Environmental Returns

Environmental benefits include the remediation of the site from the former industrial uses, integrated water management plan and the adoption of multiple ecologically sustainable design principles for final built form.

Landscaping and public open spaces will create further environmental benefits.

The proposed landscape will contrast the massive scale of the former Power Station building against paved and tree-lined streets and plazas. The site is an “island” surrounded by river, road and rail providing an opportunity to create a site-specific landscape with trees and paving as a dominant theme.

The colours used in the hard landscape will be derived from the Western Australian natural landscape, including ochre, limestone and laterite – materials with bold, strong and earthy qualities.

Where possible, Australian plants and deciduous trees, to ensure winter sunlight and summer shade, will be used and in areas of heritage or historical significance, plants and landscaping will be appropriate to the area's context.

Public open spaces will combine trees, paving and water and provide an urban utilitarian environment most suited to the life and work of the site. Furniture, trees, bollards, lights, art and colour will be used as demarcation between vehicles and pedestrians. Pavement patterns in the forecourt apron, trees in the plaza and north-south corridors of green across the site will be highlights.

The foreshore is a key recreation facility. The draft Masterplan considers large Australian trees to provide shade and aesthetic value, restoration of the riverbank and a grand forecourt to link the Power Station to the river.