News & Developments: Mawson Lakes

[Zills]

I thought it ran under the space between Tea Tree Plaza and Tea Tree Plus.

This is correct, being a fan of the underground i've been through it myself and i can safely say it does not go under any buildings

[Omicron]

In almost every instance, development covering a creek is far less desirable than development that enhances a creek.

Why do you say this Omicron? IYO? or reference?

In my (grumpy old man) opinion ( ). Bodies of water enhance so many things - they're pleasing to look at, they encourage trips to the area, they help raise land values, they encourage wildlife, and the natural flow of a creek gives a pleasing contrast to the strictly-planned urban environment around it. Building over a creek suggests that its value is nothing more than a distribution channel for water, which is a shame.

[Wayno]

In my (grumpy old man) opinion ( ). Bodies of water enhance so many things

I agree with Omi. Development should leverage the natural landscape - esp bodies of water.

A classic lost opportunity is Mitcham Square Shopping Village (Brownhill Creek runs through the site). 4 years ago when the entire centre was being rebuilt, there was an opportunity to create an urban oasis, but instead we received an underground drain covered by ~60sqm of paving. To add further insult, the paved area was required by the council as a public area of relaxation where people could linger and catch some rays. Hence the single 3 person bench seat*sigh*

[Omicron]

Brownhill Creek is an interesting one. It has been identified as one of the most likely creeks to be unable to deal with any sort of major flood in the metropolitan area, yet is so constrained by existing development (both public and privately-owned) that major works required to turn it into a slower-moving natural creek with wetlands to handle substantial volumes of water (as is planned for the Sturt Concrete Eyesore) are all but impossible. In many places it's hard to identify its course at all, and that certainly wouldn't aid efforts to improve its flood-mitigating abilities.

[rubegoldbergdevice]

In my grumpy (young man) opinion, whilst Mawson Lakes looks like it's "not just another suburb", it's simply an Ikea suburb. You get designers in to make it look like it's not shit, when it actually is. Delfin are doing exactly this suburb in Melbourne and no doubt every other Australian capital (except maybe Canberra, which was Ikea to begin with). Don't be fooled. You can go there and admire the water and the Hossein Valamenesh sculpture (one of his least successful) and go home again without ever meeting a soul. It's mildly aesthetically pleasing for people who have looked up the word in a dictionary, but socially as unsuccessful as any other suburban development. This is just 21st Century Golden Grove. BOO!

[AtD]

^^ I disagree. Mawson Lakes craps all over Golden Grove simply because it has (the foundations of) street level activity. Yes, the sprawly bit is just bland sprawl, but it is building up a reasonably dense town centre with one important twist: every building has retail shopfronts on street level. Already these are bringing more street life into the area than Golden Grove has now. There's already a lot of hidden shops: hidden cafes, clothes stores, take outs, delicatessens, banks, convenience stores, etc.

Once the gaps in the town centre are filled in, I'd expect a lot people to come. The less active shops like estate agents and so on will be replaced over time with things more suitable to higher pedestrian traffic. It doesn't have a life-sucking shopping centre like Golden Grove that will kill them off.

That being said, I would agree it's not unique nationally.

[Nort]

In my grumpy (young man) opinion, whilst Mawson Lakes looks like it's "not just another suburb", it's simply an Ikea suburb. You get designers in to make it look like it's not shit, when it actually is. Delfin are doing exactly this suburb in Melbourne and no doubt every other Australian capital (except maybe Canberra, which was Ikea to begin with). Don't be fooled. You can go there and admire the water and the Hossein Valamenesh sculpture (one of his least successful) and go home again without ever meeting a soul. It's mildly aesthetically pleasing for people who have looked up the word in a dictionary, but socially as unsuccessful as any other suburban development. This is just 21st Century Golden Grove. BOO!

I live in Mawson lakes in the Mawson Central area and although we are moving out soon (apartment living isn't for us) I have to disagree in regards to the direct Golden Grove comparisons.

Mawson Central is actually quite a well designed area. Both the shopping center and the train station are within very short walking distance, along with shops being distributed throughout the lower level of apartment buildings rather than all congregated in a central mall. Once construction is finished this should be quite a bustling area.

With that said though, the more traditional areas of Mawson Lakes look great but are terribly designed and horribly reliant on popping back and forth in a car.

[crawf]

In my grumpy (young man) opinion, whilst Mawson Lakes looks like it's "not just another suburb", it's simply an Ikea suburb. You get designers in to make it look like it's not shit, when it actually is. Delfin are doing exactly this suburb in Melbourne and no doubt every other Australian capital (except maybe Canberra, which was Ikea to begin with). Don't be fooled. You can go there and admire the water and the Hossein Valamenesh sculpture (one of his least successful) and go home again without ever meeting a soul. It's mildly aesthetically pleasing for people who have looked up the word in a dictionary, but socially as unsuccessful as any other suburban development. This is just 21st Century Golden Grove. BOO!

There was a article in the Herald Sun last year boosting about Mawson Lakes and how Melbourne should do the same with one of their housing developments.

[Will]

I found this on the Hansen Yuncken website:

UniSA M2 Mawson Lakes, SA



The project involves the delivery of a new iconic building M² Building of 5700m² and a significant landscaped space. The Plasso to provide accommodation, specialist facilities and social recreational spaces at the Mawson Lakes Campus.

The project scope also includes:

A network of Linkways that connect the Materials and Minerals Science Hub;
The proposed development of an upper level link;
A proposed café on The Plasso, and
The upgrade of the facades of Building H

[Omicron]

I should hope they have only photocopied the top part of the Kaurna/Hawke/Black buildings at UniSA City West and designed a proper, accessible and welcoming ground floor, unlike the '....what? People have to get in? Pfft, how un-industrial' approach of the aforementioned constructions.

[contractor]

They've broken ground on that project. Earthworks have been completed and sub-base is down and compacted.

Anything is better than the carpark that was originally there.

[Aidan]

They've broken ground on that project. Earthworks have been completed and sub-base is down and compacted.

Anything is better than the carpark that was originally there.

Where exactly is it going to be?

[contractor]

Just south of the the building below (To the left)

[Aidan]

Just south of the the building below (To the left)

That view is looking eastwards, so the left is north of it.

[contractor]

Hopefully this one gets off the ground and maintains the integrity of the orginal design.

Located on Elder Smith Drive it will consist of:

- 4 levels
- 12,888 m2 NLA
- 300 car parking spaces
- 2 café spaces