New Communities
An integrated approach
We create vibrant, healthy and sustainable new communities that respond to the unique qualities of place, its people and the environment. We create places people want to live.
As a multidisciplinary practice Tract provides town planning, urban design, landscape architecture, community engagement and media expertise for all scales of new communities projects, throughout Australia.
Our approach is firmly rooted in our ‘site responsive’ ethos, which address the distinctive features of each site, harnessing the ‘sense of place’ to maximise the value of each project. All our projects are underpinned by sustainability and best practice principles.
Our work enhances the connection between community and landscape and ensures our designs respond to existing natural and environmental processes. We appreciate that the public realm is critical to the character and quality of new communities and this is where, as designers, we can have the greatest impact.
We follow a collaborative and iterative model of design and testing, partnering with clients and a wide range of development professionals to ensure that our communities are both visionary and feasible, while also positively impacting the environment and communities they support.
Our team is well resourced with a national presence, allowing us to draw on resources, internal research, knowledge, and our collective experience to deliver the best solution for your project. This ensures we remain at the forefront of new community development across Australia.
Expertise in new communties
From strategic planning, visioning and masterplanning through to detailed design, construction and delivery, our team has the capability, expert knowledge and resources to assist with your project.
- Placemaking and Activation
- Access and Universal Design
- Housing
- Strategic Planning
- Water Sensitive Urban Design
- Tree Canopy Coverage and Connection with Natural Systems
- Regulatory Planning and Approvals
- Community Building
- Ecologically Sustainable and Climate Responsive Design
- Developing placemaking strategies and activation plans
to create vibrant and inclusive public spaces, streetscapes,
and gathering places that foster social interaction, cultural
vitality, and economic vibrancy within new communities.
- Utilising 2D and 3D digital modelling, we test accessibiliy outcomes across a range of project scales for safety, mobility and compliance with AS1428 (2021).
- Our staff are proficient across a variety of platforms and approaches that can enhance accessibility and universal design outcomes.
- We possess a deep understanding of existing and emerging housing typologies, and how they can be delivered within precincts and neighbourhoods.
- We are well-versed in addressing the intricate challenges posed by topography and design lots, roads, and buildings that respond effectively to these conditions.
- Developing long-term strategic plans, including precinct
structure plans and development plans, to guide the growth
and development of new communities in alignment with
client objectives and regulatory requirements.
- Capturing, retaining and treating stormwater run-off is critical in reducing the impacts on waterways and catchments further downstream.
- Our holistic approach ensures delivery of site specific, innovative and practical outcomes for the use and reuse of urban stormwater as part of an integrated landscape response.
- Tract’s Landscape Architect’s are acutely aware of the benefits of tree canopy coverage for improved occupant amenity, biodiversity and landscape resilience.
- We work with project teams to identify opportunities for alternative engineering solutions to achieve high amenity outcomes on our projects.
- Facilitating town planning permit applications and
navigating regulatory processes to secure necessary
approvals and permits for new developments, ensuring
compliance with local planning policies and regulations.
- We strive to create vibrant, attractive, healthy and sustainable communities that respond to the unique qualities of place, its people and the environment
- We aim to enhance the connection between community and landscape and ensure our designs respond to existing natural and environmental processes. We appreciate that the public realm is critical to the character and quality of new communities and this is where, as designers, we can have the greatest impact.
- Our skilled landscape architect’s and horticulturists select trees and plants that are tolerant of and resistent to climate change, heat, wind and drought and resistent to pests and diseases.
- We select materials to have a low environmental impact, measuring and evaluating the embodied carbon in materials and the life-cycle impacts of our designs
Innovation
While our expertise is rooted in decades of practice, we continually strive to improve our services and outputs for our clients.
Through independent research, partnerships with industry and academia, and on the job learning, we continue to deepen our understanding of many of the complex challenges facing new communities. Challenges such as climate change, population growth, housing affordability / cost of living, market demand, building costs, regenerative design, housing density, car parking requirements, tree canopy cover and biodiversity requirements, topography considerations, active transport needs, placemaking, social inclusion and equality.
This knowledge and research informs our decision making, enables us to identify and mitigate potential project risks, effectively negotiate with stakeholders and ultimately ensures the long-term sustainability of our projects.
For example, our research and acquired experience has taught us that working with slope is critical from the outset of the development to minimise excavation, ensure built form is sensitively integrated into the landscape, maximise the benefits of key views and ensure required grades for road and footpath access, whilst accommodating volume builder products. We work closely with the client and project engineers to ensure the solutions we provide maximise the benefits of slope while mitigating the challenges.
Our research into tree canopy coverage within road reserves has informed decisions and discussions with projects engineers and Councils regarding the streetscape design, ensuring not only are trees delivered and retained within developments but also maximising the amenity and environmental qualities of streetscapes.
Collaboration is crucial for driving innovation in the new communities. Working closely with our clients, stakeholders and a wide range of development professionals, we harness the collective expertise and creativity of all involved to co-create solutions that are both creative and deliverable.
Rapid technological advancements are reshaping the way communities are designed and built. We utilise innovative technologies such as 3D modelling, parametric modelling, and data-driven analytics to streamline the design process, enhance stakeholder collaboration, and optimise project outcomes.
