Urban Design

Urban Design

Urban Design plays a pivotal role in shaping urban form and spaces.

At the heart of our approach is a commitment to good design. As leaders of Urban Design in Victoria, we see ourselves as facilitators, applying our understanding of various stakeholder interests to create practical and imaginative solutions that work.

Over the past two decades, our Urban Designers have led strategic master planning, design advisory, expert evidence, and capacity-building projects across both the private and public sectors that have activated, connected, and inspired societies.

Advisory

We provide expert urban design review and advice across all stages of planning and design. Our input strengthens design outcomes, supports statutory processes, and ensures projects respond to context, policy, and place. We work collaboratively with public and private sector clients, stakeholders and allied disciplines to deliver informed, high-quality and practical design guidance.

Expert Witness

Our team provides clear, credible and independent expert urban design evidence at VCAT and Planning Panels. We distil complex issues into accessible reasoning, grounded in policy and design principles. Our experience spans diverse project types, and we are trusted for our rigour, professionalism, and ability to support strong planning outcomes.

Strategies & Frameworks

We have a vast portfolio of strategic urban design projects including structure planning and urban design frameworks at city, township, activity centre and precinct scale. Our evidence based approach supports practical planning controls and implementation outcomes, ensuring design aspirations align with feasibility, amenity, and long-term place outcomes.

Built Form Testing & Guidance

We prepare Built Form Frameworks & Guidelines that define clear parameters for future development. This service translates strategic vision into practical planning tools, supporting councils and developers to achieve context-sensitive, high-quality built form outcomes across activity centres, precincts and key sites. Our evidence based approach informs planning policy, ensuring that built form responses are feasible, appropriate, and aligned with policy objectives.

Public Realm Design

We develop concept designs for public spaces that are inclusive, enduring, and tailored to context. Our work combines landscape, movement, and urban design thinking to create streets, parks and civic spaces that enhance everyday life. We integrate functionality with design quality to deliver inspiring and implementable public realm outcomes.

Active Transport Strategies

We balance movement and place principles through integrated frameworks that prioritise people, access, and place quality. Our work supports transport and planning strategies by embedding design thinking into network planning and placemaking studies. We help shape corridors and centres where mobility, amenity and urban character are holistically addressed.

Development Feasibility & Scenario Evaluation

We evaluate development options through spatial feasibility testing and yield analysis, balancing design intent with development outcomes. Our scenario evaluation supports planning overlays, design responses and masterplans. We provide insight into what is possible, practical and place-sensitive — grounding urban design in economic and physical realities.

International Advisory

Our urban design team has a long legacy of providing urban design services internationally, anchored by our office presence in Vietnam. We provide urban design expertise on a wide range of projects including tourism oriented strategy and development, mobility strategies and city and precinct planning and urban design frameworks. Our expanding international portfolio includes projects across Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Central America.

James Kelly

Senior Associate - Urban Design

James is a Senior Associate Urban Designer with extensive experience in both private and public sectors, contributing to the shaping of urban environments across Melbourne and internationally. His expertise spans urban design strategies, built form frameworks, structure plans, and infrastructure projects, including technical advisory roles for Victoria’s Big Build Program. Initially drawn to architecture, James expanded his focus to urban design, driven by a passion for how people engage with urban and natural landscapes.

Throughout his career, James has led and contributed to various urban renewal and infrastructure projects, site and city-scale master planning, and place-oriented streetscape design. He has developed urban design guidelines and provided input on township planning, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of how to balance growth with community needs.

James has also built a strong reputation in urban design review, preparing expert witness statements for VCAT and Planning Panels Victoria on complex development and infrastructure proposals. His international experience includes city-scale planning and tourism development projects across South-East Asia, where he collaborated with local agencies and stakeholders to deliver context-sensitive outcomes.

In addition to project leadership, James is committed to nurturing the next generation of urban designers through his role as a tutor in the Bachelor of Design program at the University of Melbourne. His ability to lead teams, engage with industry groups, and deliver impactful urban design solutions makes him a key contributor to the built environment in Melbourne and beyond.

  • urban design
  • masterplanning
  • place making
  • strategic planning
  • infrastructure
  • commercial and retail
  • residential redevelopment
  • site redevelopment

Recent Projects