People's Choice voting opens as top six designs for RAH site rebirth are revealed. Vote now
FROM a mountain to a forest, the final six visions for the rebirth of the Royal Adelaide Hospital site, after it is vacated from 2016, are taking shape, as exclusively revealed today.
Now the public can vote for their favourite with the launch of the People's Choice Award.
The six designs, chosen from a field of 126 entries from 48 countries , faced some initial public criticism as underwhelming and lacking detail, but were chosen by the judging panel on the basis of the architectural merit and design, rather than the raw sketches.
Each finalist was given $100,000 and took on a South Australian architecture partner firm to breathe life into their basic designs - and as these far more refined and detailed images show, the designers' visions have come a long way from the original rough drawings.
To vote in the State Government's online People's Choice Award go to the Office for Design and Architecture SA website.
The top three placegetters, chosen by an expert jury of seven architecture and design professionals, will be announced on December 10, along with the People's Choice winner.
First prize is $200,000, second prize is $70,000, third prize is $30,000 and the People's Choice winner will receive $10,000.
The People's Choice Award winner may also be one of the final three placegetters, setting up an interesting test to see if the public agrees with the professionals.
Regardless of who wins the competition and who wins the public's heart, the State Government remains under no obligation to implement any of the designs for the site.
Renewal SA is responsible for the future development of the RAH site, including the preparation of a master plan. This agency will review the results of the competition as part of its recommendation to the Government on planning options, project feasibility and commercialisation of the prime site.
Planning Minister John Rau said the potential for the site was enormous and urged the public to have their say.
"At the end of this process, we will have a great set of design ideas for the site, and we will be closer to a community consensus for the site's future," he said.
"When the competition is completed next month, the Government will then consider all options and feedback before making further announcements regarding the site's future.
"I would strongly encourage all South Australians to take a detailed look at the proposed designs and lodge their vote in the People's Choice competition."
The final six designs, and the designers' own florid descriptions of their visions for the site, are:
Zuzana and Nicholas, Queensland, with SA partner Roarkus Moss Architects
What the entrant says:
'The proposal seeks to reconcile the multiple forces at play on the site through a richly layered and non-singular approach.
"The site will develop an identity as a cultural, arts and education precinct.
"Adelaide is partly defined by its abundance of parkland. Rather than add to this, we have viewed the RAH site as an opportunity to provide a vibrant urban precinct for the city.
"The proposal is framed by a set of 'rules for development' that dictate important constraints that control the scale, extent and nature of development, however allow sufficient flexibility such that the development may be staged incrementally and procured in separate parcels in association with various private interests."
What Tim Lloyd, heritage writer at The Advertiser says:
Federation Square design: Finally puts an interesting kink in the straight-as-a-die Cultural Boulevard. Strollers would veer left into the parklands passing a new art gallery space
Oculus, NSW, with SA partner Fender Katsilidis Architects & DASH Architects
What the entrant says:
"Above all, the site will speak of Adelaide, the city rich in arts, music, education and innovation.
"The Heritage Plaza will be sited at the North Tce level, functioning as a canvas for public events, street artists and passive relaxation as well as a means to allow the heritage buildings to breathe.
"These historic buildings will be re-energised, reverting to an open, permeable civic and landscape setting that not only celebrates the history of the site and the individual buildings, but provides a welcoming entry to this regenerated cultural precinct.
"Student housing, laneway bars, restaurants, a fresh food market and a bicycle exchange hub will meet everyday desires."
What Tim says:
Rubik's cube design: This is a lethal, sharp-edged design with a puzzling set of walkways that Rubik and Escher would approve of. Here's hoping they leave the landscaping to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.
Bonhag & De Rosa, Germany, with SA partner Taylor Cullity Lethlean
What the entrant says:
"ORAH becomes OpenRAH - the open system. The ORAH Forum will be the urban place to be for everybody.
"Following in the footsteps of the surrounding parklands and the hospital as communal institutes, the ORAH Forum will be the urban place to be for everybody. ORAH becomes OpenRAH, the open system.
"The site is declared an urban forum, moulded by the given built fabric and new interventions, and made permeable by covered and outdoor public places. The site will remain over a given time frame, in a state of 'incompleteness'.
"The notion that the site, with its built forms, can be moulded or adapted at any stage during the redevelopment time frame. Initiative and curiosity is to be stimulated by making knowledge and resources available.
"With the ORAH Forum, the City of Adelaide will enhance its reputation and image as a worldwide, recognised showcase for sustainable cutting edge thinking and acting, and become a leader in sustainable urban transformations."
What Tim says:
See-through design: This peculiar six-level horticultural building has clearly solved the problem of providing backyards in blocks of apartments.
Nice Architects, Slovakia, with SA partner Mulloway Studio
What the entrant says:
"ADELAIDE ROCKS is a new urban quarter. It is an engaging, unexpected, fun, active and multi-layered place.
"A green and vertical landscape that connects the city to the parklands, the hill provides active and passive recreational opportunities not readily available within Adelaide's CBD.
"A hill formed from the debris of demolished buildings that turns waste into a positive, exciting, and unique urban space.
"The proposed building is seen as an iconic entry element into the city. It provides a bookend to the development along North Terrace and contributes to the broader city development patterns.'
What Tim says:
Magic Mountain design: If it's made of fibreglass and plastic lawn I hope the snow on top is lollipop flavoured. The 24-level tower would overshadow and ruin the Botanic Gardens while the football fields of paving would cook any pedestrian who strayed there in summer.
Slash, Victoria, with SA partner Phillips/Pilkington Architects
What the entrant says:
"We seek to re-imagine the site without starting again, to build on its history as a place for medicine, healing and learning.
"Successful ecosystems rely on diversity. This proposal is diverse at all levels - the programmatic, architectural, cultural, economic and landscape.
"We seek to re-imagine the site without starting again, to build on its history as a place for medicine, healing and learning.
"We seek to reintegrate the surrounding city and parklands. In removing accreted parts of building that have clogged the site, we open up the buildings to be part of an urban system, with their own identity and program."
What Tim Says:
Lego Brick design: Does the Lego brick come with plug-in accessories? Actually, this design might properly engage with the surrounding park and streetscapes.
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