The tour, led by Southwark Grounds Acting Development Manager Samuel Uren, took students through the master plan principles and urban design guidelines shaping the precinct.
The group walked through key areas of the site including Founder’s Row the first townhouses already under construction, the proposed open spaces and received an exclusive tour inside the Walkerville Brew Tower, gaining an on-the-ground understanding of how the project is taking shape.
Mr Uren outlined the targets underpinning Southwark Grounds - with up to 1,300 new homes, a 20 per cent affordable housing target and more than 15 per cent public open space - as well as three design themes anchoring the projects urban design guidelines- building individuality, urban greening and authenticity and robustness.
"Great neighbourhoods are not built by accident, they are a result of decisions made years before anyone moves in," he said.
The visit offered students a practical connection between their studies and a live urban development project, illustrating how planning, design and a focus on community outcomes combine from the earliest stages of a project.
For final year Masters student, Brianna Saurbrey, the tour sparked ideas around sense of place, environmental design and the growing need for shared green spaces in areas with higher density housing.
“Visiting Southwark Grounds gave us the opportunity to understand the cultural ties to the area and develop a stronger sense of place,” she said.
“In terms of environment, it's a really good spot - we can start incorporating environmental factors into our designs to create unified, comfortable spaces.”
Fellow student Celia Bartel said preserving the site’s history was central to her thinking for her planned proposal.
“Maintaining the history of this area is important to maintaining its identity. It's what makes it different and tells its own story,” she said.
“That will inform our proposal with our assignment, because when a place has identity, the people who live there feel a genuine sense of ownership over it.”
Towards the end of the first semester, the students will present design proposals for Brewery Green, Southwark Grounds proposed central civic space. They will reimagine the civic space as a contemporary market square that fosters community connection and exchange.
The Master of Architecture degree equips students with advanced expertise in design and its relationship with the environment, culture and construction technologies.
Southwark Grounds is being delivered by Renewal SA on the former West End Brewery site on Port Road and will deliver a vibrant new neighbourhood for Adelaide featuring diverse housing, public spaces and strong connections to the surrounding community.
