Menu
Postcode 3081 is Heidelberg West, a neighbourhood in northern Melbourne built as the athlete’s village for the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1954, which subsequently became a public housing estate. Most of the original houses have been sold into provide ownership, are now nearing the end of their useful life, and are being gradually redeveloped.
We were engaged by the City of Banyule to prepare an Urban Design Framework (UDF) to guide the renewal of the area. The likelihood of comprehensive renewal offered the opportunity to provide for significant housing growth and diversification, including affordable and co-housing. However, the incremental nature of the redevelopment requires careful design that will complement the existing low-rise and leafy character.
Our UDF identifies a series of distinct future character areas with potential for different housing types based on accessibility to public transport, shops and services, and open space, along with sensitivity to change. Each area has a set of built form guidelines designed to optimise its contribution to housing growth and diversity, while responding to the existing character.
The UDF was translated into a planning scheme amendment, which we helped to shape and implement through expert urban design evidence.
kinetica was formerly known as David Lock Associates (DLA).
David Lock Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd changed its name to Kinetica Studio Pty Ltd on 21 February 2020 to reflect the significant reinvention of the business.
Starting with the crystallisation of our vision and values, continuing with a transformation of our planning offer, and culminating in our move to a ‘grown up’ office in the CBD, we are no longer the business we were.
Paralleling these changes, we agreed with David Lock Associates Limited (the English business which gave birth to DLA Australia) that it is time to undo our formal corporate ties, while retaining a strong informal relationship.
This reinvention of the business needed to be expressed outwardly and we began the process of refreshing our graphic identity. DLA has been predominantly known for urban design expertise, and the name reflects our history as a satellite of an English business. A new name offered the opportunity to establish a refined brand, based on a home-grown organisation featuring planners and urban designers trusted for their expertise and independence.
Our new company name, kinetica, reflects our passion for change. We facilitate and shape changes in the use, ownership and development of land to create a better lived experience.
kinetica retains the best of DLA—highly regarded independent urban design expertise—and combines it with highly regarded independent planning expertise.