placemaking

Talking Place Visioning on The Placemakers Podcast by Tom Oliver Payne

Great time chatting with Stephen Burton of POMO on the Placemakers Podcast recently. Summary written by Stephen:

“What's the relationship between placemaking and property marketing? From a property developer's point of view, placemaking is a often looked at as a way to differentiate their offering in the market. Is there still a role for community in this process? How does it intersect with branding and place visioning? As a leader in this field, Tom helps us understand the way placemaking is defining our privately made public realm.”

Check it out on Spotify here.

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Reinterpret and reimagine through adaptive reuse by Tom Oliver Payne

Back in London a couple of months ago I visited Battersea Power Station, Coal Drops Yard and The Standard (one I worked on back 2015). These adaptive reuse projects entice people to visit. They’re bold. They tell a story.

The bricks and mortar honour the past, but the playful elements like chimney lift shaft, themed bar, encircling shared street and basketball courts engage with the city in a contemporary way.

We’re lucky in Sydney: we can learn from international projects like these (the pros and cons) to apply thinking to White Bay Power Station, Newtown Tram Sheds and North Eveleigh, to name a few. Heritage isn’t a burden, but an opportunity to reinterpret and reimagine.

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Why Australian cities should become vertical, multi-dimensional experiences by Tom Oliver Payne

“On a recent trip overseas, I finally experienced the spectacle of the city of Hong Kong. Sipping on a beer from an upper floor bar, I was engrossed by immense, vertical cityscape – made even more intriguing by thick layer of fog below. I was guided up narrow stairwells to rooftop parks and podium bars, seemingly hidden from its meandering streets. I watched kids playing cheerfully in inner city parks, next to teenagers during an intense game of basketball. The word “vibrant” sprang to mind. Although I promised myself to stop using it.

I thought back to life in the Sydney CBD. It seemed dull by comparison. Suits by day, commuters by night – scrambling to get home before the peak hour rush. Yes, a few bars with a steady flow into the evening. But surely it could be so much more? I imagined ascending Sydney’s tallest towers for live music, swimming pools with panoramic harbour views, dazzling art installations hanging from grey infrastructure, and colourful playgrounds set in-amongst the buildings ensuring play, fun and joy isn’t just something for the weekends.

Surely, Sydney could be so much more. And why wouldn’t it?…”

Blog post written for Hoyne about Sydney from some recent insights from Hong Kong. Read the full article here.