Tag / architecture

by brandsa2018

Inside the architecture of the new Rundle Mall Plaza, H & M store

Aspects in the design of the $40m Rundle Mall Plaza redevelopment featuring an H & M store will be a “standout” and will help reawaken a somewhat tired precinct along Adelaide’s premier retail strip.

Brand SA News caught up with one of the contributors to the four-storey redevelopment, Hames Sharley’s managing director Caillin Howard, for an insight into this retail and infrastructure coup.

Caillin, who has been with the Adelaide-based multidisciplinary design firm for almost 20 years, says the plaza revamp is one of Hames Sharley’s most exciting projects.

“Rundle Mall Plaza isn’t one of our biggest projects at the moment, but is it our favourite at the moment? Absolutely, because of its complexity, because it sits in the middle of the CBD, because it’s not just about retail,” he says.

“It has the ability to touch the most people in Adelaide, therefore it’s a pretty special project.”

Concept imagery of the plaza redevelopment.

Rundle Mall Plaza’s owner, The Weinert Group, announced the redevelopment plans in February, saying the addition of the Swedish fashion giant H & M would be a “significant drawcard for Rundle Mall in particular but Adelaide in general”.

While H & M will be the plaza’s major tenant, the redevelopment spans across four lower levels of the nine-storey building.

The lower ground is expected to become a ‘tech hub’ with offices and co-working spaces, while the ground floor will be dedicated to retail and fashion.

A new, higher-end dining precinct will unfold on level one, with large glass windows overlooking the mall, while a health and wellbeing precinct is envisaged for level two.

A multi-storey void at the main entrance will be a “standout architectural feature” and will host the relocated Progress statue, a welder copper sculpture created by Lyndon Dadswell in 1959.

The refurbished iconic Progress statue will mark the entrance to the plaza.

Caillin says the redevelopment presents a chance for the plaza to take better advantage of its Rundle Mall frontage as well as its activation with Gawler Place and the Myer Centre.

He says the higher-end dining precinct will also give shoppers and nearby workers another option to a unique dining experience able to be enjoyed within an office lunch break.

“You don’t have to have a burger, souvlaki, or sushi in a food court when you’re in that retail mall,” he says.

“You can go and have great fish and chips or great Italian and have a turnaround of 40 minutes rather than going to a café or restaurant.

“Adelaide has heaps of them (cafés and restaurants) and they’re brilliant, but you have to put aside an hour-and-a-half to do it.”

The dining precinct on level one will offer views over Rundle Mall.

Rundle Mall Plaza is just one of the many projects that Hames Sharley’s Adelaide team of 45 is working on, with the Cedar Woods housing development at Glenside among other ventures.

Its portfolio includes the design collaborations on the Adelaide Oval redevelopment and the University of Adelaide’s Braggs building, as well as the Channel Seven studios on Port Road, the Whyalla Hospital, Elizabeth Aquadome, and the West Lakes and Gilles Plains shopping centres.

Caillin says Hames Sharley prides itself on delivering “contextual architecture” by taking into consideration the impact of a building on its surroundings.

“We believe that architecture has a responsibility to answer to its city, site or location, so we have as much responsibility to give back as to take,” he says.

While born in SA, Caillin undertook his secondary and tertiary education in Perth, where he joined Hames Sharley in 1999.

Hames Sharley collaborated with BVN Donovan Hill on the design of The University of Adelaide’s award-winning science and research facility, The Braggs Building.

Hames Sharley is listed as one of the 100 largest design practices in the world and has offices in every capital city across Australia. It was established in Adelaide more than 40 years ago.

With a grandfather as a builder and a father as an architect, entering the world of design was almost inevitable for Caillin, also a keen cricketer and yachtsman.

Stepping up to the role of managing director in 2014, he says there is no shortage of leading architecture and design companies in Adelaide.

“When you have a look at the large practices across the country, I think over 50% of them started in Adelaide,” he says.

“There’s us, Woods Bagot, Hassell, all of these big players who originated out of Adelaide.

“For me, geographically, Adelaide is a great place to be … we have great education and really smart people.

“It’s a really good place to centrally locate the business.”

Rundle Mall Plaza redevelopment is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

Visit I Choose SA for Industry to learn more stories about key industry leaders, why they’ve chosen SA as a base and how the state is enabling them to succeed.

by brandsa2018

TCL adding the art to infrastructure

You might not know their name, but chances are you’ve heard of, seen or even walked along their work.

Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL) is a leading Australian landscape architecture firm based in Adelaide and is behind some of the city’s most redefining public settings.

From the city’s heart of Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga to the Riverbank footbridge that connects thousands of sports fans with Adelaide Oval, their work has helped shape the CBD.

TCL’s senior landscape architect Alexandra Lock played a part in both of these landmarks.

But for Alexandra – an I Choose SA ambassador – designing something as significant as the 255m-long footbridge is about much more than getting people from A to B.

“It’s more than just a bridge,” she says.

“We’ve created a space that has become iconic in itself but also speaks to the scale and activity of the city.”

The Riverbank footbridge, completed in 2014, provides a vital connection to the Adelaide Festival Centre, railway station and Adelaide Oval. Its glass cladding, LED lighting and waterfall features make it a showpiece for the River Torrens.

But Alexandra’s portfolio doesn’t stop there.

The 33-year-old has worked on a number of other projects which have gone on to become highly recognised public spaces across Adelaide’s CBD and wider metropolitan areas.

When she joined TCL eight years ago as a graduate landscape architect from the University of Adelaide, her first project involved working on the masterplan and further documentation for the stage one redevelopment of Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga.

TCL senior landscape architect and I Choose SA ambassador Alexandra Lock. Photo by James Knowler / JK+Crew.

The project included an overall greening of the precinct, featuring flexible lawn for major events, extensive urban lounges, water features, and a more vibrant central plaza.

“That was a significant project for the studio but also for Adelaide in general – it is the heart of the city and was the first masterplan to be fully endorsed for the square in 40 years,” Alexandra says.

In 2015, Alex’s work on the redevelopment of another town square 11km from the city in Henley Beach was complete, featuring public furniture, terracing, shade for visitors and a “playful plaza”.

Her work also sprawls across cities and regional areas around the country.

Henley Square.

TCL was born in SA in 1989 and has an office on Grote Street in Adelaide and in Melbourne, employing a complete team of 25 people.

Its name comes from the first letter of the surnames of each of its founders, the late Kevin Taylor, Kate Cullity and Perry Lethlean.

TCL has influenced the design and layout of national parks, wetlands and gardens across the country, and also works on projects overseas.

Its local portfolio includes a collection of infrastructure, urban design and residential projects, from the Adelaide Airport pedestrian bridge and plaza upgrade, to public art along the 23km Northern Expressway.

TCL was also behind the redevelopment of North Terrace in the CBD.

North Terrace is now a greener, more open cultural boulevard.

Over the years the northern side of the premier civic street has been transformed into a more open and inviting cultural boulevard with a greater connection between the major public institutions and the open space around them.

“Beforehand, North Terrace had fences and rambling, overgrown gardens around the institutions, which blocked them off from the rest of the street,” Alexandra says.

“Views to the exceptional heritage architecture of the buildings were being lost.

“It was a big move to remove these barriers, open up the ground plane and replant with taller canopy trees. It allowed the public to filter through the university and around the museum and library, creating far better access to these institutions and reconnecting the terrace to the river.”

Alexandra says she believes the way Adelaide people engage with the public realm is becoming more important to their every day lives.

“People need to feel just as comfortable in a public space as they would in their own backyard,” she says.

“The city is developing quickly so there needs to be a focus on design quality and innovative design solutions.

“Adelaide has a lot of local talent in design, planning and in the engineering disciplines that our city is benefiting from.”

The Victoria Square redevelopment redefined the space as the city’s civic heart.

Not only is Alexandra choosing to allow her design career to flourish in Adelaide, but she’s also raising a family here.

With her second child due in October, she says she finds comfort in the city’s affordable housing market and its “small town” vibe.

And it’s this same small town community feel that holds the key to Adelaide’s success, she says.

“I think it’s going to be really important that Adelaide builds strength as a vibrant city and that we stay true to that as Adelaide continues to grow,” Alexandra says.

“It’s important that we don’t rush it and that we get it right, and I think Adelaide is quite good at getting things right.”

Visit I Choose SA for Industry to learn more stories about key industry leaders, why they’ve chosen SA as a base and how the state is enabling them to succeed.