19 Oct 2020
Embracing the local in a post-Covid world
The idea focuses on the creation of ‘inclusive, vibrant and healthy neighbourhoods’ that are readily adaptable to the changing needs of residents while keeping to this time limit.
Urban Design
In our four decade history, Hames Sharley has been acknowledge by peers through the receipt of numerous awards for planning and urban design. We are constantly enhancing our knowledge and skills through ongoing participation in relevant professional organisations.
12 Aug 2020
Driverless Transport Will Speed Up Smart Cities
Driverless Transport Key to Future of Masterplanned Communities
EasyMile’s small, box-shaped shuttle is putting master planned communities on the fast track to becoming early beneficiaries of autonomous vehicle technology, according to Urban Development Portfolio Leader, Chris Maher.
06 Jul 2020
How urban design can help reduce homelessness
With homelessness affecting hundreds of thousands of Australians, this is no longer a situation we can ignore. It is time for Australia to follow the footsteps of countries such as France, Finland and Greece, to determine how we can implement urban planning tools to help alleviate homelessness.
25 Jun 2020
Going viral – how the coronavirus will affect urban design
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant big changes to the ways we interact with each other as a society. Now, with Australia slowly emerging from lockdowns and restrictions, we’re faced with the prospect of returning to normal again. But when it comes to architecture and urban design, what will normal mean? Can it really be business as usual?
25 May 2020
Taking cars out of the urban planning equation
If cars are so detrimental to the health and wellbeing of our cities and their inhabitants, why haven’t we phased them out? We look at some of the issues involved, and how urban designers and architects can respond to the problem.
14 May 2020
The road ahead for driverless cars
For years, we’ve been told to expect a transport revolution: get ready for the driverless car! And yes, there are little signs of it happening – from universities using automated vehicles to ferry guests around on open days to the deployment of driverless transport as a way of circumventing coronavirus restrictions. But aside from feeling twinges of jealousy when watching self-controlled limos speeding characters around on shows like Westworld, we’ve more or less let the whole idea slip from our consciousness.
08 Nov 2019
Open House opens doors to architectural icons in Perth
Members of the public will have the opportunity to tour a number of Hames Sharley-designed buildings this month as Open House returns to Perth for a weekend of architectural tours, talks and events.
21 Jun 2019
We’re gonna need a bigger Allen key
There’s no denying that flat-packed, modular furniture is well-established feature of the modern design landscape. Well, get ready, because plans are afoot for flat-packed, modular design to become part of the actual landscape, too.
03 May 2019
Scarborough Beach Services & Surf Club
Project Spotlight Series
A visual essay of Scarborough Beach Services & Surf Club in Western Australia.
18 Feb 2019
Cause an effect
We all know architecture and design means more than coming up with mould-breaking office spaces and eye-catching structures. But have you thought about how the skill set required for those occupations can have farther-reaching effects on the community, both local and global?
13 Dec 2018
HS People Series - Rachel Seal
We sat down with Hames Sharley’s newest director, Rachel Seal to chat about her career so far and some of the people and projects that have inspired her along the way.
19 Nov 2018
Spotlight on the future of urban hubs
The future of urban hubs and transit oriented developments have been a hot topic in Queensland this month, with a number of panel events and media outlets reporting on the subject.
15 Nov 2018
The bee-all and end all
Why architects and planners are designing bee friendly cities
It is estimated that around a third of the food we eat relies on bee pollination. In light of the sharp decline in bee populations, we sat down with Urban Designer and Biophilia Enthusiast, Hayley Edwards to discuss what can be done to reverse this alarming trend.
12 Oct 2018
Devaluing the role of iconic public architecture
The appalling misjudgment in allowing commercial advertising on the ‘sails’ of the Sydney Opera House calls into question the special custodial role of our public buildings, major public artworks and iconic infrastructure as symbols of shared community and cultural values.
20 Sep 2018
Experiences vs ‘Stuff’
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is the new keeping up with the Joneses. Here, some of Hames Sharley’s thought leaders discuss whether minimalism is making us richer, and the impact this is having on the built environment.
10 Sep 2018
Enhancing health and wellbeing through urban design
Human behaviour is intrinsically influenced by our surroundings, and as a nation predominantly made up of city-dwellers, our urban environment contributes a major part to making us who we are. Here Chris Maher, David McCarroll and Jason Preston uncover some of the tools used by designers of the built environment to enhance health and wellbeing.
06 Aug 2018
The notion of nodes
What is a city node? What are its benefits? And what is its place in the Australian urban environment?
06 Aug 2018
From little things, great things grow: Shaping the future of Adelaide
Adelaide has great bones. Its founding fathers planned a city which not only looks beautiful, but is highly functional and extremely liveable, but we need to be bold and seize the opportunity to create an even more vibrant and innovative place to live that is proudly local and yet globally connected…
06 Aug 2018
Space consumption
Hames Sharley’s National leader of the Urban Development portfolio, Chris Maher, discusses the societal pressures of vanity-driven space wastage and how millennials are here to save the day.
06 Aug 2018
Reach for the sky
Some of Western Australia’s key thinkers and influencers recently tackled the subject of urban sprawl in the book Drawing The Line – Deliberations on Density, released through Urban Design Forum WA.
17 Jul 2018
Urban innovations for closing the fiscal gap
Director of Hames Sharley, Darren Bilsborough explores biophilic urbanism as a way of increasing quality of life without increasing tax.
10 Jul 2018
Incentivising and Controlling Population Growth
Population Roundtable: Part 3
The population debate is one of equal opportunity. While some Australian states and cities boom and expand rapidly, others progress at a slower rate or even decline. So, do our policymakers and society as a whole need to look carefully at putting measures in place to evenly distribute the population across the country?
10 Jul 2018
Shifts in Population Growth
Population Roundtable: Part Two
Alarmingly, by 2022, Australians who have reached retirement age are predicted to outnumber children. There is also a current population shift of people from all around Australia moving to Melbourne and Sydney, leaving other cities to dwindle. What do these trends mean for our future?
10 Jul 2018
Transparency in Population Growth Data
Population Roundtable: Part One
Information and data relating to population growth do exist, but perhaps it is not as widely distributed or as fully understood as it could be. Here we discuss how increased transparency could make a difference.
19 Jun 2018
Google to run the waterfront of Toronto
Sidewalk Labs will help transform Toronto into a smart city, using sensors to monitor a variety of interactions in order to collect data that will create efficiencies for the city.
21 May 2018
Laying the tracks for great Transit Oriented Developments
For today’s developers, urban planners and governments, development around transit areas requires extremely careful planning. Here we explore the key principles that will allow projects to truly serve and support their surrounding communities.
21 May 2018
Mitigating the potential threats of Artificial Intelligence on our cities
It’s predicted that robots and Artificial Intelligence will play a large part in our lives by 2025, but as anyone who’s seen a Terminator movie knows, these are exactly the kinds of technology prone to misuse or mishap. Here we investigate a report highlighting the potential use of Artificial Intelligence for malicious means.
24 Apr 2018
How to sustain Australia’s rural-urban communities; a case study part 2
A Spatial Framework was developed in response to Serpentine Jarrahdale’s expected population growth and embodies the values and outcomes expressed by the Serpentine Jarrahdale residents.
24 Apr 2018
How to sustain Australia’s rural-urban communities; a case study part 1
Serpentine Jarrahdale have a predicted population growth of 1.5 million people in 20 years. Hames Sharley has assisted in creating a strategy and vision together with the Shire and the community.
09 Mar 2018
Are microtowns the new high streets?
They’re the traditional locations for shops, banks and other businesses, but high streets could be facing new disruption from an unexpected area.
08 Mar 2018
The world’s best-planned cities
With a recent article naming five cities that rank among the best-designed in the world, we look at what links these destinations, and what lessons others can learn from them.
19 Feb 2018
Digital era calls for new style of placemaking
Today, people are increasingly communicating online rather than face-to-face, replacing social spaces with social networks. So, what does this mean for physical communities? Are they diminishing in value?
02 Feb 2018
Melbourne and Sydney battle it out to become Australia’s first megacity
Melbourne and Sydney, two great Australian rivals. They’ve been at it since the first stone was laid.
Now there is a new race in play – to become Australia’s first megacity.
08 Jan 2018
Middle Metro Suburbs: Dotty and Mike’s Story
#Adelaide2027lifestyles - Part 1
Hames Sharley has been a proud contributor to Deloitte’s recent ‘Make it a plan Adelaide’ report released late last year. In part 1 of a continuing series, we follow Dotty and Mike’s story.
08 Jan 2018
Inner Urban: Pierre, Simone and Evette’s Story
#Adelaide2027lifestyles - Part 2
Hames Sharley has been a proud contributor to Deloitte’s recent ‘Make it a plan Adelaide’ report released late last year. In part 2 of a continuing series, we follow Pierre, Simone and Evette’s Story.
08 Jan 2018
Transit Corridors: Peter and Bob’s Story
#Adelaide2027lifestyles - Part 3
Hames Sharley has been a proud contributor to Deloitte’s recent ‘Make it a plan Adelaide’ report released late last year. In part 3 of a continuing series, we follow Peter and Bob’s Story.
08 Jan 2018
Middle Metro: David and Lucy’s Story
#Adelaide2027lifestyles - Part 4
Hames Sharley has been a proud contributor to Deloitte’s recent ‘Make it a plan Adelaide’ report released late last year. In part 4 of a continuing series, we follow David and Lucy’s Story.
08 Jan 2018
City Central: Mai and Cheng’s Story
#Adelaide2027lifestyles - Part 5
Hames Sharley has been a proud contributor to Deloitte’s recent ‘Make it a plan Adelaide’ report released late last year. In part 5 of a continuing series, we follow Mai and Cheng’s Story.
12 Dec 2017
Bigger Adelaide, Better Lifestyles
Hames Sharley has been a proud contributor to Deloitte’s recent ‘Make it a plan Adelaide’ report. We share their view that a key strategy in transforming and growing South Australia’s economy is to grow its population.
07 Dec 2017
The shape of Things to come
By connecting devices to the internet – and to each other – The Internet of Things has the potential to revolutionise the way we live and do business. And the architecture industry is no exception.
12 Nov 2017
Designing communities that flourish
Hames Sharley’s Associate, Shannon O’Shea, and Manager Planning for WA, Malcolm Somers, explain why their disciplines play a key role in the resurgence of urban neighbourhoods.
21 Oct 2017
It’s a shore thing
10 Considerations for Planning the Perfect Waterfront
Approximately 85% of our population live within 50km of the ocean and our climate has facilitated a deeply embedded culture of life at the water’s edge. Therefore it is natural that our nation has become leaders in the field of waterfront urban design. But what are the factors that make a truly great waterfront? We present ten key considerations when for planning the perfect place at the water’s edge.
16 Oct 2017
Cities taking great strides towards walkability
Cities such as Seoul, Barcelona and London are transforming parts of their cities by increasing walkability and bringing pedestrians back, bringing about a new lease of life to urban areas.
12 Sep 2017
Postal survey
Andrew Choate’s Instagram page is a celebration of bollards that features dozens of examples from the very basic to the impossibly ornate. Check them out – the account already has 49,000 followers.
12 Sep 2017
Countering the counter-measures
When unsightly concrete blocks were placed on the streets of Melbourne and Sydney, intended to provide security against terror attacks, the public outcry was vociferous and immediate. But never mind the bollards, because safety measures shouldn’t have to spoil the streetscape…
12 Sep 2017
Urban growth creates a perfect storm for flooding
Extreme weather conditions have made news headlines in the past month, with major hurricanes making landfall in large parts of America. As floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey receded, The New York Times reported that much of the damage to infrastructure could have been avoided.
14 Aug 2017
The seven deadly sins of stakeholder engagement
Our checklist of seven deadly sins that should be avoided in the consultation process…
14 Aug 2017
The changing landscape of stakeholder engagement
While community consultation has long been part of many regulatory frameworks, the way it is conducted often leaves a lot to be desired…
12 Jul 2017
What makes a BiodiverCity?
Each of the most biodiverse countries around the globe shares a common trait – rapid urbanisation. In a recent piece, The Guardian have attempted to calculate which city is the world’s most biodiverse and found some interesting results…
12 Jul 2017
Scenery, not greenery?
It’s common knowledge that if you want to rediscover your calm you head back to nature. But could it be that we’re too narrow in our view of what we experience as uplifting, and could architecture have the same effect on our mood as parkland?
29 May 2017
The Location Equation
When selecting an office, after questioning the size and cost the next biggest issue often relates to concerns around commuting.
23 May 2017
Office buildings and the work spaces within…
People have been talking about the demise of the office for years now. Since telecommuting became an everyday phenomenon, opinion-makers have been queuing up to tell us how the traditional workplace is on the verge of extinction.
12 Feb 2017
Driverless cities – preparing for a transport revolution
With driverless cars already taking to the roads in Pittsburg, San Francisco and even on trial in Adelaide, the autonomous vehicle revolution is upon us – whether we like it or not.
13 Jan 2017
Begging for a better solution
The increase in homelessness has led to a rise in begging leaving cities asking the question, what is the best solution to street begging?
14 Oct 2015
Future food for thought
How Australian architects and planners can learn from bid to serve up sustainable NYC.
Influential architect Michael Sorkin believes more local food production is vital to stop the world ‘going to hell in a hand basket’. He’s working on an alternative masterplan for New York, and highlighting issues that could profoundly influence the future design of Australian cities.