The guide provides a range of urban design approaches for buildings at risk of flooding. It presents guidelines and project examples that will increase the resilience of our city. The aim of the guide is to help designers achieve good design and equitable access in flood affected areas, while managing the known hazards to human safety and property damage from flooding.

It supports the architectural and building design process to respond to the challenges of mitigating flood hazards and creating engaging human-centred spaces.

The guide is in two parts.

Part 1: Setting the Scene provides background to the specific challenges of the precincts. It is intended to provide clarity and context to the second part of the Guide.

Part 2: Design Guidelines, identifies design principles that should be used when designing buildings to consider whether the proposed design achieves good design and equitable access in flood affected areas, while also seeking to remove hazards to human safety and mitigate property damage from flooding.

The Design Guidelines are divided into four themes ordered according to scale:

• urban structure
• site planning
• public interface
• design detail and management.

• Vision and policy: The design solutions are guided by strategic and water policy to deliver on the established visions for the precincts.
Will this design deliver the vision?
• Flood resilience: Risk to life, health and potential for property damage is mitigated.
Will it be safe? Is the building resilient to flooding?

• Place resilience: Design strategies respond to place specific conditions.
Is the building resilient to the changing water conditions?

• Equitable access/universal design: Dignified access is achieved for people of all abilities.
Will it be equitable for all?
• People centred: Solutions enable and enrich social connections.
Are we making places for people?
• Activation: Dynamic, active and interesting for everyone.
Do you want to stay, and come back?

• Landowners and developers can use the guide to better understand processes and requirements for buildings in flood affected areas in Fishermans Bend, Arden and Macaulay.
• Industry professionals including architects, landscape architects, planners, designers, engineers and builders can use the Guide to guide design, planning and construction of buildings in flood affected areas.
• Council officers with relevant responsibilities for implementing urban design policies and standards, can use the guide to assist in the management of planning applications in flood affected areas and ensure the development achieves the highest possible solutions to balance both flood hazard mitigation and good urban design outcomes on a site by site basis.

Due to the complexity of designing in a flood affected area, pre-application discussions with the relevant planning authority and with the relevant Floodplain Manager is strongly recommended. The Floodplain Manager’s responsibilities and requirements under the Water Act are not altered by this document.