A framework for climate-ready, nature-positive design

Working with land, water and Country to create climate-resilient places

Urban development and climate change present intertwined challenges for our economies and society – challenges that must be urgently addressed if we are to thrive in a changing climate. Development can disrupt the natural landforms that regulate climate, support biodiversity and manage water. At the same time, projects are increasingly exposed to climate stresses that, if not planned for, can leave spaces unusable – eroding asset value and creating significant long-term economic costs.

Nature-based solutions offer a practical, evidence-informed way to address these risks and improve long-term resilience and asset value. Nature provides habitat, sequesters carbon, moderates temperatures, manages water and buffers climate extremes, enabling both climate change mitigation and adaptation. By learning from natural systems and embedding them in design – through landforms, soils, vegetation and water – we can design and build resilient, sustainable and beautiful urban environments that support ecological health and community wellbeing.

Through a new, industry-led Nature Design Guide, Mott MacDonald is enabling Australia’s infrastructure sector to move from principle to practice – embedding nature-based solutions to add value by regenerating land, restoring ecological function and reconnecting people with place. The Guide draws on Australian projects across cities, precincts and landscapes to show how working with landforms, soils and urban greening can deliver measurable climate and nature outcomes and, ultimately, benefits for the development.

Barangaroo Reserve

Why designing with nature is a growing imperative

Although not a new concept, nature-based solutions have been treated as afterthoughts or optional extras within development contexts. Today, policy direction, emerging regulatory frameworks, nature-impact reporting, investor ESG expectations and stricter procurement requirements are collectively embedding nature-based solutions as core project drivers.

Most sites now present opportunities to regenerate land, restore ecological function and reconnect people with place. Asset owners increasingly recognise that nature-based design can reduce long-term risks, including flood damage, heat stress and declining asset performance.

For example, research shows that unmanaged stormwater runoff increases erosion and degrades ecological function. Green interventions substantially reduce runoff while delivering significant cooling, amenity and biodiversity benefits.

Here’s how:

• Work with topography: Use natural landform, contours and gradients to shape design decisions, reducing earthworks and construction time, while lowering costs and improving resilience.
• Implement bioretention systems: Reduce runoff significantly (with studies reporting reductions of over 50% in many cases), filter pollutants, mitigate flood risk and support groundwater recharge.
• Use permeable pavements: Reduce runoff and peak flow (with studies showing ~25-75% reduction depending on system performance and maintenance), improve water quality and activate soil microbial activity.
• Install green roofs: Retain ~10%-90% of rainfall, depending on design, climate and conditions, reduce peak flow, mitigate urban heat and enhance building insulation.

The Nature Design Guide highlights projects where retaining and restoring landform reduced erosion and flood risk while improving water quality. At the Barangaroo Reserve, for example, reconstructed sandstone landforms and soils have helped to re-establish hydrological and ecological function on a former industrial site.

Creating places that work with, not against, nature

The Planetary Boundaries Framework, developed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, identifies nine critical Earth system processes that sustain the planet’s stability and define a safe operating space for humanity. One of the most critical – land system change – has already been exceeded. Deforestation, agriculture and urbanisation are disrupting essential ecological functions, such as carbon sequestration, moisture recycling and nutrient cycling, while intensifying floods, droughts and heatwaves – driving higher design and construction costs, increasing operational risks and reducing long-term asset performance.

Designing with the land is grounded in natural terrain, ecology and cultural context. It reflects deep respect for origins, memory and the cultural knowledge embedded within landscapes.

Regenerating land involves protecting and restoring the physical and ecological functions of landscapes. This includes retaining natural landforms where possible, restoring altered topography, and supporting water movement, carbon cycling and biodiversity recovery. In urban settings, these actions strengthen climate resilience, reconnect people with place and create more liveable, adaptive communities.

Barangaroo Living Seawall (image credit: Sian Liddy)

In practice, this means:

• Minimising cut-and-fill
• Aligning built form with natural gradients and overland flow paths
• Designing hydrology that works with landform
• Specifying soils and species suited to site conditions and microclimates
• Embedding cultural narratives and stewardship in place-making

Case studies in the Guide show how this plays out in practice – from reshaping historic landforms at Barangaroo Reserve, to soil reconstruction and deep planting systems at Bendigo Hospital, where land-led design supports cooling, water management and wellbeing outcomes in a dense urban setting.

Constraints such as contamination, utilities or yield targets will always exist. The goal is to maximise the benefits that can be achieved for nature, working towards more nature-positive outcomes within these limits and be transparent about trade-offs.

Place before project: getting started with nature-based design

The Nature Design Guide consolidates best practice, case studies and a six-step method to support this process. It provides tools to assess and track benefits across a site and encourages asset owners and designers to adopt processes that honour the past while planning for a climate-ready future.

Six steps to designing with the land

1. Understand historical land context
   
   Pre-development insights continue to advance. Site surveys, historical mapping and digital modelling reveal how land once functioned, enabling designers to shape grading and building placement in ways that restore rather than override natural systems. Flattened, cleared or sealed sites often obscure natural features such as ridges, gullies and floodplains that once supported infiltration, moderated water flows and sustained soil health. Rather than accepting level sites as the default, designers should use landform as a driver for hydrology, soil strategies and habitat restoration. At Barangaroo Reserve, historic mapping and pre-colonial shoreline studies informed the recreation of headlands and coves, demonstrating how understanding original landform can guide resilient, place-led design.
   
   
2. Engage with Traditional Custodians
   
   In Australia, designing with Country draws on First Nations knowledge of landscape function, resilience and stewardship. Working with Traditional Owners helps designers to understand how Country was cared for, how it has changed and how it might respond under future climate conditions. Early, ongoing and co-designed engagement enables cultural intelligence to influence species selection, water regimes, spatial design and narrative development, moving beyond consultation towards genuine collaboration.
   
   
3. Retain and restore natural landforms
   
   Protect and reconnect landforms that support permeability, flood resilience and habitat continuity. Integrate built elements into the landscape to re-establish hydrological and ecological function rather than replacing it.
   
   
4. Protect and repair soils
   
   Healthy soils underpin stormwater management, vegetation health and carbon storage. Evidence shows that soil rehabilitation significantly improves infiltration, water retention and ecosystem resilience. A soil-first approach that minimises disturbance, remediates contamination and reuses topsoil strengthens project outcomes. The Guide includes examples such as Bendigo Hospital, where reconstructed soils using site-derived and recycled materials support deep planting, urban cooling and long-term landscape performance.
   
   
5. Introduce urban greening
   
   Integrate climate-responsive vegetation into buildings and public spaces. Prioritise native species, deep soil zones and adequate space for mature tree growth. Use future temperature projections to determine where shade will have the greatest cooling impact.  Tree canopy can reduce surface temperatures by around 2-12°C, improving thermal comfort and helping protect surrounding assets.
   
   
6. Create connected green infrastructure
   
   Connect onsite green spaces with wider ecological and community networks. Blue-green streets, community gardens, green facades and linear corridors enhance biodiversity while managing heat and runoff. Though establishment costs can be higher, green infrastructure is on average 42% cheaper over its lifecycle than grey alternatives and creates 36% more value through reduced maintenance, avoided risks and ecosystem benefits. Projects such as Northshore Brisbane show how blue-green streetscapes, deep soil zones and canopy targets can be coordinated at precinct scale to deliver cooling, water management and cultural outcomes.

Bendigo Hospital (image credit: Fytogreen)

Let the land lead 

Designing with the land reduces clearing and earthworks while preserving hydrological function and habitat, but it requires adaptability. Planning around natural contours and ecological processes often demands bespoke solutions. Outdated standards, rigid specifications or skills gaps can be barriers, but these can be overcome through updated briefs, specialist input and performance-based criteria.

The Nature Design Guide provides a flexible, evidence-informed framework for climate-responsive, culturally grounded and future-ready design. Nature is dynamic and responsive, and our built environment must reflect and respect that reality.

• Download the free Nature Design Guide and supporting tools