MCU14/106 Appendix I - Visual Amenity Integration

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Principle 3: Responsiveness to existing site features
The development site is gently sloping, such that the proposed development is largely at grade with little
need for cut or fill earthworks, except for the undercroft carpark. The Noosa Civic expansion will respond to
the existing site features through:
       Excavating the undercroft carpark into the slope, such that it will be accessible from Hofmann Drive
        and will be open-sided allowing forest views along one side, while at the same time allowing the
        north-eastern carpark to be at grade and the main shopping centre at the same level as the existing
        centre. This arrangement also allows bioretention and stormwater detention in the three at-grade
        carpark areas and a larger bioretention basin in the south-west corner, adjacent to (and
        supplementing) the habitat retained in Covenant J.
       The retention of the existing natural drainage line, native vegetation and habitat within Covenant J,
        with the exception of trees removed for the pedestrian link and a small area of the Hofmann Drive
        extension road batter which will extend into the covenanted area. However there will be no
        stormwater discharge to or changes to the existing hydrological regime in the drainage line, and the
        small road batter disturbance will allow the level of Hofmann Drive to be raised, allowing culvert
        underpasses for native fauna.
       The careful design and construction of the proposed pedestrian link through Covenant J will allow
        retention of trees and other native vegetation in close proximity.

Principle 4: Informal setting
The proposed Noosa Civic expansion will be low key and distinctively informal in its external appearance,
unlike most shopping centres, and will provide a series of precincts and transitional zones through which
people will move between indoor and outdoor spaces, reflecting the casual and nature-dominated aspects
of ‘Noosa style’. In particular:
       The open space and landscape areas near the northern roundabout entrance area will mix
        indoor/outdoor eating areas, civic uses, carparking and pedestrian circulation with tall retained trees
        and ‘restored forest’ areas;
       The roof form, although extensive and elevated high above ground level, will be low profile with
        irregular edges, and the vine-covered trellises will ‘blur’ the boundaries between roofed and open
        spaces as seen from many viewpoints;
       The pedestrian link (with its glass walls and roof, trellis and partly open sides), and timber decks will
        connect people with the forest setting along the interface with the Covenant J forest;
       The three at-grade car parks will be small scale (90 – 120 spaces each), separated by landscaping
        and bounded to the east by a strip of retained trees, part-screening the parked cars and the built
        form from the ring road, all with a backdrop of tall trees in Covenant J which will visually dominate
        the low rise buildings; and
       A range of activities and facilities extending across the northern end, especially on market and event
        days, when the arrangement, surfaces and landscaping of the north-eastern carpark will allow multi-
        purpose use.
The overall impression will be a highly designed but apparently casual interface between the internal
shopping mall and the natural forest, conceptually described as seven natural/built form integration ‘zones’
(Figure 1).

Principle 5: High quality
The proposed development will ‘showcase’ timber and native plant species as expressions of the intended
integration of built form and natural setting, not only in the retail/dining areas and the pedestrian link, but also
through refurbishment of the existing shopping centre entrance and trellis structures. Parts of the building
which are visible from external views will be constructed to a high standard and with high quality external
finishes.