East Perth could end up as the dual home of the proposed new sports stadium and the Western Australian Museum, with the area’s former power station a shortlisted site for both projects as decision making time closes in.
East Perth could end up as the dual home of the proposed new sports stadium and the Western Australian Museum, with the area’s former power station a shortlisted site for both projects as decision making time closes in.
A decision on the fate of the museum is expected shortly while the sports options have narrowed to a two-horse race.
The head of the state government’s stadium taskforce and WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive, John Langoulant, told WA Business News he expects the state government will hand down its terms of reference for the second stage of the investigation within days, giving the green light to begin detailed analysis of the taskforce’s two preferred sites in Kitchener/Mueller Park and East Perth.
Mr Langoulant said it was possible that both the WA Museum and the 60,000 seat outdoor stadium could co-exist on the East Perth site.
“I visited the East Perth Power Station last week and it’s certainly not inconceivable that the two could go onto the same site,” he said.
“You would need to be a little inventive with car parking, but it would be a great opportunity to have the WA Museum there to attract more activity around the stadium.”
Offices, gymnasiums, cafes and restaurants could all be part of the mix to bring life back to the ageing precinct, Mr Langoulant suggested.
In addition to the East Perth Power Station, the state government is also looking closely at either redeveloping the asbestos ridden former WA Museum on Francis Street in Northbridge, or building a new museum on the city foreshore next to the convention centre.
The new museum will see the consolidation of the state’s collection of up to 3.5 million artifacts and specimens, currently spread over storage sites across Perth and regional WA.
Chairman of urban think-tank City Vision Ken Adam believes the East Perth Power Station is ripe for adaptation into the state’s premier museum.
The architect and urban planner said the best course for the government was to adaptively re-use the power station, as this was essential to its proper interpretation.
“The generators and some machinery could be incorporated as part of a display of engineering technology and industrial social history…and the museum’s new exhibition galleries could be accommodated in the building and on adjoining land without destroying the integrity of the grand cathedral-like space of the turbine hall,” Mr Adam said.
City Vision does not, however, support the inclusion of a stadium on the site, believing the development would be so extensive that it would have to be built right up against the fabric of the existing power station, damaging its heritage value.
Opposition arts spokeswoman Barbara Scott said the bulk of WA’s collections should be housed in a redeveloped Francis Street building, in the heart of Perth’s cultural centre.
Ms Scott told WA Business News the East Perth Power Station could be used as an art exhibition space, but an iconic museum exhibition centre should instead be built on the city foreshore.
“I don’t think East Perth is an appropriate site for our museum. Francis Street should be re-built and museum staff moved back there with the static collection,” she said.
The interactive exhibition space on the foreshore could be a centre for excellence, incorporating artefacts from the Museum of Early Childhood, previously removed from the former Claremont Teacher’s College, she claimed.
A spokesperson for Culture and the Arts minister, Sheila McHale, said she was likely to announce a new home for the WA Museum within the next two months.
