Mirrabooka Town Square Upgrade

The vision for the Mirrabooka activity centre was to create a place with a diverse range of uses, which are attractive, safe and a focus for the region's shopping and community needs.

Mirrabooka Town Square is an important meeting place and access route to the Square Shopping Centre. 

The City hosted a vision workshop and a local conversation to understand local perspectives to inform a concept landscape design for the Square.

The final design focused on the following key elements:

Sustainability: Enhancing the existing square infrastructure to preserve its history and using funds to add more greening, cooling, and public art to the space.

Greening and cooling: One of the main talking points during the visioning and design workshops was that the environment felt hot. By removing some of the paved area and replacing it with soft native landscaping, we naturally cool the area and allow more room for the tree roots to achieve higher and broader canopy cover across and through the centre of the square.

Safety :This was identified as a high priority by the community. By using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles, we ensured clear sightlines across the square, added an alfresco deck for passive surveillance, and enhanced lighting for better visibility at nighttime.

Colour and vibrancy: The former space lacked colour and visual interest. The design addressed this through artwork as well as adding flowering native plants, both in the understory and the placement of a few key canopy trees.

Sense of belonging: We aimed to create a welcoming space with a public alfresco deck, seating, and informal children’s play space. We will also continue to use the space for community-led projects.

• Enhanced tree canopy coverage and understorey planting to help green, cool and naturalise the space
• Formalised bench seating for comfort and ease of use
• Public art installations to celebrate the natural and cultural history of Mirrabooka, as well as add a much needed splash of colour and vibrancy
• An alfresco decking area adjoining the Dome Café and introduction of an informal children’s play area to attract a broad demographic of the community to enjoy the space.

The town square at Mirrabooka was not operating as it was intended. A town square is the heart of the community, so it needed to be made into a vibrant space that attracts people and provides a safe and enjoyable environment.

Feedback on your experience of the Square, key local issues and improvement opportunities that would attract you to Mirrabooka Square was used to inform the City's approach.