Our Story
Established in 1992, Village Well’s first home was the eclectic, community-owned and managed Ross House in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane; a place that inspired hundreds of social, ethical and community enterprises.
We have since 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 also been influential in the collaborative creation of many of Melbourne’s significant gathering places, has enhanced key areas across Australian cities and regional towns, and has reimagined vital spaces internationally.
Village Well is now one of Australia’s leading creative placemaking consultancies, inspiring the search for renewed meaning, purpose and pride in places. Over the past two and and half decades, Village Well has developed and refined 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 has gained an exceptional reputation for a creative and holistic approach to development and the activation of places.
REIMAGINING
Vital Spaces in
CITIES AND
TOWNS
Our
Values
Authenticity
Showing integrity and being true to ourselves and our values.
Courage
We take initiative and aren’t afraid of being challenged.
Safety
Freedom to be who you are and to speak up.
Creativity
Sharing new ideas and the freedom to express yourself in your own way.
Collaboration
Open-mindedness, clear communication, working with each other to establish and achieve our shared goals.
Care
Mindful and compassionate toward each other, the places we work in and the people we work with.
Curiosity
Inquisitive minds, always learning and being open to new possibilities.
Fun
Loving what we do, bringing joy to those we work with, and enjoying the moments in between.
Accountability
Taking responsibility to show up and do good work.
Our
Vision
Creation of a more just and regenerative world.
Our
Mission
We facilitate the creation and development of great places that are loved and inclusive for all.
A Message From Our Founder
“Time for a new story”
In this challenging COVID-19/climate change era, place and the local have become increasingly important in our lives and inform how we will thrive into the future. As a small child growing up in a village in my first island home, Mauritius,
I learned the importance of community, family and nature in village life. Meeting, celebrating, eating, living and working were all part of village life where we felt safe, loved, connected and could express our joy and creativity. We all yearn for such meaning.
I live on the sacred land of the oldest continuous wisdom on the planet – the land of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong. They were some of the earliest placemakers. We are all placemakers and I invite you to join us on this placemaking journey. We believe placemaking in the future needs to be regenerative (putting back more than we take out), citizen-led and driven by enlightened developers supported by and in partnership with place-led organisations, government departments and councils who put people, place and planet first. As Village Well enters our 30th year in facilitating the creation of great places people love, we invite you to join us in this movement of creating a more just and regenerative world.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there” – Rumi
For the Earth
- Gilbert Rochecouste
Find out more about Gilbert
www.gilbertrochecouste.com
Our
Timeline
1992
Village Well is born. Our first job was repositioning Queen Victoria Market’s deli hall.
1993
1997
We created the Queen Victoria Night Market.
1999
We worked with Lendlease to create the Melbourne Central Masterplan and created the Abbotsford Convent vision.
2004
We set up the first Peak Climate Change Conference on Food Security and created Australia’s first placemaking guidelines for the GPT group.
2007
We launched Place School, the world’s first placemaking school. We also introduced placemaking to Mirvac and Stockland at this time.
1995
We developed the Ross House vision and catalysed the renewal of High Street, Northcote and Northcote Town Hall.
1998
We were instrumental in the revitalisation of Flinders Lane and Degraves Street.
2002
We launched Australia’s first green business mainstreet program, Green Streets.
2006
We created the
Rouse Hill Placemaking Strategy and
worked on the
world-first Dubai Waterfront Placemaking Masterplan.
We helped set up the EPOCH foundation, Melbourne’s first ethical business network.
2011
We created the Place Vision for Darwin and Activation Concepts for Darling Quarter in Sydney.
2010
We created the Rundle Mall Masterplan (Adelaide, SA) and Elizabeth Quay Place Vision (Perth WA).
2014
We created the ANU Placemaking Strategy and Macquarie Point (Hobart) Placemaking Strategy.
2017
We created the Athaiba Development Placemaking Strategy in Muscat, Oman.
2019
We worked extensively in Mauritius on a range of projects including Smart Cities.
2013
We created the Brookfield Place (Perth, WA) Placemaking Vision and Oxford Street (Sydney, NSW) Placemaking Strategy.
2016
We created the Bruny Island Placemaking Strategy.
2018
We conducted Placemaking Masterclasses in Paris, Oman and Japan.
We conducted Placemaking Masterclasses in Paris, Oman and Japan.
2020
We worked on the Marvel Stadium Redevelopment and new Geelong Arts Centre.
We worked on the Marvel Stadium Redevelopment and new Geelong Arts Centre.
