Fremantle Youth Plaza wins urban design award

The City of Fremantle and its project partners have figured strongly in this year’s Australian Awards for Urban Design, with the Fremantle Esplanade Youth Plaza winning in its category and the Kings Square urban design strategy receiving a commendation. 

The awards, which were announced at a gala ceremony in Canberra this week, acknowledged the critical role good urban design plays in the social, economic and environmental development of Australian cities and towns.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said national recognition for two very different projects showed the city was at the forefront of innovation and best practice.

“Fremantle council has set the bar high in what we want to achieve so it’s really pleasing that two of our cornerstone projects have won such high praise at a national level,” he said.

“It’s a great reward for a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes by city staff and recognises our project partners Convic, who developed the youth plaza; and CODA and Creating Communities Australia, who together helped develop the urban design strategy for Kings Square.” 

In delivering the commendation, the judges said the youth plaza was a great example of a central, accessible public open space that provided a range of active, passive and social pursuits for all ages.

“The design of the structure builds on Fremantle’s past and present themes of beach, brickworks, rail and maritime into forms, shapes, elements and materials and a diverse, engaging and aesthetically pleasing plaza space,” the judges said.