return to.
