THE Barnett government’s blueprint to transform Perth into a vibrant, contemporary city could prove to be the saviour of the local architecture sector, but the true potential of these once-in-a-generation projects reaches far beyond their financial impact
THE Barnett government’s blueprint to transform Perth into a vibrant, contemporary city could prove to be the saviour of the local architecture sector, but the true potential of these once-in-a-generation projects reaches far beyond their financial impact.
The development of the city foreshore and its capacity to connect the business district with the Swan River is bookended to the north with the City Link project, which will bring the energy and diversity of Northbridge to the doorstep of the CBD.
These two projects alone will introduce a north-south axis to a city that has been bound by its linear, east-west shape for generations.
Historically the city’s growth spurts, which have mirrored the peaks and troughs of the commodity cycle, have extended the city along St Georges Terrace.
The development of a strong north-south corridor spins the axis of the city and, unlike the organic growth of the town, this expansion is being driven by the development of major public infrastructure.
It’s a big investment for the state government, which already has a number of major infrastructure projects on its books, including the Fiona Stanley Hospital and the Perth Arena.
Both of these projects have attracted headlines for the wrong reasons, with media pouncing on cost blow-outs, and the government is still under pressure to reveal its plans for a new stadium to replace the aging facilities at Subiaco.
A handful of Perth architecture firms will play a starring role in the reinvention of Perth, winning projects that will likely underpin their financial stability; but without significant investment in Perth’s transport network these big ticket projects will never reach their potential.
Perth needs to upgrade its transport infrastructure to keep pace with these developments, according to Cameron Chisholm Nicol director Greg Salter.
“It’s all well and good to have the rail out to certain areas but if the train frequencies and train demand isn’t met ... it defeats the purpose,” Mr Salter said.
Andrew Low is a principal at Perth’s biggest firm, Hassell, and has been intimately involved in the design, development and now construction of the city’s newest skyscraper, City Square.
Sitting behind a row of long-neglected heritage buildings on St Georges Terrace, the design for what will be BHP Billiton’s new headquarters incorporated strong links back to the retail heart of the city and down to the river and the future waterfront activity.
“It has been designed as a precinct, which is quite different to the way most commercial buildings are designed, with a front door to make them connect on to a street,” Mr Low said.
“Having the textures and grains and human scale of those heritage buildings, that has been gifted to the site ... it will have this real mix of today’s world with these buildings that are over 100 years old wrapping around it.”
But the remaking of Perth is not just about shiny new buildings and alluring new retail spaces; there are good commercial arguments for developing the city into a vibrant centrepiece of the state.
A huge amount of money is invested in Perth’s infrastructure and those funds are wasted if they only serve to accommodate city workers during the day.
The residential component of both the foreshore development and the City Link will build on the already substantial city population.
And while the residential market is in the doldrums at the moment, in time there will be the economic impetus for private sector developers to re-enter the market and meet the growing demand for a range of residential property.
Hassell managing principal John Crabtree said the demographic data revealed there already was a substantial residential population in the city.
There also was a significant population right on the fringe of the city, in areas like Northbridge, North Perth and South Perth, he said.
City Square, the State Theatre Centre, the indoor stadium, the Waterbank project at the eastern entry to the city and the recently completed one40william tower are exciting new developments, which will become new landmarks for the precinct, its workers and a new generation of visitors.
And it’s the impact the transformation of the city will have on its people that elicits the most excitement for government architect Steve Woodland.
The reinvention of the city and the introduction of a strong north-south axis will change the way people move through the precinct and consequently ‘see’ their city, Mr Woodland told WA Business News.
“Once you have a waterfront anchor you will really have this fantastic opportunity for connected journeys from the river to the cultural centre,” Mr Woodland said.
The next piece in the puzzle will focus on linking parliament back to the city and creating some pathways into one of the natural jewels of the area, Kings Park.
“Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the freeway gulf is that we have separated ourselves from Kings Park,” Mr Woodland said.
“What will happen in that north-south (axis) is you will see a much stronger pedestrian emphasis on the city and the whole idea with the waterfront plan is that it’s an extension of the streeting and gridding of the city.”
For Perth’s architecture firms this reinvention of the city presents some rare opportunities to explore the creative potential of this transformation of our town centre into a modern, multi-faceted urban centre.
But it’s not without its detractors, who are keen to maintain the status quo along with the wide, open grassy spaces.
“I think this is a fantastic time, this is a huge shift in the city and there is also a strong feeling and enthusiasm for where the city could head and should head, which makes for a really interesting time,” Mr Woodland said.
