Williamstown Junction Estate

The design of Williamstown Junction Estate provided a number of challenges. The solutions to these problems highlight the benefits of working as a multidisciplinary team to achieve outcomes that are environmentally sensitive and visually attractive whilst still being cost effective.

Features & Innovation

  • Extensive use of laneways to enable parking to garages at the rear of the property
  • Elimination of garages from the front street together
  • Urban design guidelines that prohibit the use of mock period features to create a wonderful streetscape for this estate
  • Use of park land to assist in solving a drainage problem has been a positive and innovative feature

Landscape Architecture

  • New parkland
  • Houses have an outlook over the park
  • Parks are designed as basins to assist in detaining stormwater following large storms. The landscape design incorporates a perched water table design so that following such storms the parks are able to freely drain

 

Engineering

One of the major problems to be overcome was to sort out an existing drainage problem. Unfortunately the proximity of the railway line and the existing outfall drain posed a significant constraint. After much consultation and a number of conceptual ideas the Council agreed to a solution that utilised the parkland as a retarding basin during peak storms. In order to make the parks user friendly all year round a free draining base has been used. The effect of the change in level of the park is quite effective in an otherwise flat landscape and the sloping grass provides a great opportunity for kids to play.