Rouse Hill Town Centre forms a unique model for the planning and design of a suburban or regional retail centre in Australia. The fundamental design philosophy was based upon the premise that it is first and foremost a town. The GPT Group’s brief challenged the design team to ensure that the design was firmly embedded in the actual place, including addressing environmental concerns, sustainability issues, the relationship with the wider regional centre, the site context, local heritage, as well as culture and aspirations of its market and local community.

OCULUS provided input into the master planning process and developed the Landscape Master Plan within the broader framework established by Civitas. The Master Plan strongly established the principles of connectivity and permeability so the place of the Town Centre was firmly embedded into the regional centre by means of a series of visual and physical links to key landscape elements, such as Caddies Creek, the Mungerie heritage precinct and future parks and streets.

The highly permeable public realm includes two internal streets intersecting at the Town Square and dividing the development into four quadrants, each anchored by a major retailer. This structure created a range of spaces to cater for the various needs of the community. Our continuing involvement in the wider New Rouse Hill as well as Rouse Hill Town Centre has meant that relating to the site’s context has remained a key design principle.