David Lindner Prize
Public realm and urban
renewal research proposal

Aiden Morris

The 2024 David Lindner prize is awarded to Aiden Morris for his submission entitled “Could Big-Box Malls Save the High Street? The placemaking potential of shopping centre sites in regional NSW”.  

Shopping centres are often viewed as being detrimental to true public space and have historically absorbed the bustle of the once thriving high street – causing disconnection and inactive streetscapes. However, these conditions present an opportunity to revitalise regional centres.   

The winning submission builds upon Aiden’s previous practice experience, which radically rethought the integration of two regional shopping centres within their associated high street and broader town centre public realm. The expansion of the shopping centre beyond its traditional retail focus, with new open space and a greater diversity of uses, including cultural, health, education, and residential, aims to transform the inwardly facing building type into an active part of the high street. Under the David Lindner Prize, Aiden’s research analyses regional precedents to inform design guidelines for the sustainable, active, and place-making redevelopment of shopping centres within high streets in regional NSW.   

In awarding the prize, the jury noted that the proposal has the potential for both longevity and scale in its outputs and can contribute to an important conversation about the sustainability of our urban centres, their architecture, and the public realm. The research will engage with multiple regional centres in NSW, with the outputs likely to have broader application within the state and beyond.  

The David Lindner prize encourages new research on architecture in the public realm. Awarded to an emerging architect in honour of the late David Lindner, it recognizes submissions that generate ideas for solving real challenges facing our cities, and contributes to the profession as well as the broader community.