Lake Innes Village is a high quality suburban retail centre designed to serve the growing West Port Macquarie region. The layout of Lake Innes Village mitigates the visual bulk commonly associated with supermarkets, and avoids the usual dominance of the ‘forecourt’ carpark. Instead, public activity is concentrated into a central plaza, with landscaped areas that retain existing Tallowoods and Eucalypts and assist in stormwater control and detention. Private vehicle access is not compromised, but is subordinate to the pedestrian plaza and located at the northern end of the site. Surrounding streets have been provided with additional short-term parking.Adding to the theme of a retail village are low-scale specialty stores, which wrap the supermarket to activate its frontages and conceal its potential bulk. Shoppers access the stores and supermarket via a high colonnade that provides shelter, but is open to the plaza and the neighbourhood beyond. A double-height atrium leading shoppers into the supermarket reduces the demand on air-conditioning, and can be adapted for various temporary uses such as community fundraising events, and public information displays. At night the space becomes a lantern, lit from within to become a distinctive landmark.