UQ STUDENT PROJECTS

Students from the Bachelor of Regional and Town Planning and Master of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Queensland

STUDENT PROJECT 2022

– Regeneration of Montague Road: a vibrant mixed-use Boulevard for West End

Kurilpa Futures again partnered with the UQ students from the Bachelor of Regional and Town Planning (BRTP) and the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP).
Under the leadership of Dr Sebastien Darchen, in early August, the students joined with Kurilpa Futures members for a site tour starting with the Thomas Dixon Centre, home of Queensland Ballet, and continued through the study area. This study area was bounded by Kurilpa & Drake Streets (on the North and South) and Crowther St and the river (on the East and West). This covered a variety of buildings, topography, land use, history and environmental issues.
Unlike previous years, this assignment was not bounded by the current planning policy for the area, so submissions could reflect student’s visions for the future.
A week after the site walk Kurilpa Futures were also joined by West End Community Association, West End Football Club and Veneziano Coffee for the students to further question people living and working in the area. To enable such a varied panel from the community this forum was held on Zoom for everyone’s convenience.
Three months of research and design then went into completing the assignments. To achieve a feedback loop several of the student groups presented their work to the community at the Thomas Dixon Centre in November. This provided them the experience to receive questions and comments outside the university experience.

Brief:

UQ Students are to develop a regeneration plan, for the next 10 years, for the study area located along Montague Road. Ultimately, the plan will promote a vibrant and well-designed mixed-use strip that should be acceptable to and for the community. The new Thomas Dixon Centre provides an opportunity to redevelop Montague Road in a ‘Boulevard Style’ that would result in an attractive environmental strip encouraging people to explore the whole length, with hubs of varying activities. Building on what already exists, UQ students are to develop design solutions to involve the main environmental, economic and social challenges for the study area and design a proposal for the site of 365-377 Montague Road that will be an exemplar for the future development of the new Boulevard.

  • Kurilpa Heart by Shey Gornitsky • Georgia Holmes • Nicholas Linde • Erica Whitlock
  • Kurilpa Corner by Sarah Schwaner | Ruth Lian | Sze Lok NG Kevin Wong Ho Chi Felix | Chi Him Cheung Kenneth
  • Cultural Centre by Indrajit Koner – Hyeondong Yang – Chun Him Andrew Fok

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STUDENT PROJECT 2021

– Boundary Street Precinct: Ideas for the Future

University students love to study West End. Some even like to consult local people, but they seldom have the opportunity to report back their findings or discuss their ideas in person. This semester a group of postgraduate and undergraduate students from the Bachelor of Regional and Town Planning (BRTP) and the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from The University of Queensland were given this opportunity.
 
4th August – STAGE 1: Unlike in previous years, in 2021 a Q&A session of undergraduate and postgraduate students was held with members of Kurilpa Futures online due to government restrictions. The topic – their proposals for improvement, conservation and development of the heart of West End on both sides of Boundary Street: from Browning and Mollison Streets south to Granville Street and Brighton Road, and from Sussex and O’Connell Streets west to Hardgrave and Bank Streets.

17th November – STAGE 2: Under the leadership of Dr Sebastien Darchen the students worked for three months on their proposals. The schemes developed by the students move from inclusive values, through proposed activities, to imaginative designs and layouts for open space, pedestrian movement, sensible parking, affordable and character housing,  and creative industries.
A meeting was held to give students the opportunity to close the circle, and present the findings and proposals, of their three-month project to a small group of local residents who were given the opportunity to see how well the students met the challenges that were set for them three month earlier.
The meeting was designed  to allow time  for discussion of the practicalities of impacts and implementation. Admission was free but space was limited to 50 participants.
23rd November – STAGE 3: West End Regeneration Project – The following are the 3 student projects that were presented on the 17th November as examples of this semester’s Urban Planning and Design at the University of Queensland.
  1. Project – Karan Padbidri, Kevin Cherian, Danping Sun, Shuyang Zhang
  2. Project – Lizbeth England, Tayla Horton, Bella Nakos, Jack Willet, Xuenying Yi
  3. Project – James Leader, Ali Rizaya, Jasun Yao, Parker Sharp, Michael Dark

STUDENT PROJECT 2020

– Boundary Street Precinct: Ideas for the Future

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14th August – STAGE 1: Following an introduction the previous week from QUT Community Planner, local resident and KF member, Phil Heywood, sixty Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning and Master of Urban and Regional Planning students from the University of Queensland, for the second year, visited West End on Wednesday, August 12th in their preparation to work on schemes for the future planning of West End’s central core of 50 hectares. The project covers the area on both sides of Boundary Street, extending from Browning to Granville Streets. Each team will adopt one, or a mix of the three, variants of Trend, Mixed Use or Conservation Strategies.
Gathering bright and early under the leadership of their lecturer, Dr Sebastien Darchen, in Bunyapa Park, the students set off to explore the neighbourhood in six small groups. Each group was led by either a member of Kurilpa Futures, including Ruth Christie, Belinda Macartney, Stephen Fisher, as well as Phil, or by one of the two UQ staff members.
Explorations continued for an hour and a half, with each group touring an interesting selection of the neighbourhood’s key conservation and development sites and community life anchors. Both historic buildings and new development sites were looking their best in winter sunshine and the students celebrated their escape from the limitations of online lockdown restrictions to relish direct contact with real people and places, resulting in numerous insightful questions and comments!
Finishing in Boundary Street at the Goanna and, subsequently, the Boundary Hotel’s Coffee Shop–Down-The-Alley, several groups continued in lively discussion and one was still going strong an hour later.
As from 2019, we confidently anticipate some very creative and imaginative proposals, combining community values and concerns with measured responses to the inevitable development pressures facing inner city suburbs.
Staff and students will be working on the project all semester in teams of four and the best resulting studies for each of the three options – Trend, Mixed Use and Conservation- will be presented back to the local community in, or just after, November. Watch This Space!

3rd December, 2020 – STAGE 2: 3 of the student projects  from 2020 have been released for viewing:

  1. WEST END REGENERATION PLAN – “West End is a rapidly growing suburb that has a long history of settlement and is home to a variety of heritage.”
  2. PLAN7126-WEST_END_REGENERATION – “The unique character of West End can be attributed to it’s rich cultural heritage, a long history and its central location.”
  3. Farideh– “The suburb of West End is under threat of gentrification.”

3rd December, 2020 – STAGE 3: Media Release

UQ Students Plan West End With A Human Face

STUDENT PROJECT 2019

– Boundary Street Precinct: Ideas for the Future

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29th July – STAGE 1: Planning students and staff from the University of Queensland met with members of Kurilpa Futures and representatives from West End Community Association to participate in an orientation of the Boundary Street Precinct as a prelude to the forum.

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5th August – STAGE 2: Students, planners, traders, and community agencies participated in a workshop to explore ideas for the future of the Boundary Street Precinct.

  • When: 9.00 am – 11.00 am, Monday, 5th August, 2019
  • Where: AHEPA HALL, 126A Boundary St, West End
  • Hosted by: Kurilpa Futures in collaboration with Dr Sebastien Darchen from the University of Queensland and John Mongard Landscaping and supported by West End Community Association.
  • Program

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12th August, 2020 – STAGE 3: 6 of the student projects  from 2019 have been released for viewing:

  1. Susatinable Site Proposal – “The site has two frontages, the primary active frontage will be located in Boundary St on the eastern boundary, and the second boundary to the west on Thomas St.”
  2. Banksia House Proposal – “The report provides a context analysis about the site, users and market trends.”
  3. West End Regeneration Plan_1 – “Breaking the boundaries – Vision and Strategies”
  4. West End Regeneration Plan_2 – “The regeneration transforms the area into a jungle in the middle of the city.“
  5. West End Regeneration Plan_3 – “This report describes the vision, design strategy and conceptual plan for the West End Centre.”
  6. West End Regeneration Plan_4 – “West End is a community where historical values and indigenous culture are acknowledged and embraced.”