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.

Nhi Lam

Urban Designer

Nhi joined Hansen Partnership in 2024 as an Urban Designer, bringing a strong background in both architecture and urban planning. She holds a Master of Architecture (2014) and a Master of Urban Planning and Environment (2021), combining these disciplines to approach urban design with a well-rounded perspective.

With six years of experience in furniture design and procurement, Nhi brings a practical, user-focused approach to every project.

At Hansen, Nhi works closely with the Urban Design and Strategic Planning teams, helping with urban design evidence, design documentation, urban context reports, visual impact assessments, and structure plans. Her work contributes to creating well-designed, sustainable urban spaces in Melbourne.