As with anything, I'll wait until the whole mall is complete before making my final assessment of it, but so far it's not looking at all promising.
Bits of darker paving just sort of run into the lighter paving in pretty random ways. In fact, if it was totally random it might have looked better than it does. I guess that's what happens what you let some trendy art student design something. They think it's different so it must be good. Everyone else thinks "what a mess"!
I agree with others who have said the paving, especially the lighter paving, looks dirty.
So far, I am not at all impressed with the new bench seating they're slowly putting in either. Obstructive and impractical (a bit like the new benches at Westfield West Lakes).
There are reasons why some things are done the way they are, and when an excellent design has been created, then unless someone comes up with something genuinely better, it should be left alone. I'm not saying the previous paving in Rundle Mall was an excellent design. However at least it was ok.
I have seen numerous examples of how open air pedestrian areas can be made to look modern, light, upmarket, and clean. I don't understand why we're not getting that in Rundle Mall.
Trams in the middle of the mall? May as well change the name back to Rundle Street then and tarmac the whole thing. Actually that would at least look better than these pavers, but it certainly wouldn't be practical at all, or safe.
As for the idea of having pop-up kiosks in the middle, well it sounds like another example of letting inexperienced or ill-connected people come up with ideas. They may sound "cool", but any sane person knows instantly they are just bad ideas! Common sense is not very common these days it would appear!!!
Here's a few examples of what I think would have been far superior visually.
Denver mall. Nothing special but at least it has a nice enough, visually appealing pattern.
- DenverMall.jpg (235.13 KiB) Viewed 3189 times
Charlottesville Mall. Again, not fantastic, but the pattern has symetry which makes it at least reasonably pleasing to the eye.
- charlottesville.jpg (551.25 KiB) Viewed 3189 times
Domes Malls (not sure about the name, or where it is). By chance the artwork in the middle would have been a fantastic contemporary twist on the famous malls balls (and the actual malls balls could have been in its original location but these could have been close by, or at one end (or both ends) of the mall. My point though is not so much about the sculptures, but the overall style of the mall, and the use of flat, square tiles with a slightly glossy finish, and highlights in a different colour around central features.
- domes-malls.jpg (355.08 KiB) Viewed 3189 times
The very best looking outdoor public space I have seen anywhere doesn't make use of any kind of pavers at all. It's the pedestrian plaza at Adelaide Airport, and uses differently coloured concrete. However I don't know whether that would work in a high traffic situation like Rundle Mall. Maybe it would though, not sure.
None of the above photos are what I would consider really inspiring, they're merely much better than what's actually being done in Rundle Mall (which isn't saying much at all). It's just a shame, because in the hands of someone with a bit more sense, something really amazing could have been done with Rundle Mall. It could have become impressive, modern, creative, and welcoming, yet it could still have been practical too.
As for the fact they're keeping the horrible old fountain, and the pigs eating rubbish, well it is beyond belief. I guess we're stuck with this design for another 20 years or so though.
