MDW 2025: Re-framing the village at the urban edge

Join Urban Design Forum and Hume City Council for a one-day workshop exploring a vision for the adaptation of Sunbury Town Centre. The outputs of this design workshop will feed directly into Hume City Council’s place-study for Sunbury Town Centre.

Once a rich Victorian-era township 35kms from Melbourne nestled in the Basalt and Grassland landscape of Jacksons Creek, Sunbury has been subsumed within the metropolitan region and faces increasing pressure from nearby urban sprawl to become a new hub for the growing region.

This workshop invites participants to rethink the future of town centres (Activity Centres in policy speak) at the edge of Melbourne—with Sunbury as a focal example—by exploring how it could evolve into a low-carbon, walkable, and socially connected hub while reconnecting with the deep time of the omni-present landscape it sits within. How can we design strategically for the intensification of development while responding to local identity, Country, and ecological systems?

Held in-place at the Croxon Ramsay designed Global Learning Centre Hume City Council, the day will begin with a precinct field trip with local stakeholders, followed by foundational presentations on key themes including Country, Urban Form & Movement, Economy & Activation, Landscape & Ecology, and Energy & Waste. Participants will then work in multi-disciplinary teams, developing rapid fire design propositions through a range of visual and spatial media. Guided by leading professionals in urban design, landscape architecture, placemaking, and sustainability, teams will craft innovative proposals that address the challenges facing Sunbury and illustrate a compelling prototype for how to adapt the town to its changing role.

At the end of the day, each team will present their vision to a guest panel, simulating a design competition jury process. This provides a valuable opportunity for feedback, fostering professional growth and industry insights. The workshop will also serve as a conversation piece within the broader design community, exploring how suburban activity centres like Sunbury can be reimagined to better respond to environmental and social challenges.

We invite students, early-career practitioners, and built environment professionals from all disciplines to join us for a lively and thought-provoking day of learning, collaboration, and visioning. Whether you’re an urban designer, architect, landscape architect, planner, or simply passionate about shaping better places, this is an opportunity to contribute to meaningful change in a rapidly evolving outer metropolitan community.

Event Address:
Sunbury Global Learning Centre
44 Macedon Street, Sunbury (*Koorakoorakup*) 3429
Wurundjeri Country

Please arrive 15 minutes prior the starting time.