Sensational-Adelaide.com

crawf wrote:Hideous. TBH the whole precinct looks like a dogs breakfast. Both the current building and the eastern extension are outstanding pieces of architecture but they don't gel well together IMO.

Adelaide Convention Centre gets new look
Engineering and budget constraints have forced a redesign of the second stage of the Adelaide Convention Centre expansion.

While work forges ahead on Stage One by the Morphett St Bridge, chief executive Alec Gilbert says attention has turned to refining the design of Stage Two, to be built over the site of the original 1980s centre.

The landmark curved, glass-fronted building will remain in-between.

Previous artist impressions of Stage Two showed an angular building, designed to reflect crystals found in the Flinders Ranges, with a sharp northern point leaning over Elder Park.

The latest design, for which external materials and colours are yet to be chosen, has a flatter frontage that does not reach as far forward toward the River Torrens.
Adelaide Convention Centre

Artist impressions of the Adelaide Convention Centre redevelopment as of April 2013. Stage Two is on the left. Picture: Adelaide Convention Centre.

Mr Gilbert said the original concept would have required "a fortune" to be spent on foundations and might have required unsightly external supports encroaching on the riverbank.

He said the revision was "still very much the crystal" and "still in a sharp-edged format leaning over the (riverfront) promenade", and would be part of the most flexible convention space in the world when completed in 2017.

Inside, much of the Stage Two design has been flipped around 180 degrees.

This is so its innovative internal workings, allowing the building to be configured in multiple ways, can be adequately supported over the railyards without breaking the expansion project's $350 million budget.

On its Facebook page the centre has posted: "The design has evolved over time to ensure we stay within budget.

"The integrity of the original concept must be respected as much as possible, but many cost variables go into a complex, long-term project such as this."

The building's raked auditorium, including two cylinders at the rear that can be rotated to create two intimate 300-seat theatres, will now face south instead of north.

A large "pre-function" area will allow convention delegates to mingle while taking in river views, while the main tiers of auditorium seating will be hoisted up to create an enormous function space.

"The outcome I think we're going to get is incredible," Mr Gilbert said.

"We're the only convention centre in the world that's put all these seating systems in one place."

The first stage, with similarly flexible seating arrangements and a ballroom overlooking the Torrens, will be finished by the end of next year.

Nathan wrote:Looking at the closer render, I'm going to buck the trend and say I like it. It'll be highly dependant on the quality of the finishes, of course.

Ben wrote:I like all 3 buildings individually but together they form a monstrosity.

Matt wrote:I really hate it.

The brown/orange is hideous, the form is hideous, the scale is hideous.

Looks like it will completely dominate the landscape.

The previous design was elegant and the green glass was appropriate for the prominence of the spot... it's smack bang in the middle of the postcard shot.

This just looks so heavy.