The nature of education and training in the north of Western Australia is transitioning from heavy mechanic trades to high-tech robotics to support the evolving mining industry. Service centres in the Pilbara have also evolved to provide higher order services in their town centres (e.g. beauty, logistics, hospitality). There is demand for training these new trade areas to suit the next evolution of their economies and therefore current training and delivery spaces needed to change and adapt.

The Karratha Campus is a core education facility in the Pilbara that has strong connections with the surrounding industries, in particular mining. The Client wanted to undertake a Placemaking Study to help inform future funding and remedial/capital works at a holistic level that better suited the evolving economy. The Study took a broader view of the campus and how smaller projects can be part of an overall approach by tying together and improving the campus experience as a whole.

We were the primary consultant undertaking the Placemaking Study for the Client. We led the Study including all stakeholder engagement, place analysis, graphic outputs, presentations and compilation of the final report.

We provided recommendations to deliver the ‘bigger picture’ of re-thinking the future of the economy in the region through campus service provision. The recommendations (concept options / strategies) looked as resolving issues with the campus or presenting opportunities for improvement. The overall philosophy was to create a sense of place for the campus that spoke to the local and Pilbara context, increase interesting and comfortable spaces for students to encourage campus dwell time and course engagement, and ‘building on the bones’ of the existing buildings and infrastructure; trying to improve what is there rather than building unnecessary discrete buildings and projects.

• Finalisation of a project program upon appointment;
• Stakeholder Management Plan ahead of stakeholder engagement;
• Detailed stakeholder engagement with staff, students and stakeholders
  (summarised in the final report);
• Two presentations to the Client;
• Campus place analysis documented visually through photographs and plans;
• Preparation of concept options/strategies for the Campus and assessment of their priority based on an ‘options matrix’;
• Preparation of concept ‘master plans’ for the campus, with 2D and 3D plans and graphics demonstrating the proposed options and strategies; and
• A draft and final Placemaking Study Report.