Projects
Melbourne Postcard
an iridescent surface draped over central pier
situation.
Melbourne Docklands, the ongoing renewal of the city’s
previously industrial waterfront into a ‘world-class’ mixed-use
precinct, is the largest construction project in Australia and is
expected to reach completion around 2020. At its heart is Central
Pier, a site which, owing to its prominent position, has inevitably
attracted copious interest and debate about its immanent potential
as a location for a landmark building or a cultural space
emblematic of Melbourne. Everyone seems to want something done
there and have their own ideas about what it should be! Perhaps the
most sensible suggestion made so far however, is that it takes
years to formulate the direction and garner the collective will
necessary to create an iconic project of genuine value.
Accordingly, the following proposal limits its self to the interim
development of the pier.
proposal.
The urban skyline image or ‘bird’s eye view’ of a city has
become a readily marketable representation of the contemporary
metropolis, appearing for instance on postcards and television
studio backgrounds. If we examine aerial photographs of Melbourne
we find that, much like the experience of walking the city, there
is no singular focus such as a building or bridge. Rather, each
image is an ensemble of key elements: parks or green recreation
spaces in the foreground, the vibrant downtown in the background,
and sports and cultural hubs in-between.
In line with this interpretation, Victoria Harbour can be
conceived as a ‘blue park’, an open area that allows for various
forms of recreational use (and indeed it is similar in size to the
other parks around the CBD). On this basis, Central Pier can
potentially be read as a focal point for recreational and leisure
experiences. Simultaneously, the opportunity for aerial scenography
could be capitalised on by overlaying the pier surface with a
large-scale ‘urban screen’, complementing the colossal form of
Docklands Stadium. This might attain a similar or even greater
iconic value than a physical building would have. On the other
hand, the screen would have very little presence in eye level
views. This is not undesirable as the site lacks a neutral
background - a condition of urban framing that is essential to the
success of an icon project.
...continues with Melbourne Postcard XS
poster from the exhibition placed in the sports lockers