MASTER 

PLANNING

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

WALKABILITY

BICYCLE

SYSTEMS

PLACE

MAKING

NATURAL

SYSTEMS

SUSTAINABILITY

TRANSPORT

INTEGRATION

DEVELOPMENT

CONTROLS

WORKSHOPS

DEVELOPMENT

ROLE:  Project Director and Urban Design Lead 

CLIENT:  Frasers Development


Located adjacent to Camden in southwest Sydney, Cawdor will be a community created to provide better living and liveability through a holistic realisation of sustainability, affordability and resilience objectives and opportunities. It will be a place where vibrant local economies merge with social and environmental infrastructure built to last.

Cawdor will deliver housing, jobs, services and infrastructure for around 13,000 people, with 5,000 new homes and complementary uses, including education, local retail and social services.

AECOM (led by David) designed Cawdor to test sustainability innovations, including urban heat island initiatives. The project's vision included reducing the community's ambient temperature by 4 degrees Celsius compared to surrounding areas as part of delivering a six-star Green Star Community.

At the heart of the new town is a sizeable 3+ha recreation pool integrated with a new town centre, schools, employment and tourism/commercial activities. This Master Plan informs the Planning Proposal to rezone the site.

A central feature of the community is a super large 3ha pool - large enough to windsurf on. Part of the heat management implemented for the community.

Angle Up A central feature of the community is a super large 3ha pool - large enough to windsurf on. Part of the heat management implemented for the community.

South Bank Pool in Brisbane

Angle Up South Bank Brisbane is an example of a popular oversized pool.

The structure plan had to consider the introduction of a significant quantity of housing, community amenities, open spaces and other mixed-uses. The plan also redefined precinct walkability and legibility. The design response had the Metro stations at the core of the proposed interventions.

This project demonstrates a collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach to strategic planning and criteria-based evaluation of three possible future growth scenarios. The agreement of a shared vision and guiding principles for the place became the framework against which future land use, open space and transport scenarios were assessed.

The Vision for Cawdor is supported by seven key Principles.

Angle Up The Vision for Cawdor is supported by seven key Principles.

“Cawdor will be a community built through enduring partnerships, becoming a destination for healthy living, lasting jobs and community connection. It will be a place that enhances lives by being more sustainable, resilient and resourceful for residents, employers and the broader southwest community.”

Vision for Cawdor, 2017

Illustrative plan of Cawdor showing the town centre, feature pond, open space network and interim uses in the Outer Sydney Orbital corridor.

Angle Up Illustrative plan of Cawdor showing the town centre, feature pond, open space network and interim uses in the Outer Sydney Orbital corridor.

Leverage existing site features to define the shape and character of the community through a strong sense of place.
Celebrate visual and physical connections to the broader context and region beyond.
Create a cohesive series of defined neighbourhoods supported by local community amenities within comfortable walking distance to the local centre.
Create a resilient community that fosters strong ties among each other and the broader Camden community.
Provide a smart and efficient transport network that links up with the regional growth centres and transport nodes and supported by walkable access to bus stops.
Create recreational attractions and amenity beneficial to both the local and wider community.
The southern portion of the site needed to be reserved for a future possible freeway. This may not come, or will be at least 20-30 years away. The space is planned to be an area for intense Urban Agriculture and sustainability utilities.

Angle Up The southern portion of the site needed to be reserved for a future possible freeway. This may not come, or will be at least 20-30 years away. The space is planned to be an area for intense Urban Agriculture and sustainability utilities.

The southern portion of the site needed to be reserved for a future possible freeway. This may not come, or will be at least 20-30 years away. The space is planned to be an area for intense Urban Agriculture and sustainability utilities.

Angle Up Typical street sections were prepared for all streets.

Design Bureau (on Wallumedegal land) acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work, and thrive.

We respect and learn from their cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters, sky, and communities and their enduring contributions.

Envelope  david.barnard@d-bureau.design

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