Page 2260 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 4 August 2021

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The reference design will challenge bidders to design and construct the project to deliver a transformational and architecturally outstanding building while also leaving scope for innovation, creativity and bold sustainability goals. A lot of thought has gone into the reference design in relation to how the floorplates and use of space throughout the building can foster collaboration and innovation and support new modes of learning that meet the needs of today’s VET students. We want to maintain the focus on how real people will use all of the campus’s public and private spaces as we continue through the design process.

The reference design includes a landscaped and activated pedestrian spine that will run through the centre of the campus, connecting the new Woden transport interchange in the east to the town centre in the west. The public realm will deliver vibrant, green and relaxing spaces for the whole community to use. We are ensuring that the reference design also considers the integration of accessible services, amenities and spaces on the lower floors of the CIT building, to create a welcoming and vibrant environment for the community and industry to interact with the campus. This area will be designed and landscaped to create areas with a unique identity, providing outdoor teaching and learning spaces for CIT while also containing key landscaping themes that ensure cohesion to Woden town square and Arabanoo Park.

Further design and consultation on the campus part of the project will take place over the next 12 months, the next stage in an ongoing series of opportunities for Woden residents and the broader Canberra community to have their say on the design of the campus building and surrounding spaces. This will inform the final brief that is provided to the successful design and construction tenderer early next year, following the finalisation of the procurement for this contract.

To facilitate some of this consultation, I am pleased to announce that Major Projects Canberra are setting up a community connectivity space in Woden town square, which will allow for the community to engage and keep up to date on all the major projects happening in and around Woden, including the new CIT campus, the new interchange, the renewal of Canberra Hospital and the light rail.

Another major part of the regeneration of Woden town centre is the redevelopment of the Woden interchange. The Woden public transport interchange badly needs an upgrade. The current one is now over 50 years old, lacks capacity for the future growth of the bus network and relies on a temporary dirt layover on the former police station site. Many public transport users tell us that they feel unsafe there because of its design and location.

We want the town centre to be as accessible as possible for pedestrians, active travel and public transport. We want an interchange that provides great integration with the future light rail terminus.

The Woden town centre master plan sets the vision for an on-street interchange that upgrades the bus interchange to include the demolition of the existing bus interchange and the building of a new on-street bus station. Upgrades are proposed to the verges along parts of Callam, Bowes, Matilda and Launceston streets. The upgrades allow for


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