Portland, Australia
The Foundations
New life for heritage icons.
For this project, Greg Meckstroth initially led the design resolution and delivery team whilst at Hatch | RobertsDay. Meck Studio has since been engaged to provide design advice and input into the project’s ongoing delivery.
Just west of Sydney’s Blue Mountains sits The Foundations in the town of Portland, a former cementworks manufacturing site that is now under-utilised. Greg led a team of designers and preservationists to envision its future as a place of production, eco-living and tourism. Now at Meck, Greg continues to implement components of the original master plan.
Portland’s Proud Past
The historic buildings and quarry lakes on the site are an intrinsic part of the heritage and fabric of Portland. Impressive in scale, significant in heritage and iconic as the cornerstone of Portland, known as the ‘Town that Built Sydney,’ The Foundations offers the potential to be reimagined as one of the main attractions in the Blue Mountains.
A Vision for the Future
Greg led a team that ran community engagement workshops to develop short-term activation strategies and a long-term vision for the site. The strategy created an identity-led, heritage-focused urban design framework that delivered reactivation focused on 4 complementary elements: tourism, culture, community and recreation.
Activation Underway
Components of the short-term activation strategy have already taken shape, notably the massive art project on the site’s cement silos. Internationally renowned artist and Australian native Guido van Helten was commissioned to paint the mural. He embedded himself in the community for a month, received input from the community and painted the mural that stands today.
The project has received initial planning approvals and begun to attract investment. 2 new museums, activation of the powerhouse, fishing, eco-nursery, glamping, artists in residence, programmed markets and other activities are currently on site.
Meck is currently designing the first residential -mini-neighbourhood’ and finalising a site-specific Development Control Plan.
The story of The Foundations and the town of Portland was brought to film in 2019-20 when Broaden Films captured the story of its transformation through a short film.
Location
Portland, NSW, Aus
Scale
Small
Client
AWJ, now Eco Resource Recovery (ECORR)
The Team
Hatch | RobertsDay, WillowTree Planning, Niche Heritage
Website
thefoundations.com.au