Our public spaces are where life happens.

Historically, the social and economic heart of any city has always been its public realm – squares, streets, courtyards and in-between spaces where people meet, move, gather, socialise and create community. Today, the best cities still place people at their centre, offering spaces not only to walk through, but to belong to.

In Brisbane’s CBD, beneath the Turbot Street off-ramp, lies one such place – an overlooked underpass once shaped more by conflict between infrastructure than by civic intent. A space complected by multiple land and asset owners, maintenance jurisdictions and a “just too hard” mindset. Like many of our cities’ urban voids, this space had long faded into obscurity – used for overflow parking, passed through hastily, or avoided altogether – with numerous failed attempts of revitalisation.

But the most transformative urban changes often begin in the spaces between.

This time informed by grassroots approach and forged through a unique public-private partnership, the revitalisation of the Turbot Street Underpass is a new kind of urban renewal project: not just imposed from above, but co-created with community and end users. Vee Design, in close collaboration with Mirvac, Fourfold Studio, First Nations artist Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, and cultural curator Chris Bassi, helped shift the narrative of this complex, multi-owned site from “problem” to “prototype.”

Today, the Underpass is alive.

With layered sports courts for basketball, soccer and pickleball, robust furniture, integrated lighting, and artworks that speak to place and culture, the space welcomes all—from lunchtime hoopers to bootcamp regulars, from event pop-ups to passers-by. And for some of Brisbane’s most vulnerable, it is now a safer, more dignified place to dwell.

The transformation speaks to a broader truth: that our cities are rich with potential -especially in their forgotten corners. These urban micro-ecosystems, often unplanned and unprogrammed, are not lifeless voids, but fertile ground for vibrancy, inclusion, and design-led equity.

At Vee Design, we believe the future of our cities lies in rethinking these residual urban voids-places too often left out of planning frameworks, but central to a more democratic, layered, and lively urban fabric.

With the 2025 Awards season approaching, we’re looking froward to having the Turbot Street Underpass recognised by the industry. It’s more than a project—it’s a benchmark for how our profession can transform the edges of the city into the heart of civic life.

Let’s continue the conversation around resilient, people-first design.

What overlooked spaces in your city do you think hold untapped potential? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

With thanks to our collaborators and contributors –

Mirvac Suncorp Group Fourfold Studio Delvene Cockatoo-Collins DIALOG SLR Consulting Adrian Schrinner Solutions+

And all community groups, traders and Council staff that contributed through our various engagement workshops.

Project located on Turrbal and Yuggera Country

Photography by Timothy Birch