Fusing local and international city-shaping expertise, the FarrellsCM+ alliance is set to have a major impact on our cities.
Joining forces at a time when metro rail networks and subsequent over-station developments are fast becoming defining pillars of our metropolitan areas, the alliance is steeped in a deep personal connection. CM+ Founder Bill Morrison formerly headed up Farrells’ Urban Design Unit in London around 50 years ago, forging a friendship with Farrells’ Founder Sir Terry Farrell.
Farrells, more specifically its Hong Kong outpost, has seen the practice outstandingly contribute to the transport networks of a number of major Asian cities, with its international expertise now to be imposed on Australia’s built environment through the alliance.
FarrellsCM+ will be able to deliver design solutions from concept to completion, from urban planning to architecture, community consultation, urban design and masterplanning.
Farrells Hong Kong Principal Stefan Krummeck (above left) believes sustainability and reduced emissions inherently lies in transport systems. By creating mixed-use hubs in close proximity to train stations and networks, you remove the need for private vehicles, which slashes the personal footprint of citizens. He hopes the alliance will allow for this mantra to be carried into Australia at a pivotal time.
“Transportation is a very significant contributor to carbon emissions. A huge amount of energy is consumed by cities just shuffling people around. So if we can find a better way to organise our cities, we can make a dramatic difference to the environment and to the sustainability of cities.
“Many cities are car reliant, and we need to overcome this. By doing so, we can also provide an urban fabric that is more convenient for people. In reality, sitting in a traffic jam is not enjoyable for anyone.
“If we have a good public transportation system that is ideally accessible within walking distance of where you live, and if the place where you live also has shopping, maybe even some commercial facilities or offices, then you have a mixed-use neighbourhood that provides all sorts of daily needs.”
CM+ Design Director, Dick Nugent (above right), is well credentialed to offer his thoughts on the country’s respective transport networks and over-station development. With over 40 years’ experience in the transport sector, Nugent is a member of the NSW Government Architect’s State Design Review Panel, Bayside Design Excellence Panel and is an advisor to Infrastructure NSW on the development of Barangaroo.
“One of the biggest challenges we face today is changing the conversation about sustainability outside of the CBD. In the CBD, density drives integration. The new (Sydney Metro) stations at Martin Place and Pitt Street were designed to be integrated with the surrounding area,” he says.
“However, outside of the CBD, we have more space and we don't have the same density. This means that new railway stations are often located next to town centres or along highway corridors. They are designed as standalone elements, and the integrated thinking that is common in the CBD does not find its way to the suburbs.”
Nugent believes the alliance between the pair of firms will result in more effective ways of driving down emissions.
“Our combined team has a wealth of experience in sustainable development. We believe that we can bring this experience to the suburbs and change the conversation about sustainability. We can start by taking an integrated approach to planning and development. We can also work with local communities to develop solutions that meet their needs. By working together, we can create more sustainable and livable suburbs for everyone.”
Both Krummeck and Nugent believe that a coherent strategy for urban growth around the new stations has been overlooked by state and federal governments. Nugent believes that integrated development is key to consummate outcomes.
“I believe that we often end up in a situation where there is no development over the station. As a result, in order to achieve adequate density around it, we end up packing extreme amounts of density next to the station,” he says.
“However, if we actually built the development into the station in the first place, we would be able to achieve a much more balanced urban outcome, a more livable space, and the train would be much more integrated into the lives of the people living nearby.
“You need a certain level of patronage to make the train efficient. And if you achieve that, and also if you have frequent stations, you get much shorter headways, so the train can run much more frequently. And when the train is more frequent, then people will be more willing to use it because it becomes a daily convenience.
Change can occur in a number of places, whether it be brought about by citizens or government legislation. Both Krummeck and Nugent are of the belief that people power, and issues around housing affordability and private vehicle ownership, will enact the change that Australian cities require to become more liveable and accessible.
“I think it should come from the people ultimately, rather than trying to legislate it,” Krummeck says.
“I strongly believe the opportunity exists now. When you put these new stations in, you should really think about what these neighbourhoods should become and how dense they should be, and what the functions we should have there.”
Nugent adds: “I think we shouldn't underestimate the power of people to vote with their feet. A significant number of people don't want cars and can't afford a house and I think the market is really there. But we really need to provide the options near the station so that the market can lead.”
Transport and over-station development is the initial focus of the FarrellsCM+ alliance. Krummeck hopes to create commercial high-rise akin to the likes of Quay Quarter Tower and Tech Central, but the metro systems serve as a familiar starting point for both practices.
“Given our knowledge on the ground here in Sydney, our infrastructure workers opened the door to a lot of contractors and their methods and ways of doing business,” Nugent says.
“The Farrells team brings a lot of recent metro construction from around the world. Although they haven't built one here, it's easily translatable. So we'll bring that here and team that up with our knowledge of contractors in the market. The next stages of railway work are going to be design-build contracts, which plays into our hands.
“I suppose you could say it's a relationship between firms, a relationship between people and a matching of skills.”
For more information regarding the alliance, click here.
Images:
Top: Qianhai One Excellence mixed-use tower, Shenzhen, China. Designed by Farrells.
Second: Stefan Krummeck, Dick Nugent.
Third: CM+'s Rhodes over-station development concept.
Fourth: Kowloon Station Development & The West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong. Designed by Farrells.
