Special Feature – Placemaking

Building Communities Around Places

Defined as a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces, Placemaking capitalises on a local community’s assets, inspiration and potential, with the intention of creating public spaces that improve urban vitality and promote people’s health, happiness and well-being. Over the coming pages, RLI highlights a number of examples of these from around the world.

According to the article ‘Placemaking in Urban Design’ by Urban Design Lab, Placemaking is an approach to urban design that prioritises people over infrastructure. It aims to create public spaces that are more than just utilitarian, but rather places that inspire and promote social interaction and cultural exchange. Placemaking recognises that public spaces play an essential role in the social and cultural life of communities and that they are critical to creating a sense of place and identity.

The article goes onto say that another principle of Placemaking is mixed-use development. Placemaking encourages mixed-use development, which combines residential, commercial and civic uses in a single space. This creates a sense of place and provides opportunities for social interaction and economic activity. Mixed-use development can also help to reduce dependence on cars by creating walkable, bikeable neighbourhoods with easy access to shops, services and public transportation.

Another article on the topic by Innovation Quarter which is entitled ‘Five Placemaking Projects that Inspire Us’ explains that there are the following four types of Placemaking:
• Standard placemaking – this is the process of creating quality places where people want to live, work, play and learn.
• Strategic placemaking – this is targeted to a particular goal in addition to the creation of space. For example, developing spaces that will attract businesses, leading to jobs and growth.
• Tactical placemaking – this emphasises testing projects through phases and iterations rather than constructing projects straight from the drawing board.
• Creative placemaking – this integrates arts, culture and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities.

The article continues by saying that Placemaking can run the gamut – from placing rubbish bins on sidewalks to building an innovation district where the community can convene. However, a common thread runs through all placemaking projects: building stronger communities.

Over the next few pages, join RLI as we take a look at a range of examples of Placemaking from all corners of the world, to highlight the different types and how they each possess their own unique elements to draw people out and bring communities together.

A joint venture between RioCan REIT and Allied Properties REIT, The Well is a bold reflection of Toronto’s energy and diversity and an extension of the urban vibrancy of King West. Bordering Front, Spadina and Wellington, it is a mixture of retail, commercial and residential space in downtown Toronto that will draw approximately 22,000 daily visitors, including the approximately 11,000 residents and employees that will live and work at The Well. The design includes 1.2 million square feet of office space and 320,000sq ft of retail and food service. It has 1,700 residential units spread throughout six residential rentals and condominiums, plus one office building connected to a three-level retail base. At The Well, the idea of liveability is real, with easy access to everything that Toronto demands, expects and deserves: transit, culture, wellness, sustainability, diverse food options, inspiring workplaces and curated entertainment. The Well, which is set to open this year, is a choreographed mix of urban experiences, dynamic architecture and interconnected public spaces.

A project opening in spring this year by Thor Urbana is The Landmark Tijuana, which is a project that is located in the Golden Zone, the area with the highest real estate growth in the city of Tijuana in Mexico. The scheme will bring together the best shopping, dining and entertainment offerings unlike anywhere else in the area. It will be complemented by an exclusive residential tower, luxury hotel and class A+ office spaces to become the new place to live, work and play. The lifestyle centre will feature 308,000sq ft of leasable area, whilst the surround facilities within the scheme will include 154,000sq ft of A+ office space, 190 residences, a brand new hotel with over 200 rooms, more than 2,000 car parking spaces and all this will open to the public in spring of next year. The upcoming project will offer a unique mixture of cultural diversity from the region, integrating itself into an existing, bicultural, vibrant community in search of exceptional experiences. The Landmark Tijuana will transform the lifestyle of every person who has the chance to experience this most innovative development in northern Mexico.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has announced Mill Creek Residential (MCR) as co-developer for the first phase of the landmark transformation of Westfield Garden State Plaza in Bergen County, New Jersey. Anticipated to break ground in 2024 and slated to open to residents in 2026, the first phase will include the construction of 550 luxury apartment homes that will be integrated with the shopping centre via a one-acre ‘green town’ for residents, visitors and shoppers to enjoy, as well as introduce a ‘main street’ outdoor district featuring restaurants and everyday conveniences and services. The development will also include significant community and sustainability features such as new parks and greenspaces, green building construction, upgraded connectivity to public transportation networks, electric vehicle charging stations and the restoration of a section of the beloved local Sprout Brook.

Developer Nan Fung Group is pleased to announce the soft opening of AIRSIDE, a 1.9 million square feet, 47-storey mixed-use commercial development in the Kai Tak area in Q3 2023. The skyscraper comes with 32- storeys of Grade-A office space and the 700,000sq ft mall is set to offer visitors a brand new one-stop shopping experience and its overall leasing performance is satisfactory, with almost 80 per cent of the mall space already leased. Kai Tak MTR’s AIRSIDE exit will come into operation in conjunction with the mall’s soft opening. Building on Nan Fung’s ongoing efforts and commitment to sustainability, AIRSIDE introduces the unique and innovative urban lifestyle concept of “wholeness” that connects people and nature to build a sustainable, low-carbon society. As part of the wholeness lifestyle concept, AIRSIDE houses a 4,000sq ft urban farm that is home to over 50 varieties of produce, which is supplied to F&B outlets at the mall to offer a true farm-to-table experience for visitors; the remaining produce will be shared with the community. With the urban farm, AIRSIDE hopes to promote a low-carbon-footprint lifestyle and nature-based solutions to the public.

Snøhetta, in collaboration with A49 Architects, has designed their most extensive project in Asia for MQDC, one of Thailand’s leading property developers. The project is a 250,000sq m mixed-use building in the upcoming CyberTech district of South Sukhumvit in Bangkok. The Cloud 11 project will re-invent a part of Sukhumvit into a hub for innovation and tech companies in the city and provide the area with a large, green public space and spaces for artists, makers and tech entrepreneurs. The Cloud 11 project aims to create a new lifestyle environment and surroundings within the area. Designed to cater to people’s daily needs and requirements, several restaurants will operate from a centralised kitchen, a gym, a wide selection of retail stores and two hotels. The project also includes a variety of cultural offerings such as a library, educational venues and creative workspaces fit for the modern, hybrid way of working from home or outside the office. The location also makes the Cloud 11 easy for visitors and commuters to access through public transportation, with the BTS skytrain station just across the street. The project is expected to complete towards the end of 2024.

The largest city-centre project in Europe, Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier is set to become a new urban community hotspot in Germany. Encompassing a unique culture, leisure, entertainment and dining offer, it will feature a 10-screen flagship cinema, beauty and wellness centres, international and local restaurants, bars and cafés and the latest trends in entertainment technology. This mixed-use urban district will feature flexible offices with 360° views over HafenCity and the harbour, modern apartments with direct access to the waterfront, three hotels and a 200-store shopping centre offering the best local and international brands together with a wide range of services and digital innovations, for an enhanced customer journey. The shopping centre itself will span 80,500sq m of retail, leisure and restaurant space and it is set to open in spring 2024 by developers Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. The scheme will expand the Hamburg City metropolitan area by 40 per cent and the proportion of public and publicly accessible private open spaces is 38 per cent.

Lamda Development has revealed its plans for Riviera Galleria and Commercial Hub retail destinations at The Ellinikon, Greece’s and Europe’s greatest urban regeneration project that is being built on the former Athens airport. Adjacent to central Athens, the nearby Piraeus Port and the International Airport, The Ellinikon is unique in Europe for its location, its size — three times larger than Monaco — as well as its scale and ambition. The Ellinikon will set new benchmarks for the future of Mediterranean coastal development — for integrated, sustainable living; for iconic placemaking; for smart-infrastructure; and for its broad base of business potential, from tourism to innovative commercial properties to ground-breaking destination retail. A collection of several communities will be home to thousands, supported by essential services available to all – such as education and healthcare. This groundbreaking development is on course to open in 2025.

The greenest centre in the Netherlands is emerging in Rijswijk by developer Reshape Properties and designer TconcepT. That is the ambition of the large-scale transformation of shopping centre In de Bogaard. In the coming years it will become the new Bogaard city centre with a large number of new homes, inviting parks and squares, smallscale stores and amenities. The new Bogaard city centre is set to become an exemplary sustainable, contemporary living area. Hof van Rijswijk is a prominent part of this development. Around an extraordinary, communal courtyard garden, Hof van Rijswijk offers a diverse mix of attractive housing types. What connects all the homes is the combination of the lively city centre on the outside and the green oasis on the inside of the complex. This makes Hof van Rijswijk a unique place to live and stay, for everyone.

Champions Park by developer Champions Developments will be a sustainable, self-sufficient “5-10-15 min” mixed-use development located in the suburban area of Warsaw in Poland next door to the state of the art football training centre of the top tier multi sports club Legia Warsaw. The goal of the development is to create a place where everyone can become the “champion of their life”. Champions Park project is a development of a new “garden city/community”. The Market Square or otherwise called the Downtown is the retail and entertainment centre of the development. It includes the commercial/ lettable areas as well as external public and semi covered spaces. This is intended to be the centre of the development where the placemaking activities such as events, entertainment, retail, F&B, services and others will be located. Phase one is set to open in 2026 and the overall development will also feature a SPA and sports hotel with 120 keys, cover a site area of 230,000sq m and a commercial area of 200,000sq m.

The Crossings in Dublin, Republic of Ireland is a new vibrant shopping and retail environment to serve the affluent and growing catchment and put The Crossings, Adamstown on the map in terms of modern retailing. The first phase of The Crossings is now open and features 11,700sq m of retail space alongside 279 residential units. When fully complete, The Crossings will comprise of 975 residential units, 18,000sq m of retail space and 3,500sq m of commercial uses to include a civic/library building, creche, enterprise centre and primary care facility. Under development by Quintain who are best known for the transformation of Wembley Park in London and the third largest developer in Ireland, The Crossings is being designed to be a truly mixed-use community with a 2-acre village green as the focal point for the area as a place to unwind and dine and to bring people together at events, artisan markets and family fun days.

With more than a decade’s worth of expertise in developing and operating mixed-use urban regeneration complexes in Romania, IULIUS Group is now launching a new project in Cluj-Napoca. The investment is upwards of half a billion Euro and focuses on the Carbochim platform, set to become the largest urban reconversion project on the Romanian market. This urban development endeavour will transform the industrial area into a vibrant space in Cluj and will be integrated as part of the city. The Carbochim factory will be relocated this year and upgraded, without any periods of business interruption. The new project includes: the largest retail area in the country at 115,000sq m, a centre dedicated to performing arts, conservation of two industrial heritage buildings and reintroduction thereof into the public circuit, a model of integrated approach to green spaces, connecting the urban garden spanning on over four hectares with the adjacent parks and a complete reconfiguration of the road and pedestrian infrastructure.

Battersea Power Station opened last year and is at the heart of one of central London’s largest, most visionary new developments, which will see this vast 42-acre (over 8 million square feet) former industrial brownfield site become home to a community of homes, shops, bars, restaurants, cafes, offices and over 19 acres of public space. This legendary London landmark and surrounding area has been brought back to life as one of the most exciting and innovative mixed use neighbourhoods in the world – a place for locals, tourists and residents to enjoy a unique blend of shops, bars, restaurants, leisure and entertainment venues, parks and historical spaces. It is a place to shop, eat, drink, live, work and play.

The Point concept in Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is based on creating an outdoor experience celebrating boutique retail, lifestyle F&B and street shopping with entertainment uses. This new cultural centre by developer Red Sea Markets Co. will have a unique set of celebrated courtyards, plazas & terraces connecting a year-round multi use events space. It is envisioned as a contemporary lifestyle neighbourhood for exquisite urban shopping and entertainment that celebrates a new district of mixed-use within a family-friendly development filled with dining, events and memorable attractions. This is established through a series of planning strategies that uses the concept of centrality to reinforce the arrival experience, exposition of new trends in retail and finally impressing a memorable destination. All aimed to create a new sense of place for the community of Abha and wider visitors to the region.

Infiniti is set to be a timeless destination for upscale 360° lifestyle experiences. Specializing in building high-end modern developments, ranging from residential to commercial, Ajdan brings contemporary luxury living to the most prominent locations in Saudi Arabia, the GCC and beyond. With a sharp eye for state-of-the-art design and an unwavering commitment to creating spaces that bring the outdoors inward, Ajdan is at the forefront of innovation in MENA real estate. The towers have been designed with each and every resident in mind, giving all residential units a view of the Arabian Gulf; rest assured knowing that the sea will accompany you all throughout your day. Each tower is complete with an infinity pool and modern landscape design. With 45,510sq m of property, an upscale F&B area, contemporary high-end residential towers and cutting-edge amenities, we’ve designed a living destination that puts your mind at ease. Situated in AlBahar District, Khobar, you’ll find yourself right amidst the liveliness of the new downtown with exciting destinations like SEVEN Entertainment, Dhahran Expo and Saudi Aramco. An opening date for the scheme is yet to be announced.

Saudi Arabia will soon be home to the world’s largest modern downtown in Riyadh, titled New Murabba, the Kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister has announced. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2030 and will add on to the Kingdom’s roster of 15 upcoming megaprojects, set to transform the nation. The launch of the New Murabba Development Company (NMDC) aims to develop the world’s largest modern downtown in Riyadh, which will contribute to the city’s future development in line with Saudi Vision 2030, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. New Murabba will feature eco-friendly zones, walking and cycling paths and over 80 entertainment and culture venues. Spread across an area of 19sq km at the intersection of King Salman and King Khalid roads, the development will boast 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms and 980,000sq m of retail space. In addition, the development will include more than 1.4 million square metres of office space, 620,000sq m of leisure assets and 1.8 million square metres of community facilities.

The three striking residential towers that comprise One Sydney Harbour are the final piece of the incredible transformation of Barangaroo South, along with Hickson Park and Waterman’s Cove. These immersive public spaces include a public park, an expanded waterfront walkway and a public pier; part of Lendlease’s dedication to delivering more than half of Barangaroo as open space for all to enjoy. More than ten years in the making, Lendlease’s commitment to this incredible precinct has seen Sydney’s iconic waterfront become a world-class destination. Lendlease is the proud developer of Barangaroo South, one of Australia’s most awarded urban regeneration precincts. The more than $6bn development is a showcase of international design excellence, leading technologies and sustainability, outstanding dining and retail, health and wellbeing offerings, public art and cultural programs. Rising from the harbour shores, Barangaroo South forms a new financial hub for Sydney, with global businesses including PriceWaterhouseCoopers, HSBC, Westpac and Lendlease all proudly calling this precinct home.

Developer Heworth are soon to launch Rozelle Village, their redevelopment of the former Balmain Leagues Club in Sydney’s inner west. The precinct will feature 147 luxury residences including studios, apartments and towers at varying heights along with a range of bespoke style specialty stores and a 1,400sq m public village square. To enhance resident well-being, private and public communal green spaces will be added to improve the visual appeal of the development. The Village will share a central entrance for the new Wests Ashfield Leagues Club which will have bars, restaurants with terrace dining and gaming lounges. At over 2,000 square metres, the new Wests Ashfield Leagues Club will feature several bars, restaurant and dining spaces with terrace dining, gaming lounge and dedicated sport bar. There will be kids play areas and family-friendly theme throughout and the scheme is on course to be completed in early 2026 after construction begins later this year.