Rockingham Foreshore Masterplan
In 2015, UDLA was engaged by the City of Rockingham to provide a masterplan for the iconic Rockingham Beach Foreshore. The resulting Rockingham Foreshore Masterplan provides a coherent vision for 4kms of waterfront reserve (approximately 32 hectares of coastal land) and its immediate surrounds.
The masterplan explored significant revitalisation and tourism opportunities along the waterfront by responding to Rockingham’s uniqueness, history and character and celebrating the iconic foreshore as one of Western Australia’s favourite holiday destinations.
Central to the approach was an inclusive design process to ensure the locals were involved in shaping their town’s key amenity. Through this ground up method, the masterplan was endorsed by the community and stakeholders from early on, allowing the project to run smoothly and meet the tight timeframes. UDLA facilitated several design workshops and hosted an open public information session with overwhelming public attendance and an overall positive response to the design.
Following extensive coastline analysis, the masterplan was focused into three distinct areas of usage and staged for future implementation. Across the areas, key considerations included accessibility, dual Nyungar/European histories and amenity upgrade that prioritise the needs of people over vehicles. The design balances improved connections between the surrounding urban fabric, the built public domain and the beachfront with the protection of sensitive dune landscapes.
In contrast to the rest of Perth’s mostly ‘wild beaches’, Rockingham Beach presented the opportunity to build a genuine urban condition into the project with the creation of a ‘corso like’ beach plaza connected to parklands, the beach, and the surrounding retail via a generous an active waterfront promenade walk.
A key principle of the Masterplan was to substantially reduce the role of cars and traffic infrastructure in the foreshore area. The end result is a proposition that removes or reduces carparking from key sites, unlocking their potential as destinations and public spaces. Due to the project’s collaborative approach, UDLA was able to build support for this concept.
In developing the masterplan, UDLA worked closely with lighting, parking and transport consultants, coastal engineers and wayfinding experts to ensure the design was technically feasible.
Awards:
2016 Australian Coastal Councils Award of Excellence
Details:
Client: City of Rockingham
Aboriginal Country: Whadjuk Noongar & Binjareb Noongar Country
Location: Rockingham, Western Australia
Dates: 2015
Landscape Architect: UDLA
Collaborators: City of Rockingham, Rockingham Community members, Tangelo Creative, DVC Consultants, MP Rogers and Associates
