Broome Chinatown Revitalisation Project
The Broome Chinatown Revitalisation Project has brought to life the long-held aspirations of the Broome community to preserve the town’s rich history, celebrate its local culture and reinvigorate economic and development opportunities. As the Public Realm Architects, UDLA, in partnership with TCL, focused on repositioning the Chinatown district as a key destination for locals and visitors alike.
Through an extensive community engagement process, UDLA & TCL collaborated with TPG & Placematch to understand what is unique about Chinatown, and work with the community and stakeholders to identify short, medium and long term strategies to revitalise the streets into attractive, habitable places for people.
As with many regional centres in Australia, Broome’s Chinatown had been in economic decline and there was an opportunity to put the district back on the map as a destination for new visitors and for the local community.
Completed in September 2019, Stage 1 was comprised of 10 sub-projects designed to deliver aesthetic improvements throughout the precinct, feasibility studies, events and grant funding to encourage the community to think differently about Broome’s Chinatown area.
Carnarvon Street (pictured above) and Dampier Terrace were identified as having a pivotal role in the precinct’s renewal, and UDLA/TCL.’s design response for the enhanced streetscapes involved built form additions and modifications, extensive street tree planting, pedestrian thoroughfares with clarified crossings and parking solutions that prioritise people (of all ages and capabilities) over cars.
Designed to celebrate and express diverse heritage and local cultures, the streetscape improvements provide social gathering spaces that can flexibly facilitate expansive activities and events both day and night.
Together with the ‘Good Street’ interventions such as reprioritising streets for pedestrians over cars, the public realm improvements are aimed at motivating the local authorities, landowners and retailers to return Chinatown to a bustling centre of commerce in the Kimberley region. The generously-scaled and well-shaded public realm creates an inviting streetscape for experiencing Broome’s way of life – creating a memorable destination that attracts new visitors and improves local trading conditions.
Through extensive engagement and collaborative design, the project integrates public art and interpretation that captures key historical and stories from Traditional Owners and other cultural groups. The public art and interpretation was led by MudMap Studio.
The Roebuck Bay Lookout is one of 10 sub-projects of the broader Chinatown Revitalisation project.
The resulting streetscapes are legible, accessible and easy to navigate. The result is a comfortable, safe and climate-responsive environment that has catalysed Chinatown’s rebirth through strong local partnerships and a strategic, multi-pronged approach to urban regeneration.
Awards:
2019 UDIA WA Awards for Excellence - Excellence in Urban Renewal
2020 Western Australian Heritage Awards. Commendation, Interpretation category
Details:
Client: Landcorp (now DevelopmentWA)
Aboriginal Country: Yawuru Country
Location: Broome, WA
Dates: 2017-2019
Concept Design - Construction Documentation Stages: UDLA and TCL
Delivery Stage: Acor Consultants and Josh Byrne & Associates
Collaborators: TPG + Placematch (Place Making), Element (Place Management Plan), Tabec (Civil Engineering), RFF (Communications), MudMap Studio (Public Art & Interpretation), ETC, Lightbox 3D
Photography: Yvonne Doherty
