Urban landscapes offer unique opportunities for humans to interact with the natural environment in ways that provide broad benefits. For Sharon Wright, Principal and Head of Design at international design practice Hassell, the integration of diverse ecosystems into the urban fabric and enhancement of environmental resiliency have been a key focus throughout her career.
Sharon has worked across a wide range of project types and scales, from strategic frameworks and master plans for cities and natural systems; to the design of public parks, urban spaces, streetscapes and waterfronts. Whatever the work, Sharon believes the best design draws on a site’s context, history and character to build a genuine sense of place. Recent projects include an urban forest snaking along 21 kilometres of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, where two million trees will give the city a literal breath of fresh air. Closer to home, Laark Boorndap is an ambitious collaboration with New York-based architecture practice SO-IL, and plant experts James Hitchmough, Nigel Dunnett and Jac Semmler, to transform the Melbourne Arts Precinct with an urban garden planted entirely on an elevated deck and featuring one of the most richly layered planting designs of any public garden in the world.
