Universities and place-making practitioners across Australia are collaborating to create a tangible Place Rating tool that will; evaluate human attachments to place, recognise leading placemaking projects and drive best-practice place design.

What characteristics distinguish an engaging place from an empty space? How do we evaluate the intangible experiences that define individual connections with and perceptions of place? And how do we identify and recognise design projects that support the evolution of valuable places?

In response to these questions and industry need, a team of researchers and industry partners are developing a robust methodology that will evaluate and compare place-centric design approaches. The anticipated framework will provide a platform to recognise the evolution of future place-making practice.

The Rating Place Project

Rating Place is a research project that is drawing on existing industry knowledge and research to construct a robust framework to evaluate place-making. Place-making is understood as a process creating the capacity for people to emotionally connect to spaces through values-based design.

The project is a unique collaboration between the Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage (ACAHUCH) and Thrive research group (University of Melbourne), University of Queensland, University of New South Wales, Deakin University and Curtin University/Notre Dame University.

The Place Rating framework will allow practitioners and procurers to showcase their work in a manner that reinforces their credibility, provides baseline standards to place and brings recognition to their projects.