Proposals that could have been

[Ho Really]

Wasn't sure where to put this, but I guess at the time when they were proposed they were sort of visions. If you know anything about them or know of others and have renderings please post them. If you know dates, names of architects, etc., please include them.

1. Proposed 10 or 11 level office building on Sebel Furniture showroom site (corner Currie Street and Light Square).
2. Proposed 17 or 18 level office tower on vacant lot (which also has an entrance to an underground car park) between Police headquarters (ex BP House) and building on corner of Gawler Place and Pirie Street (ex State Bank head office).
3. Proposed 25 level tower on Harris Scarfe site in Grenfell Street. Was proposed by now-bankrupt Joe Emanuele.
4. Proposed 17 or 18 storey building on heritage-listed Westpac building on corner of North Terrace and King William Street.
5. The present Commonwealth offices on the corner of Currie and Topham Streets could have been 2 towers. The site was originally a huge carpark.
6. The present Commonwealth Bank building in King William Street was also proposed as a 20-odd storey tower, probably about the same height as the Grenfell Centre.

Cheers

P.S. Not sure if there ever was a 30-storey proposal in Adelaide in the late 60s or very early 70s. I had a rendering which now is lost of a building I think was named Apollo House or was going to be built on Apollo Place. Anyone know anything about it?

[Howie]

Hadn't heard of some of them mate.. would be interesting to see if we can trawl through some advertiser archives, or find something in the state library. Do you have rough dates around any of these?

[Will]

I've got a few from my archive:

This was proposed for the Central Market back in 1997. It involved the construction of a 12 and 7 level office building. Whilst I agree that the market requires a makeover, it should not be converted into a sterile Americanized shopping mall, complete with waterfall as was envisaged with this proposal.





And the following 2 are highly topical at the moment, due to what we now have planned.

This building was approved back in 2003, but fortunately never eventuated. The site is now reserved for the Hills House HQ:





This following proposal dates from around 2002-03 and was reserved for the former REPCO site, now reserved for the 400 KWS building.





I hope that the last 2 proposals, can be used as an example of how limiting height restrictions are for the city. Imagine if these 2 buildings had become reality. Our city would have been robbed of 2 strategic sites, which are now being used for the erection of 2 landmark buildings, which will alter our skyline.

[AtD]

This thread has got me digging though my backups, dusting off old files









This would have been Australia's narrowest high-rise:


Also, off the top of my head:
Plans for apartments and office buildings above the City Central Arcade
The John Martins site observation tower

[Düsseldorfer]

This thread has got me digging though my backups, dusting off old files

is that the model from Woodhead International Adelaide? i think remember seeing something like that in their city offices.

[Ho Really]

Thanks for the posts so far fellas. This is going to be a really interesting thread, especially if we can find the renderings from The Advertiser and The News.

Hadn't heard of some of them mate.. would be interesting to see if we can trawl through some advertiser archives, or find something in the state library. Do you have rough dates around any of these?

As for dates it is going to be hard, but we can try, as in guess.

1. Proposed 10 or 11 level office building on Sebel Furniture showroom site (corner Currie Street and Light Square). Probably late 80s early 90s.
2. Proposed 17 or 18 level office tower on vacant lot (which also has an entrance to an underground car park) between Police headquarters (ex BP House) and building on corner of Gawler Place and Pirie Street (ex State Bank head office). Probably early 90s, several years after the ING Centre in Pirie Street was built.
3. Proposed 25 level tower on Harris Scarfe site in Grenfell Street. Was proposed by now-bankrupt Joe Emanuele. Probably a year or so before Emanuele (Emanuel Group) went bankrupt. The group started to have trouble in 1989. Your guess is as good as mine.
4. Proposed 17 or 18 storey building on heritage-listed Westpac building on corner of North Terrace and King William Street. No idea, but probably in the 90s.
5. The present Commonwealth offices on the corner of Currie and Topham Streets could have been 2 towers. The site was originally a huge carpark. Late 80s. Designed by KMH Neighbour Lapsys Architects. They could still have renderings and plans. The building is now called MTAA House.
6. The present Commonwealth Bank building in King William Street was also proposed as a 20-odd storey tower, probably about the same height as the Grenfell Centre. 1981?. Woods Bagot Adelaide are the architects. They may still have plans and renderings.

Hope it helps.

Cheers

[Ho Really]

...This was proposed for the Central Market back in 1997. It involved the construction of a 12 and 7 level office building. Whilst I agree that the market requires a makeover, it should not be converted into a sterile Americanized shopping mall, complete with waterfall as was envisaged with this proposal...

I remember there were several proposals to develop the Central Market, but couldn't remember the year (or years) and what it was going to look like and whether it included office towers. It seems reminiscent of the REMM (Myer Centre) development. Thanks for the newspaper cut out.

Cheers

[Ho Really]

...Plans for apartments and office buildings above the City Central Arcade

Did you mean City Centre Arcade?

The John Martins site observation tower

This one is a classic...the 200m tower!

Cheers

[AtD]

Did you mean City Centre Arcade?

Actually, I meant City Cross Arcade. There was to be three towers, if memory serves; one office, one apartment/hotel and one car park. One was to be on the Grenfell Street frontage and anther involved the demolition of the building on the Gawler Place frontage.

I also remember the ACC was annoyed that it didn't eventuate, because they fell being such a prime location, it's currently under-developed.

[Norman]

Not just underdeveloped, VERY underdeveloped. So much so it makes me cringe at how tiny it is compared to its surroundings.

[Ho Really]

Did you mean City Centre Arcade?

Actually, I meant City Cross Arcade. There was to be three towers, if memory serves; one office, one apartment/hotel and one car park. One was to be on the Grenfell Street frontage and anther involved the demolition of the building on the Gawler Place frontage.

I also remember the ACC was annoyed that it didn't eventuate, because they fell being such a prime location, it's currently under-developed.

Was this a Makris project or was it way before that? I agree, the area above City Cross is a waste of space. This is where Makris should be concentrating and not in North Adelaide (Le Cornu site).

Cheers

[monotonehell]

Did you mean City Centre Arcade?

Actually, I meant City Cross Arcade. There was to be three towers, if memory serves; one office, one apartment/hotel and one car park. One was to be on the Grenfell Street frontage and anther involved the demolition of the building on the Gawler Place frontage.

I also remember the ACC was annoyed that it didn't eventuate, because they fell being such a prime location, it's currently under-developed.

Was this a Makris project or was it way before that? I agree, the area above City Cross is a waste of space. This is where Makris should be concentrating and not in North Adelaide (Le Cornu site).

Cheers

Despite the ordinary building that appeared on the City Cross site, I really enjoyed the deconstruction stage when all the old buildings and their ghost signage were uncovered. It was fascinating to look at when they had it all ripped apart.