Acton Waterfront
Acton Waterfront
A project for the national capital
The Acton Waterfront Project is a significant and transformational urban project for the Nation’s capital. It presents the opportunity to continue the legacy of the Griffin Plan, to enhance the landscape setting and amenity of Canberra and to bring a new urbanity, vibrancy and diversity to the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin. It is a unique opportunity to connect the City to the Lake.
In undertaking the Design and Urban Planning Analysis commission, fjc is reviewing the Acton Waterfront Master Plan and providing recommendations to the City Renewal Authority in the follow key areas: connection to the city; street geometry and layout; block geometry / efficiency.
Our analysis is to align with the Core Objectives, Project Objectives and Place Plan Themes for the project.
fjc looked at interfaces with related and concurrent projects incorporated key findings in the review, analysis and recommendations scope of the commission.
Urban design review
The urban design review is being undertaken collaboratively with the City Renewal Authority through a series of scheduled site visits, meetings and workshops. fjc undertook background research, prepared analysis and options and presented findings at the workshops with time allowed for discussion, sketching and testing in the room with the CRA representatives.
Building blocks are clearly arranged parallel to Commonwealth Avenue, one of the three primary avenue’s forming the National Triangle. The buildings frame the avenue and support the formal tree plantings that will accompany the extension of the Canberra Light Rail network.
West Road
Set within Acton Waterfront, West Road forms a green street connection between the City, waterfront park and the lake. The framework gives space for this important new street to be tree lined, generous in pedestrian promenade space and able to accommodate cycle and low speed vehicular movement. Perpendicular streets and lanes provide east-west connections that will have a local scale and character.
Projected from the Edinburgh Avenue geometry that radiates from Mt Ainslie through City Hill, the framework extends pedestrian and cycle links from New Acton to provide green connections across Parkes Way. Parkes Way itself is seen as a landscape buffer with a broad canopy of trees imagined.
A new public space
At the intersection of the parallel streets and blocks constructed from Commonwealth and Edinburgh avenues, a new public space is formed that is both local to the new Acton Waterfront community and a complement for the waterfront park on the foreshore of West Basin.
