Our Projects - Village Well

Queen Victoria Night Market

Place Positioning & Market Concept Strategy

Melbourne’s iconic Queen Victoria Market has been operating for over 130 years, providing fresh produce, delicious food options and unique goods to locals and tourists alike.

With a business relationship spanning nearly 20 years, Village Well has worked with the Queen Victoria Market to help transform Melbourne’s once aging but iconic food market
into a thriving hub of day and night activity. Village Well’s activation strategies have transformed the food hall and initiated the well-known Summer Night Market, cementing the QVM as one of the State’s preeminent tourism destinations.

In 2011, Village Well was once again engaged by Queen Victoria Market to develop a new concept for a Winter Night Market. Village Well collaborated with potential vendors and traders, leading thinkers and innovators from around Melbourne to develop the concept for the Luna 1878 Winter Night Market that was launched to great success in 2012. Village Well developed the Market Concept Strategy including positioning, logo, brand, artistic direction and recommendations regarding leasing mix and market design.

Macquarie Point, Hobart

Place Story and Activation Guide

Village Well were engaged to provide a Placemaking approach to the redevelopment of Macquarie Point – a strategically significant mixed-use urban renewal project adjacent to Hobart’s iconic and historic waterfront precinct. Working with the state development authority, local government, community stakeholders and the masterplanning team, Village Well helped deliver the place positioning and an activation staging plan that would turn Macquarie Point into a unique cultural destination for residents and visitors alike.

Working closely with the masterplanning team, Village Well paid respect to it slow awakening, through pre, during and post construction activation phases to encourage the community to familiarise themselves with the site and engage with its gradual activation and evolution. The activation plan created will ensure the diversity of human activity and experiences throughout the ground plane and its long-term social, economic and environmental viability.

The first stage of activation was in June 2015 with the Dark MOFO festival, transforming open spaces with large public artworks, welcoming thousands of locals and cultural tourists.

Athaiba Muscat, Oman

Placemaking Strategy

Village Well have been working with the Zubair Corporation to embed a Placemaking approach that will set their Athaiba development apart. Extensive on-the-ground research, informal conversations with key social, cultural and economic influencers and ‘ideas generation’ workshops revealed the unique characteristics of the city and informed the creation of the Place Vision and Placemaking Strategy that articulates new place rituals, experiences, positioning and activation concepts.

Darling Quarter

Place Making Strategy

Darling Quarter is a community precinct within Sydney’s Darling Harbour.
It features a large children’s playground, a community green, cafés, a wine bar and diverse takeaway food options.

Village Well developed a detailed Place Activation Strategy that would create a unique experience and differentiate it from surrounding precincts in and around Darling Harbour. Following place research, Village Well developed a set of strategies and concepts to manage the governance of the site and provide a framework for implementation.

The concepts looked at ways to utilise the community green as a ‘third place’ (to stop, relax and enjoy), use the building façade as a digital and interactive playscape, activate the site through passive recreation and a calendar of events (including regular theatre and music). These initiatives helped to cement its reputation as a community precinct, encouraging repeat visitation and extending the length of stay.

Monash University

Place and Retail Vision

In the increasingly competitive higher education sector, Monash University recognises the importance of providing high quality retail in attracting students and staff, ensuring a positive experience that goes beyond academia.

As part of the consultant team for the Monash Clayton Retail Strategy, Village Well focused on the place vision and retail vision, both of which would provide a clear direction for the future campus retail.

Following a workshop that drilled into issues and opportunities for the Clayton and campus, Village Well provided a range of retail related recommendations. These recommendations aimed to make retail at Clayton not only more attractive but also contribute to students’ social life and holistic learning.

Village Well were subsequently engaged to undertake the same process of the place and retail visions for the Caulfield campus as well as providing further advice on specific retail opportunities within the Clayton campus.

Activate Oxford Street

Place Visioning & Placemaking Strategy

Oxford Street, Paddington has experienced significant change in the past decade, from being touted as Australia’s leading fashion destination, to a street with high vacancy rates, poor local and tourist visitation and a place Sydneysiders were no longer proud of.

Woollahra Municipal Council engaged Village Well to work closely with the Paddington Business Partnership, traders, property owners and local community, as well as key strategic stakeholders including the City of Sydney, State Government representatives, Paddington Historic Society, and representatives from Sydney Buses, SCG and Centennial Parklands.

Branded as ‘Activate Oxford Street’, Village Well facilitated a series of workshops to develop a new vision and series of short and longer term place activation ideas to help revitalise the street. Simplified on-street trading policies, a new art market, street parties and an active online community noticeboard are a handful of the small, yet noticeable steps to help bring life back to the strip, and re-launch Oxford Street into a new and exciting stage of evolution.

Clients

Adelaide City Council
AMP
Ardross Group Of Companies
Ararat Rurual City Council AMP
Australian National University
Ararat Rural City Council
Ballarat City Council
Brookfield Multiplex
Darebin City Council
Lend Lease
City of Adelaide
City of Brisbane
City of Canning
City of Greater Dandenong
City of Greater Geelong
City of Darebin
City of Hobart
City of Perth
City of Port Phillip
City of Melbourne
City of Stirling
City of Sydney
City of Whitehorse
Defence Housing Australia
Department of Economic Development
Destination Southern Tasmania
Drapac Capital Partners
GPT
Grocon
Hickinbotham
Horsham Rural City Council
Hume City Council
ISPT
Jurian Bay Traders Association
Jones Lang LaSalle
Knox City Council
La Trobe University
Lismore City Council
Macedon Ranges Shire Council
Mackay Regional Council
Macquarie Point Development Corporation
Melbourne Water
Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group
Moreton Bay Regional Council
Macedon Ranges Shire Council
Mansfield Shire Council
Maroondah City Council
Maroondah Education Coalition
Mirvac
Monash University
Moreland City Council
Mornington Peninsula Shire
Newcastle NOW
Noosa City Council
Northern Grampians Shire
Northern Midlands Council
Parks Victoria
Development Victoria (Places Victoria/VicUrban)
Plenary Property Group
Planisphere
Public Transport Victoria & Metro Trains Melbourne
Preston Market
Queen Victoria Market
Renewal SA
Rockhampton Regional Council
Root Projects Australia
Rural City of Murray Bridge
Sama Dubai
Sekisui House
South Melbourne Market
SMEC Urban
Stockland
St Kilda Football Club
Sydney Road Traders Association
Taupo District Council
Trenerry Property Group
Town of Port Hedland
University of Melbourne
University of Newcastle
Victorian Planning Authority
Vic Health
VicTrack
Waverley Council
Whitehorse City Council
Wollongong City Council
Woollahra Municipal Council
Yarra Trams
Zubair Corporation (Oman)