[COM] Rundle Mall Redevelopment | $30m

[jk1237]

IMO the current plane trees in Rundle Mall look just awful, just crappy, they look windswept and lose so many leaves in Jan. They suit the sides of streets ie King William St plane trees look wonderful. I can remember Rundle Mall as a little kid when there were the sloping red brick pavers, and the trees (whatever they were back then before they were ripped out) looked so nice and shady. They used to come out of brick planter boxes with metal wire seats poking out where many office workers would eat lunch. It looked friendly. I actually think a couple of palm trees would look quite interesting in the revamp

Some palm trees like the tall skinny ones are suited to dry desert climates which (except for past week) is what Adelaide is during summer ie the ones on the corner of Hindley and Morphett St looks kinda cool and almost suits Adelaide a little

[Maximus]

Well, the balls are officially moving.

No mention of the cable car up to Mt Lofty, though.

A cable car up to Mt Lofty would certainly be brilliant, but what's that got to do with Rundle mall? Surely they're not planning to have a cable car from Rundle Mall to Mt Lofty are they? Doesn't sound very possible to me!

On the (apparently erroneous) assumption that your palm trees comment was a joke, I was (highly unsuccessfully) attempting to be funny also. EPIC FAIL on my behalf on all counts!

The cable car idea has been around for a long time, but starting from Waterfall Gully, not Rundle Mall. Have a read of this (which also covers other projects that never came to fruition -- e.g. the MATS plan).

[SRW]

I bet we don't even get palm trees in Rundle Mall after all this fuss and palava. Incredible!

Wot

Well to me it goes without saying that an open mall of this type needs Palm trees along it. They add enormously to the aesthetic appeal of such malls. Yet for some reason Adelaide council insists on just putting in really plain looking trees.

I don't think the Council has any such insistence, but it seems to me that you insist on making Adelaide look like your favourite holiday destinations. While looking to the success of other places and even sometimes replicating it is all well and good, the local context should always be considered. I think palm trees are completely inappropriate to the context of Rundle Mall.

But anyway, IIRC from the last document I saw, the designers have already selected trident maples (Acer buergerianum) to be planted along the Mall. It's a decent tree with interesting changes in foliage across the seasons, but as with all street trees, pruning is more important than species. In Adelaide, I think there's a tendency to just plop the trees in the ground and then pretty much leave them to their own devices. This often means the canopies are allowed to form far too low on the trunk, whereas in successful plantings overseas (like, say, Bryant Park or Tuileries) they are trained higher up, creating an airier feel on the street. I hope they aim for that in the Mall.

[[Shuz]]

Oooh. The trident maples do look pretty. The mall would be aflush with a brilliant showcase of red, orange and yellow leaves come autumn.

[ml69]

Avenue planting of palm trees may look impressive, but they are pretty useless in terms of shade, which is critical in a pedestrian precinct in summer.

Those maple trees sound great, one of the differentors of Rundle Mall from the suburban shopping malls is that it has a different character depending on the seasons (it's in their advertising!)

[Mants]

i personally would have liked to see a species of native tree planted along rundle mall...something like an illawarra flame tree would have suited it perfectly.

[Paulns]

I'd love to see a giant observation tower in Adelaide like Sydney had with the Pitt Street mall. Something that's iconic and unique. Something that would be iconic for Adelaide as a whole. I don't want to hear this height restriction junk talk by the airport crowd anymore.. I'm sure other cities cope just fine. Adelaide needs more than just a facelift for Rundle Mall, it needs a real attraction to bring people into it, otherwise people are going to continue to just frequent their local and Centres like Marion, West Lakes and Tea Tree Plaza.. I think the Mall missed a real opportunity where the new Harris Scarf building is being constructed. That location right in the middle would have been ideal for a Eureka Style mixed use skyscraper. Anyway that's just my thought on the subject..

[Paulns]

Sydney has* I mean.

[Paulns]

I've just been to Auckland in New Zealand and really if you took away that giant tower, there's nothing really unique about their CBD.. Our shops, and ease or walking around makes out CBD so much better. But it's that tower that brings tourist and people into the city and is a focal point for the entire CBD. I'm just saying Adelaide could do with something like that adjacent to Rundle Mall. Comparing the 2 cities, Auckland only has less than a couple of hundred thousand people more than ours, it's nothing really and it's worked for them! Why don't we start thinking bigger in Adelaide instead of just a tiny little patch up, facelift job that'll probably date in 10 years just like the last so called facelift!

[pushbutton]

I'd love to see a giant observation tower in Adelaide like Sydney had with the Pitt Street mall. Something that's iconic and unique. Something that would be iconic for Adelaide as a whole. I don't want to hear this height restriction junk talk by the airport crowd anymore.. I'm sure other cities cope just fine. Adelaide needs more than just a facelift for Rundle Mall, it needs a real attraction to bring people into it, otherwise people are going to continue to just frequent their local and Centres like Marion, West Lakes and Tea Tree Plaza.. I think the Mall missed a real opportunity where the new Harris Scarf building is being constructed. That location right in the middle would have been ideal for a Eureka Style mixed use skyscraper. Anyway that's just my thought on the subject..

I agree they missed a massive opportunity there.

When John Martins was demolished, the original plan was to build a much bigger and much better multi-use building which would have included a unique star-shaped observation deck at the top of it's tower. It would also have included a 2 level new John Martins store (which would have meant the old David Jones would have remained open as well), plus a hotel, apartments, offices, and lots of specialty shops plus a food court.

I'm sure it would have put Adelaide on the international tourist map, as well as been a place of real interest for locals and certainly a big reason to visit Rundle Mall.

Sadly due to objections about flight paths and the other usual NIMBY stuff, we ended up with a boring beige box containing an ok department store, an ok food court, and a handful of specialty shops, plus offices.

Will we ever learn?

[[Shuz]]

The proposal you speak of, the Capital City Project was actually approved by the ACC and was to be built. However, the Asian sharemarket crash of 1998 caused the death of this project - I assume that it was backed by Asian investors who lost a lot of money and therefore couldn't finance it anymore.

[monotonehell]

Sadly due to objections about flight paths and the other usual NIMBY stuff, we ended up with a boring beige box containing an ok department store, an ok food court, and a handful of specialty shops, plus offices.

The proposal you speak of, the Capital City Project was actually approved by the ACC and was to be built. However, the Asian sharemarket crash of 1998 caused the death of this project - I assume that it was backed by Asian investors who lost a lot of money and therefore couldn't finance it anymore.

Why do these rumours keep going? 90% of the time things have been approved, it's just that the developers have pulled out.

Also an observation tower is sooooooo 1960's.

[serca]

Also an observation tower is sooooooo 1960's.[/quote]

Couldn't agree more. There is a bloody massive natural observation deck elevated at 700m called Mount lofty. And it is free. I was in Melbourne recently and regrettably paid to go up the Eureka sky look out , best part was the elevator trip down. Adelaide doesn't need big buildings to attract people to the city. If thats what tourist are looking for they much rather Dubai, kL, New York.... I think the important key here is to rejuvenate the lane ways coming off the mall!

[Matt]

Went up to the viewing gallery in The Shard on Monday and couldn't disagree more.

Granted, it's on a grander scale than anything likely for Adelaide (tallest building in Europe), and it's at the top of a multi-purpose building rather than an observation tower itself, but it was all executed well.

Have also visited restaurants at the top of the Gherkin, Heron Tower and Tower 42, and all have been great experiences with different perspectives of the city.

If this (either a viewing gallery or restaurant) was a feature of a new tallest for Adelaide, I certainly wouldn't say no.

[Reb-L]

Also an observation tower is sooooooo 1960's.[/quote]

Yeah, and the Eiffel Tower is soooo 1890's (or whatever), the Empire State Bldg so 1930's.......