Victoria Square Visions

[Jbetamax]

Hi there, this is my first post...

I am a born and bred South Australian and have been watching this forum and the sensational Adelaide web page for the past couple of years.
I now live in Melbourne and have been here for two and a half years, but i always check weekly to see what is going on.

Victoria square has always been a sore point to myself and to many other young South Australians who see infinite potential in our beautiful city and state.
It always seems that a lack of vision and the ability of being able to see the big picture holds us back from achieving what we all so greatly desire. Add low State
self-esteem and a State Bank collapse hangover to them mix and things really seem like they will never get off the ground.

If we are to bury our past as a state and look to the future with our heads held high, we need something that is absolutely world class..... nothing less than that will do.

Maybe what we need is the services of some of Europe's superstar architects... who cares what it costs! Victoria square could be Amazing! think about Bilbao in Spain...Similar size to Adelaide and
only 20 years ago it was a nothing city. Now, because of forward thinking Bilbao houses some of the finest architecture known to man.... including a Guggenheim museum!

Imagine if we just had the guts to put ourselves out there.... i would love to see that in my lifetime.

Jbetamax.

Ps: i have always loved the St Louis Arch.... how cool would a 21st century adaptation of that in Victoria Square be.... completely illuminated at night in different colours, and the archway could represent the Gateway to the Australian outback perhaps? Just a thought....... we need to think big!

[Jbetamax]

www.stlouisarch.com

[Professor]

what a joke - and this is a vision...

No thought on attracting real people to stay and enjoy the place, being still surrounded by cars etc.

The last decent idea was 5 years ago when the wakefield / grote street was to pass under the square enabling it to become - well - a square. But oh no. Harbo fought and won that election via opposing that idea; so now there is this.

sigh

PS at least nothing will happen for the next 20 years in Victoria Square, same as the last 20. No budget has been allowed for and this is just more spin from the circus that is the council.

A thread not worth even following.

[Wayno]

Wayno, I'm considering writing to the ACC and State Gov about consulting PPS for Vic Square. Would that be the best thing to do? I don't really know, and am a bit out of my depth, tbh, but I feel very strongly that we the citizens are going to need to grasp this issue or we might end up with a lemon..

I wonder if the ACC might not welcome the idea of consulting PPS on Vic Square with open arms: http://www.adelaidereview.com.au/archiv ... ory4.shtml It's all a bit political by the looks - Jan Gehl is a PPS supporter and they share a philosophy - through traffic could be a sticking point (someone let me know if I have misunderstood this ).

Does anybody else have an opinion on the PPS approach? Would it be worth pursuing this? I support the PPS approach because the idea of taking the time to first really study our square and find what will work, appeals to me a lot more than what is going on currently. But I'd be interested to hear other views..

I'm not sure how best to approach this. Queen Anne, would you be willing to send a PM to Councillor Yarwood? find out what interaction the ACC has had with the PPS in the past, and whether the ACC would consider partnering with the PPS going fwd.

I searched the ACC's website, but could not find any reference to the VSQ project (apart from the recent community ideas competition)

[Matt]

That tower is VILE.

[Queen Anne]

Wayno, I'm considering writing to the ACC and State Gov about consulting PPS for Vic Square. Would that be the best thing to do? I don't really know, and am a bit out of my depth, tbh, but I feel very strongly that we the citizens are going to need to grasp this issue or we might end up with a lemon..

I wonder if the ACC might not welcome the idea of consulting PPS on Vic Square with open arms: http://www.adelaidereview.com.au/archiv ... ory4.shtml It's all a bit political by the looks - Jan Gehl is a PPS supporter and they share a philosophy - through traffic could be a sticking point (someone let me know if I have misunderstood this ).

Does anybody else have an opinion on the PPS approach? Would it be worth pursuing this? I support the PPS approach because the idea of taking the time to first really study our square and find what will work, appeals to me a lot more than what is going on currently. But I'd be interested to hear other views..

I'm not sure how best to approach this. Queen Anne, would you be willing to send a PM to Councillor Yarwood? find out what interaction the ACC has had with the PPS in the past, and whether the ACC would consider partnering with the PPS going fwd.

I searched the ACC's website, but could not find any reference to the VSQ project (apart from the recent community ideas competition)

Yes, I'd be glad to PM Councillor Yarwood. I'll get onto it now.

[Pikey]

What a waste. I that is the "tower" we end up with, what a maasive lost opportunity.

[JamesXander]

Okay this is just my idea.


I honestly don't think we need an observation deck, or atleast it doesn't have to be.


I was thinking perhaps we do a 21st century adaptation of Trafalaga Sq.


A beam tower (Metal perhaps, with tv screen coverings even?). With a statue on top

At the base have tonnes of statues, ordinary poeple of today, then work its way up through our history. 1940s, 1910's, 1800's , Settlement, British background, and finally topped of with our aboriginal statues. Then the beam begins, topped off with the statue of whoever(Be it Conel Light, Queen Victoria, Captain Cook, A War hero???). Sounds zany. But I think it would look pretty cool.

[rogue]

That tower is hideous!

I dont believe this proposal is the best way forward for Adelaide's prime interactive location. Get the cars out.

[jk1237]

I think its rare for a large city, where 4 main axis (King William, Grote, Wakefield) meet in the middle, so I think it should be a tower right in the middle of the square that will be seen from all 4 angles, and would look great, even looking down from where Kensington Rd ends in the foothills, or Sir Don B Blv in the west, and from North Adl where you can see straight down King W St.

A metal beam tower would be good IMO

I agree also rogue, get the cars underground and out of sight, especially the east-west thoroughfare

[Howie]

A metal beam tower would be good IMO

You mean like this tower?

[AtD]

Did you make that Howie? In Sketch Up?

Here's an international comparison, to show how much of a wasted opportunity the squares of Adelaide currently are.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ci ... es_by_size

[jk1237]

Not bad Howie In my head I was thinking of 4 large beams meeting together, ie how parliamant house in Canberra has that flag tower. I want it to be big too

I want the beams to start on the outside perimeter of the square, and meet high up above Queen Vics head. Is it possible for something that big

[SRW]

what a joke - and this is a vision...

No thought on attracting real people to stay and enjoy the place, being still surrounded by cars etc.

The last decent idea was 5 years ago when the wakefield / grote street was to pass under the square enabling it to become - well - a square. But oh no. Harbo fought and won that election via opposing that idea; so now there is this.

sigh

PS at least nothing will happen for the next 20 years in Victoria Square, same as the last 20. No budget has been allowed for and this is just more spin from the circus that is the council.

A thread not worth even following.

This is just a proposal to the Council not from them. The people behind this are the very same people who led the defeat of the 2003 proposal (which, as I recall it, did not have an underpass): the market traders and other Gouger/Grote St propertied stakeholders.

[BenJ]

That metal beam tower really reminds me of the obelisk in Buenos Aires, Argentina.


As you can see from the picture, there is a heap of traffic around a small square there which funnily enough was devoid of people when I was there. If it's ever going to be a people's square, the amount of traffic has to be decreased and it must be one unified area not separated by roads. If anyone remembers the 2002 Adelaide festival (which started the whole movement in 2003 to unify the square) this was a great example of how the square was used by hundreds day and night for a month.

All they did was cut off east west traffic, install a few stages, marquees and some pretty amazing artwork and hey presto! This suggests to me that it may not be necessary to spend a huge amount of money completely renovating the square but instead make these fairly simple changes permanent. I really like the idea of an observation deck however. It would need some serious height to be worthwhile though.