Sensational-Adelaide.com

Matt wrote:I like the concept in principle, but not thrilled about the office tower. Was (obviously wrongly) under the impression the building was going to be a hotel?
Perhaps not viable given SkyCity will be next door and the Intercon a couple of doors down.

Hope they can compromise and design the building with a rooftop bar/restaurant so the view can be enjoyed by everyone.
If they HAVE to smack a massive tower up to make the project viable, at least ensure parts are accessible (and useful) to the public, given the location.

Exactly my thinking re rooftop bar/restaurant on top of the office tower. Also include a public observation deck.

Agree hotel was preferable but it seems the office tower decision was a purely commercial one. It needs to be the best designed office tower in Adelaide to be worthy of that location.

Same for that two storey restaurant/cafe/bar building. It needs to be bold and innovative. The proposed rooftop bar on this is a good idea.

The redeveloped plaza area actually looks more like a giant adventure playground than a major civic space! But that may not necessarily be a bad thing... I could see that this area could be very popular with families in the warmer months. In real life the plaza probably needs more shade structures than what has been depicted.

Not just this potential tower but it should be legislated any office towers lower level floors should be retail and restaurants/cafes/bars

I like the plans. Plenty of open space, and if the tower is the difference between viable and non-viable, then so be it.

Just hope they do it quickly, and do it well. Enough talking about it already... Far too much.

How can a tower on public land not be viable.

Sorry but I just don't like this plan at all.

I'm rather apprehensive about this latest plan. There's more negatives than positives.

Negatives;
- Why do we need a 24 storey office tower, given the high office vacancy rates at present?
- The office tower essentially intrudes on the existing Festival Plaza. A big no-no for me.
- No mention of public space activation on the northern side of the Festival Theatre?
- The casino hotel development looks taller, again. I sincerely hope this is not the case. I thought the previous 6 storey proposal was suitable and complimented the surroundings well.
- Not a fan of all this circular crap going on on the plaza. What is this? Doesn't compliment anything. At all.
- Agree to a degree about the 2 storey bar / restuarants building blocking views of Parliament House. This is one of the best assets of the precinct to admire the backdrop of Parliament House.
- Too geared towards private market demands (Casino & Walker Corp), and not the public need - i.e. Concert Hall for the ASO, Art Gallery space, etc.

Positives:
- Closing over the road to bridge the gap between the existing plaza and reconnecting it to the Festival Theatre itself.
- Agree about the need for varied developments, such as office space, hotel rooms, bars and restaurants, to capitalise on the opportunity for a more permanent activation of the space.
- It's a start. Let's work from this concept and try and refine the human scale of the development a bit more...

Matt wrote:I like the concept in principle, but not thrilled about the office tower. Was (obviously wrongly) under the impression the building was going to be a hotel?
Perhaps not viable given SkyCity will be next door and the Intercon a couple of doors down.

Hope they can compromise and design the building with a rooftop bar/restaurant so the view can be enjoyed by everyone.
If they HAVE to smack a massive tower up to make the project viable, at least ensure parts are accessible (and useful) to the public, given the location.

You really believe they need to put an office tower there, to make this project viable, from Lang Walkers perspective?
He's a businessman, he isn't doing this for OUR benefit, he's doing it for HIS benefit.

That's the most important question that should be asked.
How do WE benefit from an office tower being attached to this redevelopment? The answer is we don't. He does.

If Lang Walker was involved in redeveloping Vic. Square, and he said he needs an office tower there to make the project viable, would people accept that?

The plaza should be maintained as an open, public space.
There's plenty of other areas that and office tower would be better suited to.

You are all mad if you think there's going to be plenty of open space there if this goes ahead, let alone if you think it will still feel like an open place with two towers bearing down on it.

You not only will have Walkers office tower, which will undoubtedly be nothing special, and the casino expansion/hotel, you will also have that one level building behind parliament house encroaching on that open space.

They then want to stick gum trees everywhere(unless my eyes deceive me).
Part of what makes the riverbank look like something from a regional center, is the shit ugly disgusting gum trees and piss poor landscaping ideas implemented.

What in the hell is it with all the coloured circles everywhere? Is this really what $800 million dollars gets you in the 21st century in a first world country? We are being taken for a ride.

If this goes ahead it will be another regret South Australian's have, like the one way expressway. Mark my words and in ten years quote me.


And while writing this Shuz has posted. Agreed with the negs.

I knew these plans would stink. For $610m ($180m of government money) what are we actually getting? A high-rise building and a couple of cafe/resteraunt buildings? What about the festival centre? What about North of the plaza at Elder Park. All I see coming out of this development is all the heritage buildings in the area being overshadowed by average high-rises and a handover of public land to a private investor. Nothing can save this proposal.

Rev - well aware Lang Walker is in this for Lang Walker.

Point was, if the government have given him the go ahead to whack an office tower up in order to secure funding for the rest of it (financially 'viable' from their POV), I want at least something in said tower for the public.

Beyond guaranteeing some extra foot traffic for the area, we as the public DON'T benefit from an office tower - at all.

News report and fly through videos:



All I can say atm is that I'm so very disappointed.

View of the new station entry and casino.

A lot of the renders supplied conveniently omit the casino extension entirely.

It is possible to have open space and a high rise building .There are several such buildings in Sydney like Chiffley 2 tower. See pictures

Arts venue upgrade tipped in Festival Plaza facelift

http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainme ... 7263044993

AN upgrade of the ageing Adelaide Festival Centre is expected to be announced as part of the multi-million redevelopment of the Festival Plaza.

Premier Jay Weatherill yesterday indicated that the Government would today be releasing plans to upgrade Adelaide’s premier arts venue, answering criticism about the lack of investment in the 42-year-old building.

Adelaide Festival artistic director David Sefton who labelled Adelaide’s arts venues “crumbling and decrepit”, said the city needed a new concert hall and a new contemporary exhibition and performance space.

On Friday, Mr Weatherill announced a $610 million redevelopment of the Festival Plaza including a 24-storey office tower and an 1560 space underground carpark, but no mention of an upgrade to the arts venues.

The State Government will put $180m towards the project including $30 million for 400 of the carpark spaces.

The Sunday Mail understands the Government will match Walker Corporration’s $40m contribution for works on the public plaza, leaving more than half of the Government’s $180 million contribution unassigned.

The Sunday Mail understands the Government will match Walker Corporration’s $40m contribution for works on the public plaza, leaving more than half of the Government’s $180 million contribution unassigned.

It comes as Riverbank Authority chair Andrew McEvoy said that he would present two to three design options for the plaza to Cabinet within the three months.

Mr McEvoy, who will oversee the upgrade of the plaza, said the design would feature play spaces for children, trees and gardens, water features and intimate spaces for people to gather.

He said images of the plaza redesign released on Friday were simply for illustrative purposes because there was no agreement on a final design.

“We did public consultation about 12 months ago and that told us a lot. We know people want trees and greenery to shade them from the summer sun, they want intimates spaces for winter and play spaces for children so the plaza can be more family friendly,” he said.

“It will have to be able to handle massive crowds when there are Showdowns and other big sporting events as well as intimate spaces for when it’s not so busy.

“It will also provide better access to the riverbank north to south, east to west. We need that consistency along the riverbank because at the moment it’s just a confusing place for people.”

Mr McEvoy said the Government had been clear that the finished plaza must be top quality to make it among the world’s best meeting places.

“Adelaide is really becoming a culinary destination so I think there will need to be opportunities for alfresco dining and I see water as being a key feature,” he said.

An advertiser.com.au poll with more than 1600 votes showed that about 40 per cent of people “loved” the Government’s plan, while a quarter “like” it.

However, a quarter “hate” it and a further 10 per cent of people were unsure.

I guess with a new 20+ office building next to parliament house, all the more reason to move the Department of Communities and Social Inclusion out of the Riverside Centre - bulldoze it and build on the site of that and the InterContinental a multipurpose casino / hotel facility.

[Shuz] wrote:No mention of public space activation on the northern side of the Festival Theatre?

Yes, this is annoying. Effectively still has its back turned to the Torrens.

Matt wrote:Arts venue upgrade tipped in Festival Plaza facelift

http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainme ... 7263044993

AN upgrade of the ageing Adelaide Festival Centre is expected to be announced as part of the multi-million redevelopment of the Festival Plaza.

Premier Jay Weatherill yesterday indicated that the Government would today be releasing plans to upgrade Adelaide’s premier arts venue, answering criticism about the lack of investment in the 42-year-old building.

Adelaide Festival artistic director David Sefton who labelled Adelaide’s arts venues “crumbling and decrepit”, said the city needed a new concert hall and a new contemporary exhibition and performance space.

On Friday, Mr Weatherill announced a $610 million redevelopment of the Festival Plaza including a 24-storey office tower and an 1560 space underground carpark, but no mention of an upgrade to the arts venues.

The State Government will put $180m towards the project including $30 million for 400 of the carpark spaces.

The Sunday Mail understands the Government will match Walker Corporration’s $40m contribution for works on the public plaza, leaving more than half of the Government’s $180 million contribution unassigned.

The Sunday Mail understands the Government will match Walker Corporration’s $40m contribution for works on the public plaza, leaving more than half of the Government’s $180 million contribution unassigned.

It comes as Riverbank Authority chair Andrew McEvoy said that he would present two to three design options for the plaza to Cabinet within the three months.

Mr McEvoy, who will oversee the upgrade of the plaza, said the design would feature play spaces for children, trees and gardens, water features and intimate spaces for people to gather.

He said images of the plaza redesign released on Friday were simply for illustrative purposes because there was no agreement on a final design.

“We did public consultation about 12 months ago and that told us a lot. We know people want trees and greenery to shade them from the summer sun, they want intimates spaces for winter and play spaces for children so the plaza can be more family friendly,” he said.

“It will have to be able to handle massive crowds when there are Showdowns and other big sporting events as well as intimate spaces for when it’s not so busy.

“It will also provide better access to the riverbank north to south, east to west. We need that consistency along the riverbank because at the moment it’s just a confusing place for people.”

Mr McEvoy said the Government had been clear that the finished plaza must be top quality to make it among the world’s best meeting places.

“Adelaide is really becoming a culinary destination so I think there will need to be opportunities for alfresco dining and I see water as being a key feature,” he said.

An advertiser.com.au poll with more than 1600 votes showed that about 40 per cent of people “loved” the Government’s plan, while a quarter “like” it.

However, a quarter “hate” it and a further 10 per cent of people were unsure.

That's more encouraging news about Festival Theatre upgrade and the plaza design not being finalised yet. Hope there is a concert hall as part of the Festival Theatre upgrade.