SouthBank- Torrens

[Wayno]

One of the architects of the Festival Theatre laments the lack of interest in the Riverbank precinct? Or should I say, one of the architects of the buildings that, in their original form, turned their backs upon the Torrens and shrouded their entrances with a barren concrete plaza laments the lack of interest in the continuation of the barren concrete plaza?

How insightful.

gosh - you're right! i never considered it from that perspective - it does have it's backed turned on the riverbank!?! How the hell did that happen? Jeez, i'll never look at it in the same way now...

[ozisnowman]

The very first thing that would need to be done is to clean up the Torrens, but the solution needs to be a
more permanent one. The need to install a large filter before it gets to the CBD to ensure that the water
entering the lake is clean, it would also require many more trash racks to be installed in the upper-reaches.

The lake itself would need to have the mud removed and replaced with pebbles. Many inner lake filters
and aerators would need to be installed. Introduction of native fish species, such as Cod, Perch and the
like and removing Carp. The internal filters and aerators would help clean up the Torrens after the
winter rains. In summer any water entering the lake would be clean in the first place due to being filtered
prior to entering. Would look a lot better than the current mess.

[fabricator]

I've been to Melbourne's Southbank region, the only part I actually liked was the original river bank with the grass and paths. Then it gets to the concrete jungle and the steps became a chore. Without the above-ground train station just across the road Melbourne's Southbank would be just as dead as the Torrens lake region.

Experiments on the lake itself have been going on for decades now, the only thing that really works so far is to prevent the junk from washing into the river in the first place. Too much fertiliser, animal poo, and other chemicals which feed the algae.

I think its all that junk that's been built around the station/parliament house since the 70's that killed it. Go to Adelaide station's main hall and walk out the doors at the northen end, ugly huh ?

keep:
Festival center buildings (but not the ugly carparks and concrete farm)
Train station/casino building
Exhibition Center
parliament house buildings (old + new)
Grass

Remove:
ugly hotel complex and its stupid drive in entrance.
Festival center concrete farm
Exhibition Center underground carpark (small and pointless)

add/modify:
Cut holes in floor of western end of Exhibition Center to create second entrance+foyer to train station.
Replace ASER hotel building with torrens link mall, retail shops and extended Exhibition Center
Build new entrance to 'platform 9' carpark, in the form of covered bridge to casino road entrance. And extend carpark.

End result:
Alternative entrance to Adelaide train station, just like most other decent main stations !
two ways to access torrens, one via train station hall, one via new shopping mall.
less ugly concrete to look at/burn arse on.

[Shuz]

I'm actually making a concept plan for a revitalised Torrens Precinct. Just you wait a bit and see what I've in store!

[Will Derwent]

I don't understand how so many people commenting on this forum think that the way to solve a lack of people is to change the architecture and ambience of the immediate environment - but honestly, how many people do you expect will actually put themselves willingly into that environment because of nice architecture?

People go places because they want things: things like work, food, shops and entertainment. 99 per cent of the time, the riverbank area offers none of these things unless you are actually going to the theatre, hiring a paddle boat or drinking or eating at the one dodgy cafe next to the festival theatre (which isn't good enough to attract patrons from the other better cafes that are closer to everything else people do in town). Nobody works in the area, and nobody lives near there or walks through the area. So what do you expect to happen?

If you want to increase the life in the area, then build some damned shops or cafes. Build some apartment buildings or offices, and build some car parks nearby to make it easier to get to.

The only reason that people go to southbank in melbourne is because of the restaurants and residential buildings in the development. It's not rocket science people.

[Zills]

isn't that what fabricator is proposing?

"Replace ASER hotel building with torrens link mall, retail shops and extended Exhibition Center"

Good set of ideas there. Personally I think something should be done about the festival theatre tho. i've never liked it, I think it's a cheap answer to the Opera house, and it looks like a bunch of tin sheds! It timewarps you back into the 70's..easily my least favorite in Adelaide.

[Professor]

Build apartments on the southbank area, as were proposed in the original ASER plans - until the State Bank killed of SA for a decade. It is only having a critical mass of people that will bring this area alive.

Anyway, I am surprised no one has mentioned having a train run along the Torrens riverbank. Every other thread seems to include trains / buses / light rail and also a freakin football stadium.

Personally I quite like the area aesthetically but it needs shops, people and some real life. So bring people closer or onto the site and that will create an atmosphere that encourages development.

PS I think that Southbank in melbourne had its heyday around 5 years ago. It's too crowded and overdone now and has drawn much of the life out of Melbourne's CBD on the sundays and evenings.

[Pat28]

what id like to see is: the Hyatt, the older Convention Centre and the Riverside Centre demolished, a copy of the current train station main building (iverted) and placed where the Riverside Centre is and in between a large glass arching train shed to let in bucket loads of light into the train station. Similarish to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, and a bit like Hamburgs. This will then attract people to the River and the station once again

[bm7500]

I actually had dinner at Southbank in Melbourne last night. The area is only really popular because of its concentration of Restaurants & Cafe's and its proximity to the Casino & The CBD. This part of the stinky Yarra river is nothing special to look at, especially with that fugly old railway bridge crossing the river.

With a bit of vision there is no reason at all that we couldn't setup a 'Southbank' type precinct of our own on the banks of the Torrens. Even if the Marj gets dropped on the rail yards, there is still enough room to make this a worthwhile destinantion in its own rite! The comments about Melbourne's Southbank being about 5 years past its prime are spot on & therefore Adelaide has every chance of making ours much better!

[Omicron]

I like the Hyatt! Boo all you standing out the front with wrecking balls tut-tutting.

[Düsseldorfer]

I like the Hyatt! Boo all you standing out the front with wrecking balls tut-tutting.

I like the Hyatt too, I just don't like where it is...

[Will]

Bulldoze the Riverside Building and the first Convention Centre. However leave the Hyatt. It is a hotel, therefore it has people staying in it. People are the thing the Torrens Riverbank needs. What could be done is to renovate the Hyatt at ground floor level to make it more inviting to the Torrens Precinct.

[dencole]

I like some of the concepts mentioned --cafes, footbridges - perhaps a bar or 2 ---but why should we dredge the Torrens and make it ta rich man's Paradise re the marina ---the river should be for everyone -- canoeists, gondolas, Popeye, rowing boats, ducks and swans --not just the priveleged few .

[JamesXander]

Would it cause an uproar to call for the demolition of the Festival Theatre and start again?


It's fairly unattractive and like you said, badly designed in some instances. I know, however, that inside the acoustics are famous for being.... err, good....really good that is.

Exactly.


We need to start again. We are the FESTIVAL state apparently and we have an ugly ducking as our centrepeice.


Move the whole thing back so its backing onto the parliamnet, then would leave even more room for elder park, which could in turn be used for cafes and restraunts.


I would build a theartre with a Stone Fronting, old school (like Parliament house), but then the roof and everything else made of glass. Would look ace

[crawf]

That ugly duckly will be more than likely be loved in the future.

I never want to see the Festival Centre demolished, its a Adelaide icon and fits in nicely with the city skyline. Though what I would like too see is the plaza area and interior get a makeover.