By Candice Boyle
FOOTSCRAY’S Maddern Square has beaten Taronga Zoo and the Melbourne Docklands to win a recent design award.
The redevelopment project won the precinct category of the Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia (CCAA) Public Domain Awards.
The biannual awards acknowledge the designers, contractors, developers and asset owners who set new benchmarks in the use of concrete in a public domain.
The Maribyrnong City Council project competed against a field of high profile precinct projects, including the Sydney Opera House – The Colonnade (forecourt), the Taronga Zoo Great Southern Ocean Exhibit and Melbourne Docklands Waterfront City Stage 1A Promenade.
Maribyrnong mayor Michael Clarke said the council was thrilled that the hard work on the Maddern Square project continued to be nationally recognised.
“The unique vision of the new-look Maddern Square continues to receive a good response from the design and planning industry and from the local shoppers and residents who use it every day.
“The square sets the scene for what the council and the State Government are trying to achieve with larger projects like the Nicholson St Mall redevelopment and the Footscray Station Precinct redevelopment,” he said.
The CCAA judging panel described the Maddern Square improvement project as “an inspiring example of how the back of a suburban centre can be transformed into a valuable communal space by skilful design using concrete as the dominant material”.
Last year the square was also awarded a commendation in the urban design category of the Planning Institute of Australia Awards for Planning Excellence.
The improvement project transformed the formerly run-down area into a welcoming and versatile civic square in 2006.
Since it opened, the square has been used for a film night, art shows and other community events.
“More and more people are stopping there to relax and grab a bite for lunch, or enjoy a bit of greenery as they walk between the mall and the market,” Cr Clarke said.
