From strategic master planning and community design through to visualisation, peer review and expert evidence, our urban design team contributes to every stage of the development process. They work closely with our planning, transport and landscape architecture colleagues to create places that balance growth with community needs and environmental outcomes.
We sat down with our urban design team to discuss the challenges facing our cities, the role of integrated urban design in managing growth, and how long-term thinking shapes their work.
Mathew has more than 20 years of experience across Australia and the UK, working on urban renewal, precinct master planning, and high-density residential projects.
Regularly engaged as an expert witness at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), he combines strategic thinking with a practical understanding of the planning process, helping clients navigate complex urban design challenges and realise the full potential of their sites
Q: How does a background in both planning and urban design shape the advice you give clients?
A: Urban design doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Every project we work on relates to an existing planning framework or a planning process, whether that’s a scheme amendment, permit application or strategic planning project.
Good urban design outcomes happen when design thinking and policy objectives are considered together from the beginning. Having an in depth understanding of the planning framework means I can identify quickly where the opportunities and constraints of a project lie.
Q: What does good urban design evidence look like at VCAT?
A: As an expert witness, your primary responsibility is to provide an objective assessment of the proposal.
Good evidence helps decision-makers understand whether a development will contribute positively to the character and function of a place. That means going beyond policy compliance to assess things like how built form responds to the existing and future context, its place within the urban structure and the contribution it makes to the public realm.
Q: Urban renewal projects can take decades to play out. How do you plan for communities that don’t exist yet?
A: This is a challenge which is highly relevant in the context of the current activity centres’ program, where height limits are being increased across suburban centres in metropolitan Melbourne to allow for greater density and more housing in well-connected areas.
Allowing taller buildings and greater housing supply in these centres is an important step in addressing housing needs and supporting a more efficient urban form, but it’s only part of the equation.
Planning for future communities means taking a holistic approach that looks beyond just built form to consider the full range of community needs and what will contribute to make attractive and liveable places. Increased development potential on individual sites must be matched by coherent plans for investment in open space, transport, community facilities and the public realm to meet the needs of larger and more diverse populations.
Ariel is interested in the relationship between landscape, culture and community. His work spans strategic urban design, greenfield, master planning and landscape architecture projects across Australia, Chile and the United States.
He focuses on creating spaces that are culturally grounded, environmentally responsive and connected to the people who experience them.
Q: How has living and working in different countries influenced your approach to urban design?
A: The quickest way to get an urban design project wrong is to assume the same solution will work everywhere. Working across multiple countries has opened my eyes to different cultures, places and ways of life.
Every community is unique. So is every project, with its own mix of opportunities and limitations. I’ve learned to approach projects with curiosity, to ask questions first, and then test assumptions before drawing any conclusions.
Q: Urban design often involves multiple disciplines. What do you enjoy most about that?
A: Having the opportunity to work across different disciplines and connect various perspectives is one of the most rewarding aspects of urban design for me.
Landscape, movement, built form and ecology all shape how a place is experienced. I enjoy the challenge of bringing those layers together so they feel cohesive and work towards creating a place that people can connect with.
Our work on The Waters in Ooralea is a good example, working collaboratively across disciplines to bring together the natural features of the site, a clear urban structure, and an efficient road network.
Q: Urban design requires various ways of thinking at once. How do you move between looking at the big picture and the finer detail?
A: I don’t see large-scale master planning and human-scale design as separate ways of thinking. When working on a master planning project, I’m thinking about the big picture; movement networks, land use or open space one moment, and then I’m asking what this will feel like for someone walking down the street. The strongest urban design outcomes happen when those perspectives are considered simultaneously, not separately.
Gokhan is our visualisation lead with more than 16 years of experience across local government and private practice. His expertise spans urban design strategy, 3D modelling, photomontage and visual impact assessment, using visual communication to make complex projects clearer and easier to assess.
Q: You’re our visualisation expert. How does 3D modelling and photomontage change the way design decisions are made?
A: 3D modelling and photomontages turn assumptions into evidence. They allow us to test proposals before they’re built, assessing height, scale and setbacks early, alongside view impacts and built form relationships.
At VCAT, a good photomontage can cut through pages of technical material and give everyone a shared understanding of what’s actually being proposed. That creates a stronger foundation for discussion and better-informed decision making.
Q: Visual impact assessments (VIA) can make or break a project at VCAT. What separates a strong VIA from a superficial one?
A: A good VIA depends on accuracy and transparency, supported by an approach that can stand up to a thorough examination.
Our methodology relies on surveyed site data, accurately modelled built form and professionally captured photography, integrated through a process that minimises manual adjustments and human error. The photomontages we create not only look convincing, but they can also be confidently defended under cross-examination.
Q: What can a well-made visualisation communicate that words and drawings can’t?
A: A well-made visualisation can show precise spatial relationships, the real-world scale of a proposal and how materials and finishes will read in context.
They bridge the gap between technical information and human perception. It helps clients, planners and decision-makers understand not only what is proposed, but how it will feel to stand in front of the space.
Lewis works across planning and urban design, with a passion for contributing to environments where people feel naturally and socially embedded. At Ratio, he works on a range of project types including residential, commercial and industrial developments, along with heritage matters.
He recently completed a Master of Urban Design and is building experience in expert evidence, working closely with Mathew Furness and Clare McAllister.
Q: You began your career in local government before joining Ratio. How did that experience shape your approach to projects?
A: Working at council gave me a solid foundation in understanding how planning decisions are made. You’re balancing competing priorities, community expectations, policy requirements and practical constraints all at once.
That experience built my negotiation and collaboration skills in a way that still helps today, particularly when navigating complex planning, heritage and urban design matters with councils and government agencies.
Q: You’ve worked across planning, heritage and urban design. What interests you the most about that intersection?
A: I’ve always been drawn to the built form side of planning, the way policy and design come together to create neighbourhoods that feel welcoming and can grow with their communities.
Early in my career, I worked on a lot of heritage projects. You quickly realise that you can’t assess a heritage place without considering the broader urban design outcomes and how people experience the surrounding environment. That’s where my interest in urban design really started to expand.
Clare brings more than 30 years of experience spanning architectural practice, urban design consulting, peer review and expert evidence.
Drawn to urban design through a fascination with how people experience cities at street level, her work explores the relationship between buildings, public life and the spaces in between. She provides independent design advice that strengthens design quality and supports robust planning outcomes.
Q: You have a background in both architecture and urban design. How do the two complement each other?
A: Both disciplines consider the spatial and social settings that support urban life, but at different scales. Architecture focuses on individual buildings and their immediate context. Urban design is concerned with what happens between buildings, the impacts of built form on the public realm and on public life.
Together, they shape not only how places look, but how people experience and move through them.
Q: Your street activation research explored the threshold between public and private space. What made that worth investigating?
A: There’s a long-held assumption in the industry that transparent glass shopfronts are the default solution for activating streets. My research questioned that.
I looked at whether other design strategies at the public-private threshold might be equally or more effective at generating street life, challenging some ideas I think we hold a little too comfortably.
Q: A key part of your role involves reviewing and refining design proposals. What separates a design tweak from a meaningful improvement?
A: Design quality is often determined by a series of small decisions rather than one big move.
Sometimes a meaningful improvement comes from adjusting the overall form. At other times, it’s far more subtle, such as how a building addresses the street. Those details can significantly influence how people experience a place.
My background in architectural practice means I understand the competing pressures behind design decisions, which helps me give recommendations that are practical as well as principled.
Jordan came to urban design from a background in architecture, drawn to the discipline by a growing interest in how cities function at the public scale. He brings strong technical capability to his work, with a particular focus on recreation projects and ecologically responsive design.
Q: You talk about designing for both human and non-human users. What does that look like on a real project?
A: I believe successful places support ecological systems as well as community needs, and that the two don’t have to compete.
Enhancing biodiversity corridors, incorporating water-sensitive urban design, and choosing planting that supports local species, builds environmental value into a project. Those same interventions also create cooler, greener places for people.
The goal for me is to produce projects where environmental and community outcomes reinforce one another.
Q: You have a particular passion for sport and recreation projects. What makes them interesting from an urban design perspective?
A: Sport and recreation projects activate spaces in ways other infrastructure simply can’t.
What interests me most is how recreation can be woven into the everyday urban environment, not only dedicated facilities. Trails, informal play spaces, waterfront activities and multi-use open space can support formal and informal activity alike. They’re powerful tools for improving accessibility, social inclusion, and the overall quality of a place.
Luke joined Ratio in 2024 after completing his Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning at RMIT University. He works across Victorian and Tasmanian planning & urban design projects, with a focus on community consultation and translating feedback into clear, actionable outcomes.
Q: What drew you to urban design, and how did you become involved in the team?
I got involved as a student planner and wasn’t sure which direction I wanted to head, so I started saying yes to everything.
I sat in on transport meetings, wrote my thesis on an urban design topic, and got involved wherever I could. The more exposure I had, the more interested I became in how planning, design, and community outcomes intersect.
Q: What makes community consultation meaningful and effective?
Good consultation is about helping people understand what’s proposed and creating space for honest feedback, not guiding them towards the outcome you personally agree with.
The most valuable insights come from local knowledge and lived experience, so engaging early and listening before forming assumptions makes all the difference. You also have to present information clearly and stay neutral when answering community questions.
The work of shaping tomorrow’s places is never really finished. Cities evolve, communities change and the decisions made today will influence how places function and feel for decades to come.
If you’d like to discuss an urban design project, get in touch with the team at mail@ratio.com.au
