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PHASE001 Please view pdf as ‘Two Page View’
Summary This sketchy outline for a proposed Federation Square East comes from a CBD resident (Flinders Lane & Hosier Lane) who travels to Berwick during week days on public transport from Flinders Street Station through the proposed site. It comes from the perspective of an industrial designer who is acting chairman of the Hosier & Rutledge Lanes community association Hosier Inc. and a father of a 19 year old daughter raised in Flinders Lane, Melbourne. Our family rent a small garden plot with Little Veggie Patch’s Fed Square Pop Up Patch on the roof of the Fed Square car park. Many of the ideas presented here have emerged over discussions with friends and family over the years and should be considered not as a resolved plan but as the notes of a continuing journey. My interest in Holden is not exclusive, but I find the discussions relating to the government subsidies directed toward the automotive industry pertinent. Hence the opening image depicting Prime Minister Chifley launching the Holden FX back in 1948. FSE site offers a real opportunity to revive the idea that Australians have what it takes to innovate for the better, and produce with a keen eye to the future. To this end, this proposal suggests the FSE site is well situated to be a forum for real solutions to many of the burgeoning problems facing the growing Melbourne urban and city environs. I’m calling this proposal PHASE001 to illustrate a programme rather than a solution - such that the curation of the site
would be ongoing and that the built form would completely refresh every two years within simple curatorial guidelines. So why pick Holden? The most obvious reason is transport - FSE sits on a node of mass transport surrounded by roads and light rail, cultural attractions, sporting fixtures and entertainment venues. Clearly the automotive industry needs help, as does the entire transport sector. I suggest the vast majority of Australians wish the best for the brand. This proposal represents a desire to pull all those talented designers, engineers and suppliers together under a completely new premise.
There exists an untapped business space which sits between the decline of private cars and the take up of alternative transport which offers significant opportunities. This response places new Holden R&D workshops and design labs over the FSE railway yards - and celebrates the open and clearly visible flow of trains below. No need for massive decks and tunnels. Initially it will be funded by redirected federal automotive industry subsidies, but this government funding should be entirely directed to collaborative R&D development on this site. In addition, the R&D
projects conducted on the site can be open to public scrutiny (and as a tourism attraction) for full transparency, but most importantly, encouraging full public engagement relating to important transport infrastructure design and execution strategies. The site location provides wonderful real world transit development opportunities which would be built into revenue earning business partnerships on site. Holden has experience in manufacturing complex systems for consumer mobility, and designed for Australian conditions. This is the design pedigree best suited to engineer toward a new vision - with an Australian history and an existing local workforce. The net cost change to the public purse would therefore be minimal given that $1.6billion over the past ten years has become the norm to maintain the automotive skills and manufacturing knowledge in Australia. Rather than waste that investment this opportunity would capitalise on it. The massing of he built form is low to retain sight lines to the ‘G’, government house and the Botanic Gardens from Russell Street. The retention a views to these icons generates much of the mood and excitement within the city proper. I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to this RFIS. Thank you. Richard Butcher
Prototype
Hub
A rchitecture
Separation
Engagement
Proving ground for innovative systems to subsequently scale and retrofit to urban infrastructure.
Design, production and urban imperatives come together in one accessible location.
A permanent ‘crane’ provides the foundation for the site and facilitates ongoing site programmes.
Provide diverse mobility choices which separate.
Purposely exciting and inclusive of all who wish to formulate strategies for more liveable cities.
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Prime Minister Ben Chifley launches the 48-215 (FX) Holden
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Level 2, 165 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000
Russell St entrance
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Public galleries and entrance
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Recreated LOGO
Design studios
PHASE001 Transport Hub - 2013
Workshops
Loading bays
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Reception gardens Level 2, 165 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000
Crane
Forum Theatre Exhibition St
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Workshops Community gardens
Fed Square car park
Yarra River Federation Square
Main Entrance Glased barriers
Time line programme
Biennial programme
Curated site
Retail & commerce
Community dialogue
An evolving & dynamic operating model provides all facets of the community to participate in site outcomes.
The site hosts an international festival of architecture, design and urban thinking every two years.
A mix of public and private interests submit projects to be considered by the site curators.
Businesses partner the curated site via a range of short and long term rental agreements within site guidelines.
Local, state & federal agencies and educational institutions allocated 50% of facility time to develop dialogue.
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Level 2, 165 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000
PHASE001
crane
The foundation of the site - Permanent cranes overcome site limitations without compromising existing rail yard imperatives. eg. Shipping container cranes.
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richard@studiobutcher.com
PHASE002
PHASE003
PHASE004
PHASE005
PHASE006
PHASE007
shweeb
biennale
PM’s Melbourne Lodge
biennale
grand prix
next phases
Time line programme
Biennial programme
Curated site
Commerce
Community dialogue
The site is built to be deconstructed and reconstructed at will.
The site hosts an international festival of architecture, design and urban thinking every two years.
A mix of public and private interests submit projects to be considered by the site curators.
Businesses partner with Holden as the long term transport design company in residence.
Local, state & federal agencies and educational institutions invest in policy development.
Develop new technology to address transport diversity and safety through separation, alternative propulsion systems and expos.
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The site showcases emerging design concepts including opportunity to prototype and test within a public forum with Holden designers & engineers.
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The site provides a focal point for policy dialogue. (Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, with his wife Therese Rein, leaves The Lodge. Picture: Ray Strange Source: Herald Sun)
Level 2, 165 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000
PHASE001
crane
rid
Sports precinct test track linkage ‘Over rail’ test tracks
b ot Fo
‘Shweeb’ type monorail track
ge
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PHASE002
PHASE003
PHASE004
PHASE005
PHASE006
PHASE007
shweeb
biennale
PM’s Melbourne Lodge
biennale
grand prix
next phases
PHASE002 Transport Hub - Rationale Elevated above the rail yards floats a monorail cycle track - one of the first urban implementations of the type in the world. Modeled on the Shweeb track out of Rotorua - NZ, this system of infrastructure can be developed, produced and distributed in the same way cars are today. The track is designed, installed and maintained by a PPP consortium with a 5 year tenure to develop a scalable new infrastructure model which addresses transport
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corridor separation into the future. The hybrid cars are developed on site by vehicle manufacturers including Holden, Ford, Honda, Ferrari, Lotus, and Mercedes Benz - all businesses with an eye to the future of sustainable, safe and exciting transport options. These vehicles could be a hybrid technology - a cross between a bicycle, an electric car and a train.
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They hang on tracks which weave in and around the existing buildings and infrastructure of the new developments such that they are integrated into the daily mode of business. The eventual look and feel of this transport model is intentionally unspecific - allowing the natural development of the infrastructure to evolve as a network of developers, manufacturers and institutions embrace the goals.
Level 2, 165 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000
Reference 1. Analysis on Rail Capacity : “Public Transport Division, Department of Infrastructure” Public Transport Division of the Department of Infrastructure, 2008
In that time Mitsubishi has closed, as will Ford in 2016, while both Holden and Toyota have both cut back their operations and shed jobs.
(13. Conclusions and recommendations - P. 58-59)
We’re joined now by three academic experts with strong views on that question.
Continuing strong growth in patronage on Melbourne’s trains has led to overcrowding and declining service reliability. Progressive expansion of the capacity of the rail system will be needed if it is to meet the future transport needs of Melbourne. Various initiatives are under way or planned to expand capacity to meet needs for the next decade. At that point, however, further growth will be constrained by the limitations of the central area, particularly as it affects the Northern and Caulfield rail groups, and western access to the central area. Demand projections clearly indicate that the Northern and Caulfield Groups will have problems in satisfying the future movement of passengers into Melbourne’s CBD.
2. Are govt subsidies to car makers wasting taxpayers’ money? Updated Thu May 23, 2013 7:13pm AEST Federal and state governments have put in more than $12 billion into the car industry over the past decade. In that time Mitsubshi has closed, as will Ford in 2016, while Holden and Toyota have both cut back their operations and shed jobs. So are the governments wasting taxpayers’ money? Stephen Long Source: PM | Duration: 9min 22sec, Topics: automotive, unemployment, federalgovernment, unions, work, australia Transcript DAVID MARK: Federal and state governments have put more than $12 billion into the car industry over the past decade.
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So are governments wasting taxpayers’ money?
Professor Roy Green is dean of the Business School at the University of Technology, Sydney. He’s contributed to the Government’s manufacturing taskforce report, and is a member of the Manufacturing Leaders Group, which advises the Government on policy. Sinclair Davidson is professor of economics at RMIT and a research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs. And Stephen Taylor is a professor of accounting at UTS, and a critic of car industry subsidies. Joining them is our economics correspondent, Stephen Long. STEPHEN LONG: Thanks David. Sinclair Davidson, we’ll start with you. In your view, what does Ford’s announcement today say about the billions of dollars that have been handed out to the car industry in subsidies? SINCLAIR DAVIDSON: I think this should be a lesson for politicians everywhere to know that you can’t really just buy Australian jobs by tipping corporate welfare into corporations. We actually need to have viable businesses that can survive without that sort of corporate welfare. And listening to Brumby there, I was thinking well, you know, if you knew in 2004 that it wasn’t going to work out, why were you spending all this money? STEPHEN LONG: Roy Green, you are someone who has expertise in manufacturing and has supported manufacturing as a nub of the economy. But doesn’t it now look like a snub to the Government and a waste of money to have had so many billions handed out to car companies that then shut down? ROY GREEN: Well governments all over the world
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have a strategy in relation to industry, in particular manufacturing, which is very strategic for economies and not only provides jobs but high skill, high wage jobs with knock-on effects for the rest of the economy, with a strong R and D component. So it is important to recognise the role of manufacturing in the economy. But on the other hand, there is I think a sense of disappointment, and we heard that from Mr Brumby, that the resources haven’t been used in such a way as to transform those industries into truly competitive ones as part of global production networks. We’ve had a mythology around our local market and it’s just not big enough. We need scale, and if the international car companies are not prepared to underwrite the export opportunities for us, then we’ll have to shift our attention to areas of the economy that can participate more effectively in these global markets and supply chains. And some of them may well be car components manufacturers, not the major manufacturers themselves. STEPHEN LONG: This raises the question, do we actually have any particular need to have a car industry in Australia? It used to be argued that it was essential to the skills base because of the critical mass of engineering, design, skilled trades, technology, innovation skills; but with a new economy, does that really hold? ROY GREEN: It still holds. It is necessary for countries to have a critical mass of those skills and they’re not necessarily supplied from elsewhere in the economy. If they disappeared, how would we build our infrastructure, telecommunications, railways? These are all essential parts of our economy and if we don’t have a skills base that essentially derives from a facility in manufacturing, then it will have strong ramifications not only for our domestic production but also our ability to import consumer goods because if we can export manufacturers richard@studiobutcher.com
Reference it does contribute to our trade position. And we don’t particularly want to be in a position where we have to borrow abroad to fund our current levels of consumption. STEPHEN LONG: Professor Stephen Taylor, do you agree with that argument, that we need to subsidise manufacturing to maintain skills? STEPHEN TAYLOR: It always worries me when I hear an argument that suggests that the government has to subsidise something in order for it to be viable. If we look at the example of the car industry, former premier Brumby made two very telling points. First, the example of Mitsubishi, and then second his reference to what was very clearly a conscious decision Ford made many years ago that they weren’t going to try and build export markets for the Ford Falcon. Yet despite that, the Government seemed content to continue to spend millions and millions, if not billions of dollars, supporting that product. And yet if we currently look at the production of Ford Falcons, which is probably something less than 1,000 a month, based on current sales, they’re barely even producing double the number of Falcons that Ferrari produces Ferraris out of its factory in Italy. STEPHEN LONG: That’s quite an amazing statistic, and Stephen Taylor, you’ve also argued that the elephant sized vehicles that the car companies here have continued to make are really the elephant in the room. STEPHEN TAYLOR: Well it’s just a matter of listening to consumer demand. There’s no economic rocket science in that. It’s simply a matter of understanding what the market wants. And if you don’t produce what the market wants, you’re not going to sell your product. And increasingly that’s what’s happened, yet the industry is still being supported. STEPHEN LONG: Sinclair Davidson, Ford’s boss argued today that every dollar in government money that Ford has received has generated an additional $6 for the Australian economy. Does that bolster the case for public spending? SINCLAIR DAVIDSON: Not really because I suspect
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http://www.news.com.au/business/companies/holden-slammed-over-career-advice-forredundant-factory-workers/story-fnda1bsz-1226616166658 that he’s trying to describe some sort of perpetual motion machine. A lot of other companies could produce benefits for the economy without any sort of government subsidy, and those are the sorts of industries that are going to prosper and do well. The Government here has more or less bribed people to remain in Australia and to produce goods that people don’t really want and we’ve seen the outcome of that, is that they simply cannot sell their product and cover all their costs
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of production. Now yes, there’s going to be suppliers to the motor car industries that are going to be suffering, and there’s going to be a lot of very angry and confused people and a lot of disappointment out there which we are hearing. But this is something that everybody has foreseen for quite a while, they should have foreseen it and when the axe has actually fallen, this is what we’re seeing today. But in actual fact, we can’t be Level 2, 165 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000
Reference subsidising inefficient, unproductive firms that don’t produce goods and services that people want to pay for. STEPHEN LONG: Professor Green, you’ve advised the Government on manufacturing. Why is it, do you think, that the car companies here have been so slow to adapt to new consumer demands, so slow to actually make products that people want to buy, despite the large amount of public money given to them? ROY GREEN: Well I think this is the really disappointing thing, and I agree with Sinclair when he says that the current position could have been foreseen. We’ve seen resources go into the motor manufacturing companies as part of a transformation program. The name of the program is Automotive Transformation, but much of it has been business as usual, which is not to say that you can immediately withdraw the underpinning of those companies, the havoc that it’s going to wreak will be too great, right down the supply chain into the car components companies, which I believe are going to be the future of car manufacturing in Australia. We may not produce cars from concept to showroom, but we do have the ability and the expertise and the technology to produce and move into other areas of the economy, which could have competitive advantage.
attention to design, to innovation and to customer preferences. And as Steve pointed out earlier, customer preferences have moved away from the big cars that the major manufacturers have supplied to our market and it should have been part of the transformation program to move to those smaller models, more fuel efficient, that people are willing to buy from overseas, which I guess General Motors Holden is trying to do with the Cruze. It may be a good car, it may not be so good, people have their views about it, but it is an attempt to pursue that strategy. Whereas with Ford, it wasn’t able to do so. It’s attempt to sell the Territory overseas was constrained by its parent. STEPHEN LONG: Gentlemen thank you very much. DAVID MARK: Our economics correspondent Stephen Long was joined by Professor Stephen Taylor from UTS, Professor Roy Green also from UTS and Professor Sinclair Davidson from RMIT in Melbourne.
3. Future transport concepts http://futuristicnews.com/hyundai-unveils-the-eggshaped-concept-vehicle-working-similarly-to-ahelicopter/ http://futuristicnews.com/future-magnetic-levitationpersonal-pods/ http://futuristicnews.com/fast-trans-oceanic-traveltubes-option/ http://futuristicnews.com/c-a-t-in-water/ http://futuristicnews.com/audi-2lip-2050s-vehiclefor-the-elderly/ http://www.tuvie.com/category/cars/peugeot-car/
STEPHEN LONG: Isn’t the future in more sophisticated manufacturing, in elaborately transformed manufacturing, software engineering and the like? ROY GREEN: Well absolutely, and we have in Australia some very successful micro-multinationals, but we don’t hear very much about them. Boeing for example has its global supplier of the year here in Australia, in Queensland. Kimberly-Clark has its global supplier of the year in Melbourne. We have mining equipment manufacturers that are equivalent to anything in the world and if you ask how are they competitive in a high cost economy, it’s because they pay great
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