MCU14/106 Appendix I - Visual Amenity Integration

                                                                                                           14




4            Evaluation against ‘Noosa style’ Principles
This section provides a review of the proposed development against the eight ‘Noosa style’ principles as
described above in Section 3.

Principle 1: Integration with environment and landscape setting
The proposed development will be integrated with the landscape through:
       The bushland setting – the site is located inside the ring road with existing dense bushland areas
        along the perimeter of the site in Precincts E6, E7 and part B3 beside Walter Hay Drive and the
        southern access road which in the interim phases of the master plan will provide screening from
        external roads. This context will be significantly more sympathetic than existing commercial
        developments in Noosa which generally have built form, parking and signage as the dominant visual
        elements from surrounding external roads with limited vegetation.
       Alignment of the built form alongside the Covenant J forest, with a strong interface which provides a
        long backdrop and multiple opportunities for views into the adjacent forest, orientation of northern
        buildings towards the tall trees and extension of the forested open space northwards to form part of
        the entry experience. The band of forest will form part of the ‘first impression’ image of built
        form/natural setting integration,
       The wedge-shaped footprint with a narrow northern point, which comprises a casual indoor/outdoor
        restaurant precinct with timber decks and low-key permeable walls, will be balanced with and
        visually subordinate to the adjacent band of forest, and will effectively ‘hide’ the scale of the
        shopping centre behind.
       The retention of native vegetation throughout the development site and additional native planting
        through intensive landscaping and effective landscape maintenance (as currently occurs throughout
        Noosa Civic).
       Sightlines from the entry roads will be focused on natural features or landscaped roundabouts and
        medians. The northern entry road will be oriented towards the band of retained forest.
Conceptualising the proposed development and adjacent Covenant J forest as a series of ‘zones’ (Figure 1)
also illustrates graphically the manner and extent of integration. The ‘shopping mall’ zone, which in most
shopping centre developments is expressed externally as box-like built forms with large blank side walls, will
in this case be buffered and surrounded by indoor/outdoor transition areas, designed landscapes and
managed bushland and forest habitats. The outcome will be a significant improvement (in relation to built
form/natural setting integration) to other existing retail or commercial developments in Noosa and the
Sunshine Coast, where existing commercial developments are more internally-focused.
Additionally the proposed built form will be subordinate to the landscape in the following ways:
           Covenant J and its ‘restored forest’ extension (and a further ‘green finger’ extension northwards
            as proposed in the master plan) will divide the proposed development from the existing Noosa
            Civic centre, such that the buildings will appear to external observers to be two forms separated
            by forest, although they will be perceived by indoor users as an integrated shopping centre
            development.
           The most visible element from the main entry from Walter Hay Drive will be of bushland retained
            within Covenant J, the ‘restored forest’ zone and the landscaped forecourt areas, with buildings
            seen as subordinate to tall forest trees.
           The proposed development will be low profile and well below the canopy of tall trees within
            Covenant J and retained in carpark perimeter strips, thus maintaining a forested skyline for
            views from the east and north-east, and appearing to be subordinate to the natural setting. The
            low rise horizontal scale of the shopping centre and flat roof form (with thin edge and shaded
            ‘people space’ below) will be counter balanced by a forest of tall vertical trees which will break