Our Story
Established in 1992, Village Well launched its services from the eclectic, community owned and managed ‘Ross House’ in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane; a place that inspired hundreds of social, ethical and community enterprises. Village Well is now Australia’s leading creative placemaking consultancy, inspiring the search for renewed meaning, purpose and pride in places. We have contributed to the activation of Melbourne’s laneways in the early 1990s, seeking affordable studio and office accommodation in the heart of the city, lobbying Council for improvements to streets and services and organising one of the city’s early laneway festivals. Village Well has since been influential in the collaborative creation of many of Melbourne’s iconic places, celebrated places across Australian cities and regional towns and the reimagining of places internationally.
In these two decades, Village Well has refined and developed unique processes of analysis, engagement, innovation, research and project management, tapping into community potential to discover the DNA of a place that informs its future development and use. Village Well have gained an exceptional reputation for a creative and holistic approach to development and the activation of places.
Our
Timeline
Village Well
is born
1992
Our first job was repositioning Queen Victoria Market’s deli hall.
We helped to set up the EPOCH foundation
1993
Melbourne’s first ethical business network.
We developed the Ross House vision
1995
We catalysed the renewal of High St, Northcote and Northcote Town Hall.
We created the Queen Victoria Night Market
1997
Melbourne Central Masterplan and Abbotsford
Convent vision
We worked with Lend Lease to create the Melbourne Central Masterplan and created the Abbotsford Convent vision.
1999
Flinders Lane and Degraves Street
1998
We were instrumental in the revitalisation of Flinders Lane and Degraves Street.
Launched Green Streets
2002
We launched Australia’s first greening business mainstreet program, Green Streets.
Peak Climate Change Conference
2004
We set up the first Peak Climate Change Conference on Food Security and created Australia’s first placemaking guideline for GPT group.
Rouse Hill Placemaking Strategy
2006
We catalysed the renewal of High St, Northcote and Northcote Town Hall.
We launched
Place School
2007
the world’s first placemaking school. We also introduced placemaking to Mirvac and Stockland at this time.
Rundle Mall Masterplan and Elizabeth Quay Place Vision
We created the Rundle Mall Masterplan (Adelaide, SA) and Elizabeth Quay Place Vision (Perth WA).
2010
Place Vision for Darwin
We created the Place Vision for Darwin and Activation Concepts for Darling Quarter in Sydney.
2011
Brookfield Place Placemaking Vision
and Oxford Street Placemaking
Strategy
We created the Brookfield Place (Perth, WA) Placemaking Vision and Oxford Street (Sydney, NSW) Placemaking
Strategy
2013
ANU Placemaking Strategy and
Macquarie Point Placemaking
Strategy
We created the ANU Placemaking Strategy and Macquarie Point Placemaking Strategy
2014
Bruny Island Placemaking
trategy
We created the Bruny Island Placemaking Strategy
2016
Athaiba Development Placemaking
Strategy
We created the Athaiba Development Placemaking Strategy in Muscat, Oman.
2017
Placemaking Masterclasses
We conducted Placemaking Masterclasses in Paris, Oman and Japan
2018
Smart Cities
We worked extensively in Mauritius on a range of projects including Smart Cities.
2019
Marvel Stadium Redevelopment and new Geelong Arts Centre
We worked on the Marvel Stadium Redevelopment and new Geelong Arts Centre
2020
Our Founder
Text
Text