Architectus has unveiled a transformative concept for Thebarton, an inner-western suburb of Adelaide that prioritises Designing with Country and the environment in its renewal.

The visionary concepts are the outcome of the practice’s 15th Design Charrette, an annual event that brings together designers from various disciplines, locations, and experience levels to take on a unique design challenge, exploring powerful new ideas for renewing Australia’s cities. This year’s event included First Nations cultural consultant Karl Winda Telfer, integrated design specialist Daniel Bennett from Aurecon, and Professor Veronica Soebarto from the School of Architecture and Built Environment at The University of Adelaide.

The architectural firm envisions Thebarton as a Country-centred landscape and riverside dotted with buildings and spaces for health and innovation, mixed housing, commercial activity, and community interaction. Given the growing demand for housing and jobs with proximity to transport, services, and amenities, Architectus has identified the former light industrial corridor as ripe for renewal, with its strategic location between emerging health and innovation developments and a rich, diverse natural environment.

The First Nations narrative was inspired by the vital role of the Karrawirraparri (Torrens River), which served as a corridor for Kaurna peoples moving from the foothills to the sea at the change of seasons.

“With an extensive infrastructure pipeline, employment diversity, relative affordability and strong migration, Adelaide still has growth to unfold. Combined with Australia’s increasing population, it has the perfect mix of fundamentals to become a capital city for the 22nd century. And there are great urban regeneration opportunities defined by the city’s natural landscape, including in places like Thebarton,” Architectus CEO Ray Brown says.

“To imagine Thebarton’s future, we had to first grapple with its past and the lasting impacts of colonisation on Adelaide. Our vision redefines the suburb through the lens of reconciliation and Designing with Country.

"We focused on repairing the river and allowing the landscape to ‘rewild’ the suburb, unlocking the potential for a new kind of parkland and habitat. The scheme offers diversity of form, buildings, homes, environment, and all the spaces in between bring an authenticity – creating a sense of place and community in a new setting with a range of uses.”

By the numbers

Total site area – 50 ha (504,800 m²)
Mixed residential – 354,000 m² GFA with 30% affordable housing
Commercial – 72,200 m² GFA
Innovation/Tech/Startups – 5,500 m² GFA
Creative industry – 13,500 m² GFA (including adaptive re-use of several existing and heritage buildings)
Food & Beverage – 8,800 m² GFA
Retail – 3,400 m² GFA
Three hotels – Total 25,000 m² GFA; Family Hotel, 490 rooms; Budget-friendly Hotel, 154 rooms; and Luxury Hotel, 73 rooms. Hotels connect with the pedestrian bridge to improve walkability to, and from recreation, events and cultural venues.
Events and culture spaces – 20,000 m² GFA
Community Hub – 5,000 m² GFA (adaptive re-use of an existing heritage building)
Health and allied services – 38,000 m² GFA
Regenerated river parkland – 83,000 m² GFA
New urban park – 69,000 m² GFA

Three key areas of opportunity were identified in Thebarton’s transformation including imagining a new approach to urban renewal; a strategic location for allied health and innovation; and a place where the river can be returned to its natural state.

More diverse housing

Adelaide’s CBD is predominantly surrounded by low-density and low-rise suburbs, presenting a challenge for the design teams to match the density of the CBD and urban renewal sites in neighbouring Bowden. But that also presented an opportunity to rebalance the urban form in the context of nature, breaking away from both the Adelaide grid and the traditional street block to design new models that work with Country.

Keeping in mind the demand for a range of housing models to suit diverse needs, 3,200 dwellings were created across the site, with 30% allocated for key workers and social and affordable housing. The mid-size residential blocks are clustered around open space, with access to active transport links connecting these spaces and activity areas. These groupings respond to the topography of the river and the overland flow and flooding patterns, to repair the landscape and connect with Country while providing biophilic places to live.

Allied health services and innovation

The proposed precinct strengthens Adelaide’s future economy, with spaces not only for new industries, healthcare and start-ups but also defence innovation.

Port Road in Thebarton has been identified as a prime location for a mixed-use health and wellbeing precinct, with the proposed new Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Adelaide biomedical precinct adjacent to the site. Under this concept, allied health services such as day surgeries and housing for essential workers are incorporated, along with amenities including a new supermarket and places to eat and drink.

Repairing the river

The concept proposes restoring the river's edge by renewing habitat and engaging with the Karrawirraparri. It introduces an amphitheatre with an eel-like arbour structure for shelter, a new pedestrian and cycling bridge to Bowden, and a new river walk, plus a range of ways to enhance the biodiversity and habitat of the area.

Branko Miletic

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