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AG wrote:As an offshoot from Brando's idea, maybe the restaurant structure could be a large glass pyramid, cube or shard that can be seen clearly from the far ends of King William Street, Wakefield Street (from Kensington Road as well) and Grote Street (also from Sir Donald Bradman Drive).

I can just imagine the size of the aircon system needed for something like that. I was in one of the Botanic glass houses when it was about 35 degrees a few days ago and it was a stinker inside!

Will409 wrote:

AG wrote:As an offshoot from Brando's idea, maybe the restaurant structure could be a large glass pyramid, cube or shard that can be seen clearly from the far ends of King William Street, Wakefield Street (from Kensington Road as well) and Grote Street (also from Sir Donald Bradman Drive).

I can just imagine the size of the aircon system needed for something like that. I was in one of the Botanic glass houses when it was about 35 degrees a few days ago and it was a stinker inside!

Isn't it meant to be like that though?
High humidity inside to replicate a Tropical rainforest!

I realise that the glass houses are designed to replicate the conditions of a tropical rainforest but if the heat of a large number of people in a glass confined area (especially with food being served) was great enough, it is possible for a glass only resturaunt to become very much like a glass house bar some excellent ventilation and airconditioning systems.

Maybe it wasn't the best of examples using a Botanic Gardens glass house but some of the issues in relation to heat need to be addressed. It is none the less a great idea.

Adding a glass structured restaurant at the square is not a very good idea, it turns the public square into a private business entity, which is not what we wanted in the first place right?

Maybe instead of a restaurant, it could be a Tourist Information Centre + Adelaide Metro Information Centre, the two most visited centres, and it brings more people into the square too.

Edgar wrote: Maybe instead of a restaurant, it could be a Tourist Information Centre + Adelaide Metro Information Centre, the two most visited centres, and it brings more people into the square too.

That will not serve what we are trying to achieve. We want people to come and stay, not come and go as they will if they are just getting information.
We want people to be attracted to the area for it's excitement, vibrance and beauty...
Those centres might be best served on the edges of the square.

Goodness, how long can one stay for?

If you erect a landmark structure, would you be staying there for 4-5 hours?

People will still come, look, take photos, and leave.

I never said these centres should be located in the middle of the square, no matter where you place them in the square, it surely is going to get the square busy, even for just one second, one minute, one hour, it doesn't matter, we want people to bloody set their foot on the square.

Then we can worry about how to make them stay.

Edgar wrote:Goodness, how long can one stay for?

If you erect a landmark structure, would you be staying there for 4-5 hours?

People will still come, look, take photos, and leave.

I never said these centres should be located in the middle of the square, no matter where you place them in the square, it surely is going to get the square busy, even for just one second, one minute, one hour, it doesn't matter, we want people to bloody set their foot on the square.

Then we can worry about how to make them stay.

Edgar, your suggestion has merit, but i don't think in the square at all. Maybe on the edges as i said.
Vic Square should be more of a social gathering precinct, based on entertainment, dining and community relations. This will get more of a crowd than information booths.

I was criticising on the idea of constructing a restaurant in the square, which has no merits at all, except for the owner of the restaurants and patrons of the restaurants.

It is like putting a restaurant in one of the parklands, does it sound right?

Sorry, no.

Edgar wrote:I was criticising on the idea of constructing a restaurant in the square, which has no merits at all, except for the owner of the restaurants and patrons of the restaurants.

It is like putting a restaurant in one of the parklands, does it sound right?

Sorry, no.

There is one, actually, off Peacock Road. There's also a kiosk in Rymill Park and a couple of others here and there. There used to be a restaurant in the north western corner of Vic Sq, but the owners went bust I believe.

AtD wrote:

Edgar wrote:I was criticising on the idea of constructing a restaurant in the square, which has no merits at all, except for the owner of the restaurants and patrons of the restaurants.

It is like putting a restaurant in one of the parklands, does it sound right?

Sorry, no.

There is one, actually, off Peacock Road. There's also a kiosk in Rymill Park and a couple of others here and there. There used to be a restaurant in the north western corner of Vic Sq, but the owners went bust I believe.

Correct, that's what that strange paved area that used to have a glass fence on that corner was built for. It was a comedy of management errors and failed technology (the wireless ordering system never worked) before failing completely due to lack of patronage.

monotonehell wrote:

AtD wrote:

Edgar wrote:I was criticising on the idea of constructing a restaurant in the square, which has no merits at all, except for the owner of the restaurants and patrons of the restaurants.

It is like putting a restaurant in one of the parklands, does it sound right?

Sorry, no.

There is one, actually, off Peacock Road. There's also a kiosk in Rymill Park and a couple of others here and there. There used to be a restaurant in the north western corner of Vic Sq, but the owners went bust I believe.

Correct, that's what that strange paved area that used to have a glass fence on that corner was built for. It was a comedy of management errors and failed technology (the wireless ordering system never worked) before failing completely due to lack of patronage.

It was a good idea, however it was 10 years too early. Adelaide was not ready for such a venture back in 1997. Today we are!

If we look at the surrounds of Victoria Square, the north-eastern corner contains the yet-to-be completed Reserve Bank building redevelopment and the State Administration Centre, which is certainly not about to be altered for restaurant or tourist development; in the south-eastern corner we have the Magistrates' Court building and the new SA Water building, which is unlikely to be geared towards indoor/outdoor cafes and retail shops; and in the south-western corner we have the Supreme and District Courts buildings and the Hilton, aimed towards either criminals or hotel patrons, not the general public. The north-western corner, with a new lounge bar, the odd food outlet, and a low-traffic paved laneway is the only corner with any hint of pedestrian activity.

Well may we improve the public space that is Victoria Square, but it cannot be reliant upon ground-level tenancies that surround VS. It is clear that the ACC cannot simply force existing bullding and businesses to create restaurants, retail outlets and other such high-traffic businesses so as to draw more people to the square. More than anything, this highlights the importance of the need for desirable square attractions - it is not enough to create merely a large open area within the square, because such areas that currently exist are relatively poorly patronised. The Square will only be revolutionised with a revolutionary development at its core, or regular events that induce visitors.

The NW corner has become pedestrian friendly because the council has removed traffic and landscaped to encourage outdoor eating. It has taken 10 years to happen because a market had to be created where there wasn't one before. Now with additional office etc development happening around the square there are many more people passing through. The council should make it a priority to landscape the NE and SE corners the same way. The SAWater building's original design had capacity for a cafe and the SAWater shopfront. The supreme court building has a cafe on the ground floor for all the lawyers and judges.

The council's job is to facilitate development and the best way to do that is to eliminate the traffic from the corners and provide quality landscaping.

You cannot eliminate the traffic, it is a very vital connection.

What can be done though, is to build a channel underground for all the roads, without needing to raise the square up instead.

As someone has said, to raise the square, but that would feel weird and odd having to walk up the stairs to be in the square.

So with big cost involved, build a channel underground, with tram stops, roads, and maybe a shopping precinct.

Big dream, but a vision.

Houw about something like the Schlossplatz?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlossplatz%2C_Stuttgart