Sunday 06.03.18

Keywords: Waterfront Development, Urban Regeneration, Spatial Strategy, Benchmarking, Place Design, Economic Strategy

Benchmark Study of Globally Leading Waterfronts

Although the context of each coastal region is different and demands a design solution tailored to its specific social, cultural, and economic dynamics, a number of lessons may be fruitfully taken from existing waterfront developments that in some way share in the priorities and aims driving new thinking in the redevelopment of waterfronts worldwide. For a major investor in infrastructure and real-estate, OHK Consultants was hired to conduct a benchmark study that offers examples to follow of seaside areas that successfully serve prominent civic and commercial functions.

The Barcelona and Stockholm waterfronts, for example, each demonstrate the tremendous potential for the mixed usage and vitality that emerges from the interaction of urbanized areas and marine activities. Other projects illustrate the transformative potential of a civic development to adaptably reuse an existing waterfront environment and imbue it with tremendous added value and global relevance. Our benchmark study also included waterfronts such as the Tide Point Urban Waterfront in America, Donegal Quay in Northern Ireland, and the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in South Africa, all of which entail the transformation of industrial and working port elements into an area of civic, cultural, and economic centrality while connecting to a larger urban context.

On the other hand, certain benchmarked projects illustrate the process by which substantially new developments can bring economies of scale to bear on surrounding areas, thus enlivening their regional landscapes and becoming focal points of commerce and activity. Included among these benchmarks are the Port Ghalib project in Egypt and Cairns Esplanade in Australia, both entail land reclamation and fundamental destination building and revitalize the relevance and economic performance of respective hinterlands.

The benchmarks we considered illustrate the potential of iconic and landmark structures to serve as a node around which ostensibly disparate elements coalesce and fruitfully interact. In this respect, we benchmarked the Tate Modern in England and the Sydney Bridge and Opera House, both are writ large on their local landscapes and the broader, global imagination. Overall, our benchmarks are selected to underscore larger conceptual and philosophical inspiration to new waterfronts and offer value for their attention to detail and the design solutions they bring to bear on their unique contexts. A framework of 20 waterfront benchmarks distil and articulate viable choices and options in areas of spatial design and economic strategy.

Check our blog posts where we share analysis and viewpoints from this benchmarking assignment.  For more information about OHK’s urban redevelopment practice, as well as its ongoing work in several waterfronts in Asia and the Middle East, contact us.