Melbourne utility takes top prize at international design awards

Aug 13, 2023

Melbourne Water's Hobsons Bay Main Sewer Upgrade has won Gold at the global Better Futures GOV Design Awards, held in New York, for its innovative design of the hoarding around the construction site at Scienceworks.

Commissioned by Melbourne Water, together with delivery partner John Holland, and designed by GrowCreative, the hoarding creates a colourful and engaging communications platform to connect and educate the public.

The interactive platform details how the new sewer pipeline will transfer 30 per cent of Melbourne's wastewater to the Western Treatment Plant and support Melbourne's growing population, while highlighting the pipeline's history and the technology behind the project through a playful journey of discovery.

Melbourne Water HBM Communications and Engagement Lead, Julia Crellin, said, "Winning Gold at the Better Future GOV Design Awards in the Marketing – Print category is a testament to the collaboration and dedication of the entire project team, including especially GrowCreative, who helped us to bring our vision to life."

The colourful elements of the hoarding were specifically designed to engage children and families visiting Museums Victoria's Scienceworks in Spotswood.

It is an interactive journey of discovery, bringing the project to life with poo-like characters on holiday and a hungry Tunnel Boring Machine spouting educational facts about the sewer history and the need for the project.

GrowCreative Creative Director and Owner, Glen Rowbottom, said, "Our objective was to approach the topic of sewage waste with fun and humour, and to make this important topic more engaging and enjoyable for the community."

The hoarding design also features QR codes linking visitors to Melbourne Water's ‘Drip Trip’ game to learn more about the project.

The construction is located on the grounds of Scienceworks. The creative design, with nine viewing windows around the hoarding, creates a fantastic opportunity to inspire kids to see science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in action and to learn about real world applications.

Scienceworks General Manager, Jonathan Shearer, said, "Every day we see families engaging with the content and peering excitedly through the viewing windows, looking at a real-life engineering project."

The Hobson Bay Main Sewer Upgrade will provide an improved sewerage system with capacity for future flows while ensuring local amenity, environment, heritage, and community interests are protected and enhanced during its delivery.