ClarkeHopkinsClarke open Sydney office
As one of Australia’s largest architecture and urban design practices, it was only a matter of time before ClarkeHopkinsClarke outgrew their Melbourne studio. After 60 years in the city, the firm have now opened another branch in Sydney’s Surry Hills, which will provide the company with greater facility to undertake a range of projects, as they embark on an Australia-wide venture to create healthier, better connected and more liveable cities.
The Sydney based team, lead by Jordan Curran, already have a number of projects underway including:
- Multi-use village centres in western Sydney, Wollongong and Byron Bay
- Retail developments in inner Sydney and the central coast
- Masterplanning of integrated retail, residential and aged care community with heritage buildings in Campbelltown
- Major Education and Innovation Hub proposed in southern Sydney
Jordan Curran is a ClarkeHopkinsClarke Partner with 10 years experience in master planning and delivering complex mixed-use precincts, shopping centres, town centres and new smart cities across Australia.
COMMENT FROM JORDAN CURRAN
“This is a big moment for us. We’ve worked nationally and internationally for years but resisted opening a Sydney office until the time felt right. We’ve got a strong team of locals to drive it and established our own distinctive approach to designing and activating really diverse, mixed-use communities – not just in inner cities but in outer suburbs and regions. Some practices see those areas as less glamorous than urban in-fill but we’re genuinely passionate about creating healthier, better connected, less car-dependent, more sustainable communities everywhere we can.”
“The impact of Creating Vibrant Communities, the book by our Urban Design Partner Dean Landy, has been a bit of an eye-opener. He’s got speaking engagements all over Australia flowing from that. And as a result, we’re involved in some really ambitious, high-impact projects like Minta, an employment hub in Berwick creating 11,000 jobs, and CLARA, Australia’s most ambitious new cities project. Eight sustainable, compact smart cities across Victoria and NSW connected to capitals by high-speed rail. Developers and communities are really embracing the kind of walkable urbanism we specialise in because they can see the challenges of climate change, population growth and social isolation and they want a fresh response. Developers recognise the social and commercial benefits of creating places that attract a broader mix of people and encourage them to linger. This has an obvious benefit to retail spending and property values.”
“So we feel like we’re in a position to offer NSW clients something new. There’s also our QMS ISO:9001 certification, which allows us to take on major health and education projects, and our cross-sector expertise. That’s built our design capabilities and kept us buoyant as a business even when residential housing takes a hit. It’s led to very solid growth, in projects and staff, over the past three years.”
RECENT PROJECTS BY CLARKEHOPKINSCLARKE
19-21 FREDERICK STREET, DONCASTER
Status: Registration and Sales
86-108 LAURENS STREET, NORTH MELBOURNE
Status: Planning Assessment
TWENTY PARK - 20 PARK STREET, MOONEE PONDS
Status: Completed
THE WELLINGTON APARTMENTS - 19 WELLINGTON ROAD, BOX HILL
Status: Completed
ESSE APARTMENTS - 316 PASCOE VALE ROAD, ESSENDON
Status: Completed
Status: Completed
Lead image: Jordan Curran with Jake Le Lievre, an architect in ClarkeHopkinsClarke retail/mixed use team