[COM] Victoria Square Upgrade - $24m

[AG]

Rather than focussing on trying to build within the square, I believe there needs to be a focus on building around the square in order to bring people to it. The buildings around the square should encourage ground level retail facilities such as cafes, while the square itself needs to be reconfigured to be more pedestrian-friendly, and that includes closing the west-east link across the centre of the square and reconfiguring some traffic signals at some points to give quicker access to the middle of the square. Unfortunately the design of some buildings such as the Law Courts makes it a bit difficult to construct ground level retail areas. The square itself could feature a few small stands (not permanent) and a stage that could be used for events that the square would host.

[Will]

I remember that in 1997, the ACC attempted to bring Victoria Square to life by opening a cafe/restaurant on the north-west corner of Victoria Square. Situated at the base of the MLC Building, this venture involved the closing of the 'road' in front of the MLC Building. If you have ever wondered why the 'road' in front of the MLC Building is closed to traffic and has different street furniture and decor to the other quadrants of Victoria Square, this is the reason. Ultimately this venture failed. However, I think it would be a good idea to revisit this idea. Adelaide was not ready for such a venture back in 1997. Such a venture was built ahead of its time. In 1997, we had more than 20% office vacancies, more than 10% unemployment and thousands of fewer workers and students in the CBD. I strongly believe a restaurant in the north-west corner of Victoria Square would be successful Today. The Adelaide CBD of 2008 is vastly different from that one of 1997.

[Omicron]

I remember that in 1997, the ACC attempted to bring Victoria Square to life by opening a cafe/restaurant on the north-west corner of Victoria Square. Situated at the base of the MLC Building, this venture involved the closing of the 'road' in front of the MLC Building. If you have ever wondered why the 'road' in front of the MLC Building is closed to traffic and has different street furniture and decor to the other quadrants of Victoria Square, this is the reason. Ultimately this venture failed. However, I think it would be a good idea to revisit this idea. Adelaide was not ready for such a venture back in 1997. Such a venture was built ahead of its time. In 1997, we had more than 20% office vacancies, more than 10% unemployment and thousands of fewer workers and students in the CBD. I strongly believe a restaurant in the north-west corner of Victoria Square would be successful Today. The Adelaide CBD of 2008 is vastly different from that one of 1997.

Wasn't there also some kind of electronic ordering system, too, that proved troublesome and was eventually abandoned?

That NW corner of the square is quite appealing at the moment - it's very European, with all the shaded paved areas and trees growing quite close together.

[Wayno]

i just finished reading all posts on this topic (phew!) and compiled the ideas i like best:

TRAFFIC THROUGH VIC SQUARE
* First and foremost scrap the E/W tunnel notion - way too expensive. Spend money on ring road improvements instead (to the benefit of many many south aussies)
* Close KWS to the West of the square. Only exception being to maintain a 1-way slip road in front of the hilton (mainly for taxis)
* Widen KWS to the East of the square to allow for 2-way traffic

THE SQUARE ITSELF
* Fill with heaps of green - make it an oasis
* Include a "wow-factor" centre piece - Some sort of tall, bold and elegant structure, say 150m tall, with a viewing platform and lighting scheme that can be seen far and wide
* No other structures (exception for seating, some paths, maybe a fountain, and some arty sculptures)
* Design in the capability to erect "temporary" large scale seating for public events

THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY
* Populate the ground floor areas of surrounding buildings with restaurants/cafes - and perhaps some retail (but not too much please!)

MY MANTRA: Keep costs low, maximise usability, maximise open space, maximise the serenity factor, don't overdo it - basically make it useful and attractive. Remember, we have the festival centre/riverfront area for large public events.

[Norman]

Re: City Ring Road... they've actually used the Ring Road phrase on streets going up to Greenhill Road from what I've seen, and there has also been improved signage along Greenhill and Cross Roads.

[Bulldozer]

My idea is to close off all the roads and change it into a rectangular roundabout - one way traffic of two lanes around the perimeter. Tram lines on the inside edge with stops in the middle of each side. Each road intersection would be a scatter crossing/cross walk. The square itself would be elevated 500-700 above the road level and retained with an ornate granite wall. A central paved area with high-quality natural stone pavers would connect with paths to the tram stops. In the middle would be the entrance to the new central subway station. Everything else would be grassed and planted with large shade trees with garden beds around the perimeter. The fountain could be retained and additional artworks installed to break the views down the four major streets. There'd be places near the edge of the central paved area for coffee/food carts to set up each day.

[JamesXander]

haha keep dreaming. We would need 100 Roxbies to pay for that.


I really don't have much of an idea about what to do. But if we increase the amount rewarded for teh winning design we will see some REALLY good stuff.

Make it $2 Million dollars, and give the architechs or what not a budget of 50 million or so to spend


This way we will have something ICONIC!

[Will]

How about moving the City Beach volleyball courts to Victoria Square?

[Wayno]

i just finished reading all posts on this topic (phew!) and compiled the ideas i like best:

TRAFFIC THROUGH VIC SQUARE
* First and foremost scrap the E/W tunnel notion - way too expensive. Spend money on ring road improvements instead (to the benefit of many many south aussies)
* Close KWS to the West of the square. Only exception being to maintain a 1-way slip road in front of the hilton (mainly for taxis)
* Widen KWS to the East of the square to allow for 2-way traffic

THE SQUARE ITSELF
* Fill with heaps of green - make it an oasis
* Include a "wow-factor" centre piece - Some sort of tall, bold and elegant structure, say 150m tall, with a viewing platform and lighting scheme that can be seen far and wide
* No other structures (exception for seating, some paths, maybe a fountain, and some arty sculptures)
* Design in the capability to erect "temporary" large scale seating for public events

THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY
* Populate the ground floor areas of surrounding buildings with restaurants/cafes - and perhaps some retail (but not too much please!)

MY MANTRA: Keep costs low, maximise usability, maximise open space, maximise the serenity factor, don't overdo it - basically make it useful and attractive. Remember, we have the festival centre/riverfront area for large public events.

Ok, so i'm probably breaking my "keep costs low" mantra, but i was bored this afternoon and created this SPIRAL TOWER using Google SketchUp...

In summary:
* Position: middle of the square - presumably with no traffic flowing under it
* Style: the overall impression is (in my opinion) lightweight and non-obtrusive with an industrial finish
* Size: As tall as possible? what's the council height limit? This mock up is ~30 stories tall
* Underlying framework: made of industrial steel with a dark grey finish. Don't try and hide it - make it a feature
* Walls: non-reflective translucent glass (not sure what colour works best?) with large areas remaining un-walled
* Viewing: 3 separate public viewing platforms. Elevator to first level (approx 8 stories high) where an outdoor-style cafe exists. Continue elevator to 2nd platform (approx 16 stories high). Stairs to 3rd level (approx 24 stories high)

Example #1

adelaide-spire-a.JPG (36.59 KiB) Viewed 3580 times

Example #2

adelaide-spire-b.jpg (57.74 KiB) Viewed 3576 times

More examples in this pdf attachment

adelaide-spire.pdf

(519.12 KiB) Downloaded 153 times

[SRW]

Very good Wayno! It accomplishes something I most desire for any development of the Square: a vista for the four boulevards intersecting the square.

[Shuz]

The solution is simple as! Make Victoria Square a roundabout, either in its current diamond shape form, or by pushing the roads right back to the edges in a rectangular shape. As for anything else design wise - ante up the prize pool. Mega-millions, international standard. Just for this once.

[Norman]

Re: City Ring Road... they've actually used the Ring Road phrase on streets going up to Greenhill Road from what I've seen, and there has also been improved signage along Greenhill and Cross Roads.

And here it is:

[Wayno]

Very good Wayno! It accomplishes something I most desire for any development of the Square: a vista for the four boulevards intersecting the square.

thanks for the feedback SRW. Between you and me I think my "spiraling tower" design must have shocked a few people coz you are the only one to raise an opinion so far

[Edgar]

Very good Wayno! It accomplishes something I most desire for any development of the Square: a vista for the four boulevards intersecting the square.

thanks for the feedback SRW. Between you and me I think my "spiraling tower" design must have shocked a few people coz you are the only one to raise an opinion so far

I could have given you credits if you were to throw in a couple of giant tv screens as well.

[stelaras]

Wayno...nice job mate....

In order to bring people the square and keep them there, you would need some kind of attraction other than a "spire" and some cafes/restaurants...

There would need to be some screens in place that perhaps showcase various Adelaide icons...perhaps free arthouse/mainstream movies (similar to what the Fed Square screen does), something cutural (perhaps highlighing Aboriginal, european settlement and mass migration of the 50's-70's) perhaps as a walkway/pathway around and through the square.

Perhaps making Victoria Square as the centre for the many minor festivals Adelaide has (Glendi, Italian, Indian, German) etc etc would bring people to the square and importantly into the city!

I agree with making it as green as possible...