This proposal deliberately offers the pedestrian a number of different ways of moving through the development via a formal route of the boulevard to the east, a linear park through the centre of the plan and a loop road. The first is a place for a brisk walk; the second is a pleasant place to jog, amble with the children or stroll with the dog; the third offers a more circuitous route than either the boulevard or the park. Playgrounds and sports surfaces are dispersed throughout the park. There is a café where the park turns in the direction of the station plaza.
The public realm of the roads is separated from the private realm of the residential blocks and towers by parking bays adjacent to the road, a strip planted with trees, a public footpath, a metal fence and, finally, a thick buffer of planting. Inside each perimeter block and behind each tower is a shared garden for the private use of their residents who enjoy easy and direct access to it from each circulation core. This familiar arrangement of street-residence-garden should be a powerful generator of a sense of community. The gardens can be used for a wide range of activities, from children’s play to summer barbeques.
Three building types are proposed: perimeter blocks, towers and perimeter blocks combined with towers.
The first type converts the link road into a boulevard, bounds the park and encloses the parking courtyards; the second type mark the city limits and binds the edge of the site against the motorway; the third completes the Main Street and provide landmarks at the station plaza and roundabout. The long sides of the perimeter blocks are five storeys high, the short sides three; the towers are eight storeys high; the combined blocks range from five to ten storeys high at the north end of the site and rise to twelve storeys at the south end.
