CIVIC HALL SITE
a community design process
NEWSLETTER
2nd EDITION
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CONTENTS PAGE 1 Issue #13 - 28th Jan PAGE 5 Issue #14 -
4th Feb
PAGE 12 Issue #15 - 11th Feb
civic hall site journal edition 13 - 14- 15 Jan to Feb 2015 www.civichallsite.org cover image Micha & Ken at Open Door Studio graphics Cait Conley, Micha Woodhouse edit Michelle James, Ammon Beyerle
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ISSUE #13 - Jan 28 Thank you to everyone who has RSVPed for the workshops coming up next week. These workshops are a key part of the participatory design process - and will focus on the next questions for the Open Door Studio: how does the Civic Hall Site fit into the broader context of Ballarat and what is its role in Ballarat? From the week following the workshops, we shift from the ‘Gathering’ part to the ‘Synthesis’ part of the first 300to10 phase. This means that we will start to present, develop and debate what the 10 concepts are going forward for the Civic Hall Site.
NEWSLETTER You are already signed up to receive our e-newsletter with the most up-to-date information straight to your inbox every Wednesday evening! This newsletter is one of the backbones of the participatory design process.
We’ve had some feedback that these newsletters should also be made available in hard copy, and this week we’ve put together this gorgeous printed A5 version of the last 3 newsletters. If you or anyone you know would like a hard copy, please come to the Open Door Studio to pick one up. For future issues we’re also hoping to get these out to some more locations around town such as the Library, Parent Place and the Town Hall. If you have any suggestions for the newsletter or would like to contribute articles, please get in touch!
AND SOME MORE THEMES... Over the past two weeks, we’ve profiled recurring themes that are coming out of the Open Door Studio. Due to popular demand, this week we share three more. Please join us at the studio or upcoming workshops to discuss these further. THEME: CIVIC MARKET As the Civic Hall was built on the former grounds of Ballarat’s Market Square, it only seems fitting that the suggestion of a market place on the Civic Hall Site has featured at the Open Door Studio. Markets are a spatially flexible programme. They are often temporary - operating only on weekends or alternating weekdays. If a market place was to be proposed in the existing Civic Hall building and surrounding open space, a flexible plan would be required to ensure activity can change when the markets are closed. Car parking, a big event, a temporary gallery or an exhibition space are examples of activities that can easily fill empty spaces in a timetable. Retail spaces thrive when they attract pedestrian traffic. Many people have mentioned that the Civic Hall Site needs a better street presence and much stronger links between indoor and outdoor spaces. The Civic Hall’s blank brick walls and high windows do not allow for people passing by to view what is happening inside. Here are a few sketches showing how the east and west promenades of the main hall could be opened up to Doveton or Armstrong streets to create indoor-outdoor spaces.
THEME: CARPARKING What should happen to the carparking on a redeveloped Civic Hall Site? Many people who have visited the Open Door Studio tell us that car parking is very important. One proposal that has come up a few times is that 200 carparks could fit under the Civic Hall floor, if the structure were to be slightly altered and extended. In our site tour before Christmas we looked at the stumps and saw this could happen but it might be difficult. Underground, multi-level? One key challenge of multi-level, underground carparking is the apparent geology of the site - if there is a hard basalt layer not far below the current building, then the costs of excavation could be very high. Above ground, multi-level? The Ballarat CBD Parking Strategy refers to the 2010 Making Ballarat Central plan and clearly states that the site is an unfavourable place for multilevel car parking – particularly because of what it does to views, the streetscape, and commercial or pedestrian activity on Armstrong Street. One 2013 proposal for the extension of the Library and Community Hub suggests placing multi-level car parking diagonally between Mair and Doveton Sts surrounded by greenery. Should we keep car parking as it is around the site?
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THEME: FRONT FACADE OF THE HALL What is your opinion of the main entrance of Civic Hall? One early proposal for the library and community hub development by Flightpath Architects suggested demolition of the Civic Hall and commemorating the front entrance with a steel skeleton replica. So far, many of the visitors to the Open Door Studio have expressed that it is important to retain the iconic front section of the Civic Hall building because of its form, meaning and presence on the street. With its shape and setback, it also presents a recognisable public entrance to the site on Mair St. Here are some quick sketches of how adding different extensions to the Civic Hall could affect the front facade section.
PARTICIPATE A big thanks to Ian who helped us at the Open Door Studio last Thursday. We’ve had 53 people sign up via our website and put their hand up to volunteer as part of the process. Over the next few weeks we will be developing clear ways for volunteers to get actively involved. In the meantime, if you can help us with further promoting the Open Door Studio, handing out flyers, or help with other tasks around the studio, please come and see us!
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ISSUE #14 - Feb 4
It has been a great start to the Open Door Studio this week, kicking off with a very successful workshop. Don’t worry if you missed the memo, we plan to run the workshops monthly as they are an integral part of the participatory design process.
WORKSHOP Tuesday was the debut of our first workshop. The workshop was modeled on a successful case study in Santa Monica with a similar participatory design process for their civic auditorium. The workshop consisted of three parts: walking, talking and designing for the future of Civic Hall Site in the wider context of future Ballarat. Our workshops always aim to create an environment where we can all learn from each other, so be prepared to get actively involved in the design process.
BUSINESS MODELS As we now begin the Synthesis part of the 300to10 Stage it seems that money is on the mind. Some visitors of the Open Door Studio worry our heads may be in the clouds about the economic viability of creating something for the community. Some early precedents are coming forward that demonstrate a sustainable business plan that incorporates commercial and community aspects together to revive abandoned buildings. Richmond 401 is a restored industrial building in Toronto that now houses a mix of function and tenants including exhibitions, artists, cafes, cultural producers, festivals and shops. Together all the tenants form a body corporate to chip in and keep the building in good nick. The project presents as a great case study on cost cutting and the financial feasibility of an adaptive re- use project. Another relevant project is the River Studios in West Melbourne. By keeping to a very strict budget and securing a high profile paying tenant on the ground floor, it was feasible to offer studio spaces to low income artists. River Studio employed cost cutting measures such as using recycled doors and windows and cyclone fencing for walls. The space was designed to be open for tenants to personalise, decorate and customise their own areas – with clear boundaries and shared areas.
A VISITOR PROFILE We had Janine drop in to the Open Door Studio who expressed her concern with the current library layout. Janine thinks the current entrance to the library is in a low pedestrian traffic area and dislikes that the rooms along the entrance façade are being used for storage purposes. Having a lot of glass along pedestrian thoroughfares is great but it’s even better when there is activity happening within to grab the attention of people passing by. If the transparent walls show an uninviting interior, it is less likely to draw people in. People are attracted to people. The second concern Janine had was regarding the inconvenient location of the entrance. When juggling two small children and a handful of books she finds it difficult and almost dangerous to navigate her way from the car park to the front entrance along a busy Creswick Road. The problem is that the entrance to the library does not align with the car parking so the route from the car to the Library entrance is often through the surrounds of Civic Hall (currently used as a car park)
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THEMES... THEME: CHILD MINDING It’s heaps fun designing for children. Comfort and safety must be considered carefully – and creatively. One precedent that we found is for a library in Africa that has suspended a children’s reading hammock over the adult’s area below. It plays with ideas of ‘mother/father lion instinct’ – the child’s best defense against any danger – and creates adjacent activity spaces that allow a visual connection between parents and children in the form of a hammock room. Many of our design conversations lead to a park somewhere on the Civic Hall Site. If we are thinking about children, we wonder: why not make it a green space that features learning? There are some impressive precedents of sensory gardens, such as the Uplands Sensory Garden in Shrewsbury, and CERES in Brunswick East, which runs an Community veggie patch that teaches and feeds children life skills.
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THEME: RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT The draft Ballarat Strategy recognises that by 2040 Ballarat’s population will be over 160,000. One key policy is to develop more infill development, that is, new residences in the existing central area of Ballarat, in between, above, behind and amongst other buildings. To support improved public transport, cycling and pedestrian amenity, higher density will be encouraged in inner city areas. Urban infill is definitely on Ballarat’s agenda yet many projects such as Bakery Hill and the Wendouree apartments are struggling to get off the ground. We think a little unpacking is needed about the benefits that inner city living provides, not only for the new residents but also the wider community. Mixed-use development creates areas with ‘round the clock’ activity, as the residential component is occupied during the night and the retail or commercial during the day. Small, everyday and often arbitrary activities such as putting the bins out at night or looking for a lost cat are situations that inspired Jane Jacobs, an urban design theorist, to coin the phrase “eyes on the street”. This theory forwards that crime is less likely to occur if there is a constant sense that someone may be watching over. It has been proven. It is easy to see challenges and recognise fears people have about an imposing and dominating block of apartments being located on the site. On such a prominent site these higher density developments would need very careful urban and architectural design, and should integrate diverse programs linked to social spaces.
THEME: VISITOR INFORMATION CENTRE Did you know the current visitor information centre on Lydiard St is moving to the Town Hall? Officers and moving, and the fit-out works are already underway. Many people have come to the Open Door Studio stating that the Civic Hall Foyer should be an information centre, unaware that it is already moving to an iconic location. As an experience, it is an interesting concept that tourists to Ballarat might be soon entering our beautiful Town Hall on a regular basis, just below the Council chamber. The main response from people we speak to is that the town hall lacks easy car parking, especially for caravans. Please come and tell us what you think.
THEME: A MEETING PLACE FOR OLDER PEOPLE This week Michelle met with U3A (University of the Third Age) to discuss the possibility of members using the site for a variety of programs. There is already the possibility for a seniors group to hire the Open Door Studio studio for meetings, but could large groups eventually use the lower or main hall? Ian, a member of an amateur radio station group that frequently meets in Wendouree, argues that because the Civic Hall Site is so well connected and close to the CBD it is important to set aside spaces for night classes and community group meetings. Ian also suggested that specific equipment and facilities should be provided to accommodate a wider range of classes or groups, such as a radio antenna for amateur radio presenters.
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CORE TEAM GROWS Following our call over the new year for people to come and work with us, with Council we are finalising contracts this week for the first round of extra core team members. This has been a long time in the making. We had a few local submissions, a number of consortia from around Melbourne and a few individuals. This was a special opportunity for people to participate in the process and take on responsibilities in a professional capacity. There may be more as the process unfolds. Starting next week, the broader team will now include people more specific focus on facilitation, communications, events planning and architectural visualisation. We will also have some local artists joining us to document, critique the process and produce some artefacts. The addition of these people will have a big impact on the process so far, assisting Here Studio’s work, and we look forward to introducing you to them in the next edition of the newsletter, or in the Open Door Studio. FUNDRAISER Save Civic Hall is having a sausage sizzle on Saturday. It is a fund raiser event to continue the campaign to Save Civic Hall. The group will also be handing out hard copies of flyers and talking to people. When: Saturday 7th February 8.00am-5.00pm Where: Masters Home Improvement: Learmonth Rd Wendouree If you or any other community group you know have any events relevant to the Civic Hall Site process, please let us know and we can include them in the next newsletter. We look forward to seeing you in the Open Door Studio soon. Did you know we have met over 400 people now?!
p12 ISSUE #15 - Feb 11 The past week has been a big one for us, we ran of a series of three workshops, had lots of meetings with partners, and Council, and we started our transition from Gathering to Synthesis. This marks the halfway point in our first stage – we now turn “300 concepts” into 10 concepts. We look forward to seeing you in the OpenDoorStudio to show you what has come out of our 2 months of Gathering, and argue together about what will be the 10 concepts that go forward to the next stage.
DID YOU KNOW THE CIVIC HALL HAS A SISTER? Judith dropped in to the Open Door Studio to show us some images of another of building designed by Herbert Coburn – the same architect involved in the design for our Civic Hall. The Civic Hall was constructed in 1956 to the design of Melbourne architect Gordon Murphy, and Ballarat architect and Councillor Herbert Coburn. Coburn was a renowned Ballarat architect, practising from 1905 to 1956. Coburns love for Art Deco was well known through his many designs for Ballarat homes and can be seen in the Civic Hall’s art deco interiors. Coburn taught Architecture and Building Construction at the Ballarat School of Mines from 1922 until 1948. He used local brick from the Ballarat Brick Works in many of his constructions. He built in contrasting colours. Many of his home designs feature cream-coloured exterior walls, light-coloured interiors and strong lines or patterns contrasted by darker bricks.
Open Door Studio - Word Cloud
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY 10 CONCEPTS? The Open Door Studio is now in Synthesis mode, where things have to get messy to eventually make sense. We prepared a ‘word cloud’ above. This shows one collection of the ideas and concerns you have voiced in the Open Door Studio, loosely the frequency at which they are mentioned is shown by their size. By collecting, grouping and consolidating all these words and making them visual, we can get a feel for where we have been, and notice reoccurring themes. This part of the architectural process can get quite messy as we design iteratively, and imaginatively back and forth. So please come in, ask us for a mini-design session or watch us work. Here are some early thoughts about what a concept might be: > Architectural (typologies, details, style, form, materials, light, ... > Broad Uses (Land use, program, day to day, activities, events, ... > Urban design (morphology, connections, edges, ... > Single Thing (just the one blanket use/building/idea for whole site, ... > How to do it plans (ownership, management, capital, time, ...
Below is a timeline that shows the ‘foundation story’ of the Civic Hall Site. This shows an overview of all the ideas that have been compiled over the history of the Civic Hall Site.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE The first workshop sessions were interesting. They started at the Open Door Studio and ended at the Art Gallery. For those of you playing at home, we will give you a detailed run down of what we achieved. You can also find a copy of the minutes with images and output on the website [insert link]. A quick stroll around the area allowed people to develop a closer, physical relationship with the Civic Hall Site and its real surrounds: the atmosphere; the ground and wall materials, the vistas, the noise; and impressions. Prompting questions in the tour booklet highlighted the actual experience as a pedestrian, and asked people to discuss and delve into what would make that experience better. In the second half of the workshop we started by brainstorming all the projects that are happening in Ballarat, now and in the future that might shape the future context for the Civic Hall Site. Next, and the most abstract component of the workshop, we asked participants to design the Civic Hall Site from another person’s perspective in the future. This was set in 2045 (a full generation from now), and we started by designing the character first. It was a good activity to design the Civic Hall Site in context and broaden our minds.
CALL OUT! We have an unusual request this week. If you have visited the Open Door Studio, you probably noticed that the acoustics aren’t that great – we are on the hunt for some large rugs for the studio. If you know of any we could borrow, have any lying around in your garage or see one on your travels, please let us know! PARTICIPATE Over the next few weeks we will be developing clear ways for volunteers to get actively involved. In the meantime, if you can help us with further promoting the Open Door Studio, handing out flyers, or help with other tasks around the studio, please come and see us!
PARTICIPATE Open Door Studio, 300 Mair St @civichallsite @civichallsite /ballaratcivichallsite SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: civichallsite.org