bayswater industrial area regeneration

Project Description

How can we revitalise declining industrial urban areas into thriving economic, social and environmental places?

Bayswater is an inner suburban area that is set to radically change with the planned upgrade of its train station and new land use plan. The industrial area that is the focus of this studio has been subject to economic and physical decline in recent years. Future Bayswater, a motivated group of Bayswater residents and local business owners want to harness the collective goodwill of the community. They see great potential for Bayswater’s industrial urban area to become a more liveable, vibrant and vital place for all.

Building on an existing collaborative effort between Future Bayswater and Curtin University, this studio continued it’s exciting work by involving John Di Renzo from Rockforce. John, whose family owns land and runs a business in the heart of the BIA, was keen to raise awareness of the issues in the BIA and donated a warehouse which transformed into the BIA Living Lab to operate as a temporary classroom during the studio.

The Living Lab provided a forum for students to hear from stakeholders in the BIA and conduct activities to consolidate their own knowledge of the local context. It also provided a home base for students to explore the BIA, conduct analysis, engage with local community, and experience first-hand some of the issues that were raised in the lectures and guest speaker presentations.

Learning Methodology

Over the course of 12 weeks, students were exposed to a place-led process of urban regeneration, learning specific knowledge of the Bayswater Industrial Area – it’s history, environmental context, current economic function and current challenges and opportunities.

The Living Lab provided a series workshops for the students from guest speakers including business owner John and other expert stakeholders. Students were also taken on guided walks to provide opportunities to relate ideas learnt in the classroom to real places, situated within broader urban contexts. Students were able to reinforce key ideas and stories from the guest speakers by making direct links to their own observational analysis of streets, urban morphology, engagement with local community, and environmental features.

After collating and organising the data from the Living Labs, students participated in a series of design-led activities to structure their analysis and ideas. Students presented posters of their analysis and ideas for the Bayswater Industrial Area in a showcase to industry, government and community stakeholders in the Bayswater Town Centre.

If you would like to know more about the weekly studio activities, please see the detailed learning methodology in the posts below.

How does this studio match PlaceAgency Objectives?

Regenerating industrial areas is particularly challenging in the context of deindustrialisation and state and local government fiscal restraint. This project provided an opportunity for students to engage in planning for the regeneration of industrial areas through tactical urbanism, placemaking, urban design and land use planning interventions. It drew upon the network and resources of an existing community group in the area. In doing so, the project outcomes informed our knowledge of how to enhance collective capacity to create successful and authentic industrial spaces that are resilient resources for communities.