Our landscape architecture team has a wealth of creative talent and technical expertise. Our approach is site-responsive with a strong focus on achieving environmentally sustainable outcomes, combining creativity and precision to ensure a smooth delivery into built reality.
Led by registered landscape architect, Steve Schutt (AILA), the nine-strong landscape architecture team includes members from Belgium, North America, Vietnam, the UK and Australia, with careers that have spanned five continents. This global insight brings a depth of knowledge, experience and ideas to each project delivered by Hansen in the Asia-Pacific region.
We work collaboratively with our clients in the public and private sectors to design places and spaces that incorporate the use, occupation and enjoyment of external environments. We design solutions that create, improve or rejuvenate external spaces, with a focus on considering the needs of the individuals, groups or communities who will occupy and enjoy those spaces.
We have a particular interest in designing civic spaces within established urban contexts. We enjoy working closely with existing communities to identify their aspirations for their own environments, and we adopt collaborative design approaches to ensure the delivery of design outcomes which engender pride, engagement and stewardship of public space by the people who use it.
We have the in-house capability to take designs from the early stages of pre-feasibility studies through master planning, concept design, design development, documentation and into construction.
hansen has a reputation for excellence in the field of public domain and civic design, including a wide range of projects from streetscapes to educational and institutional developments. Our track record is underpinned by multiple state and national awards from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA). We take a multidisciplinary approach, through collaboration with our own urban design and planning teams as well as our clients and the end users of our projects, to offer a truly comprehensive service to create spaces with enduring value.
We work with architects and developers across the residential and commercial property sectors to help meet development objectives whilst considering the environmental, economic and social outcomes. In the residential sector, our experience and services extend from estate and subdivision master planning to landscape planning for multi-unit residential developments. In the commercial sector, we have extensive experience creating low maintenance spaces that are sustainable yet also economically viable.
We provide a range of services in landscape and visual assessment to assist in the planning and design of buildings, roads and other infrastructure in a variety of settings. Our team draws on the expertise of landscape architects and urban designers, employing innovative techniques of viewshed analysis combined with advanced 3D visualisation processes to accurately reflect the appearance of proposed forms in their urban and/or natural settings.
Our reputation extends to providing highly professional, quality expert witness services across a range of jurisdictions, including the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), Planning Panels Victoria, the Supreme Court of Victoria, the County Court and the Magistrates Court.
–
Hansen was engaged by Devonport City Council to prepare the Mersey Bluff Precinct Framework as an overarching master plan for Devonport’s valued coastal precinct. The vision articulated in the plan received a very positive response, leading to Hansen being further engaged to oversee the implementation, design development & documentation of the plaza.
The design provides a strong link to the foreshore & integrates ancillary activities to create a vibrant community hub. The redevelopment includes the construction of a new Surf Life Saving Club building, upgraded sea wall, new car parking, an all-abilities playground & the central pedestrian plaza which links the foreshore reserve to the beach. Within the plaza, a series of picnic, barbeque &seating elements enhance community usage & a succession of striking shelters & sculptural lighting illuminates the area.
Our design also included coastal-inspired paving to breathe new life into this space, featuring an expanse of interlocking pavers transitioning in colour through to the sand & water beyond. The project was awarded the Bruce Mackenzie Landscape Award at 2014 Think Brick Awards, which recognises design excellence in the use of clay brick, concrete masonry & roof tiles.
The improvements have been sensitively designed to respond to the coastal environment as well as provide improved connections & access, retain significant vegetation, preserve & enhance views & create opportunities for passive & active recreational activities.
–
Langtree Mall reinvigorated the central pedestrian mall of Mildura in regional Victoria. The design incorporates a space of approximately 6,000m2 and includes pavements, shelters, a central pavilion, tree pits with WSUD technology, lighting, furniture, provision for technologies for staging events and the provision for installation of photovoltaic panels within the shelter structures.
Key design elements draw influence from Mildura as a place and a community. The paving design references the natural landscape of the Murray River and the surrounding agricultural lands. The design for the shelter structures and the central pavilion reference the drying racks and storage sheds synonymous with the local grape and dried fruit industries. The colours used in the roof panels of the central pavilion are a direct representation of the vibrant colours of local produce; the grapes, olives and citrus crops. Tree pits are designed to accommodate clusters of trees and their relationship to the Murray River pavement motif are directly inspired by the form and function of billabongs along the river.
The design delivers a multi-dimensional venue for a range of activities necessary in the establishment of a vibrant urban realm. In the absence of a formal town square, Langtree Mall is Mildura’s primary civic space. The design provides a public venue of sufficient scale, identity and prominence.
Langtree Mall was awarded The Bruce Mackenzie Landscape Award at the 2015 Think Brick Awards.
–
The MacKenzie Falls Gorge Trail blends innovation with a back-to-basics approach to deliver a bold design solution and enhanced visitor experience for one of Australia’s largest waterfalls.
Innovation was key to the design process given the challenges of remoteness, accessibility and data. Quality aerial photography and survey information was unavailable, so gathering information on site was crucial. We used alternate techniques such as on-site visual mapping and photo assessment to deliver a site-specific report, including new trail alignment options and a ‘kit of parts’ document detailing typical construction details.
Another major design consideration was climate change resilience. Careful consideration was given to material choice, location and form to ensure their presence in the landscape would stand in a fire and flood prone bushland environment.
The new trail provides a more intimate route, drawing users to locations previously undiscovered, including alternate sides of the river and new views to the lower falls.
The trail has won numerous accolades including the 2014 Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture (AILA) Victoria Awards, with the project taking home both Design Award and the People’s Choice Award, Best in Category – Architectural Design at the 2015 Premier’s Design Award, Finalist: Landscape Award at the 2015 World Architecture News Awards and Winner of Architectural Design: Urban Design & Public Spaces at the 2015 Good Design Awards.
–
Richmond Terrace Park recognises the demand for parkland in urban areas where population density and built intensification are rapidly increasing. The park delivers this in a highly resolved form and configuration which balances the desires of the community for an area which can readily accommodate large gatherings whilst equally providing a tranquil environment in an area where private open space is often scarce.
The design is responsive in the articulation of tangible design cues, notably the historically significant architecture of the churches which adjoin the park, and the manner in which the interpretation is expressed in a contemporary manner.
The stained glass windows of the churches are referenced through the design of the pavement pattern, the polychromatic brickwork of retaining walls and in the design of the stainless steel light boxes. The design utilises materials to achieve a composition which at first glance appears in stark contrast to its historic abuttals, but on closer inspection reveals a clear acknowledgement of the architectural importance of those buildings to the history and local community.
The result is an intimate, inner-urban park that provides a highly utilised pocket of colour and light in a public domain otherwise dominated by asphalt and bluestone.
Richmond Terrace Park was a finalist in the 2016 Good Design Awards, the national 2015 Think Brick Awards and also received a design award at the 2015 Victorian AILA Awards.
