Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design

Landforming beneath rock-textured concrete barriers. Image: Tim Griffith

Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway has been widened from Bulleen Road to Doncaster Road (3 km) and extended from Doncaster to Springvale Road (7.2 km); with substantial sound barrier walls built along this stretch to reduce traffic noise in nearby housing estates to 63dBa.

The site is a degraded creek valley which had been market gardens and orchards before post-war subdivisions. The architecture of the sound barriers (inspired by American sculptors of the 1960s and 70s) exploits one design element, the arc, to produce a sequence of walls which unpredictably oscillate in plan, section and elevation, and in a variety of materials. Adjacent landforming supports this concept and pedestrian and bicycle paths have been provided beside the roadway.

Jury Verdict

Architecture is not the first discipline one considers for freeway sound barriers but this project demonstrates the diversity of the profession. It is a good illustration of the value of choosing architects to work on urban infrastructure projects.

The architects have sculpted the edges of the freeway to create a unique urban design solution. Pronounced changes in texture, colour, height, planting and curvature provide a powerful visual experience along the extension. Close up, textured concrete walls reveal the site’s rocky origins and contrast the strappy leaves of native grasses. From the road, drivers experience a multiplicity of patterns and textures in the walls and sweeps of planting; from the residents’ side there is insulation from noise and pollution and a backdrop filtered by trees.

Mastery of acoustic modelling and engineering concepts demonstrates the professional range of the architects, and their involvement in perfecting the textures of the prefabricated panels is impressive.

This is a fresh look at the problem of separating the noise of speeding vehicles from nearby residents; one which has set a benchmark for other road builders.

Barriers of painted steel and green perspex. Image: Tim Griffith

Helicopter view looking west. Image: Tim Griffith