Prahran Square is a transformative project for the City of Stonnington.  The existing car park was demolished to make space for two levels of underground parking and open space at ground level.  The square is now a hub for community activities and provides much needed open space in the highly developed urban community of Prahran.

AECOM was selected as the client’s project manager to oversee the procurement, design, and construction of this project.  AECOM worked with the city to develop an innovative design competition to procure the architect. We then procured the Contractor and acted as Superintendent during construction.

We worked closely with the City of Stonnington for 4 years, assisting with general project management activities and overcoming the following unique challenges:

– Complex programming in and around operating facilities

– Multifaceted stakeholder community that required a targeted strategic approach.

– Working around a dense urban environment with site constraints

– Complying with heritage overlay imposed just before construction

– Geotechnical challenges due to digging 9 metres underground

Innovations

– Design competition selection model for architect procurement

– Strategic community consultation process occurring in tandem with the archaeological investigations to increase community interest and buy-in

– Staging program to assist with planning approvals process and avoid time delays.

– Cost savings achieved through ‘wet basement’ approach to in-ground water drainage and optimised slab

The people of Prahran are thrilled with their new square which will only continue to improve over the years as the landscaping grows and the events calendar is developed.