Design competition to decide the future of the current RAH site. It was originally planned to demolish the non-heritage buildings and add the land to the Botanic Gardens.
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Government announces plan for future of current RAH site Designers from South Australia, interstate and around the world will be invited to submit ideas for the current Royal Adelaide Hospital site as part of a competition to be held by the State Government. Design competitions have been held for developments around the world including Spencer Street Station and Federation Square in Melbourne. This months State Budget provided $1.5 million for a design process for the future of the Royal Adelaide Hospital site. Premier Jay Weatherill today announced the competition, following the release this week of the Greater Riverbank Precinct Implementation Plan, which brings together a revitalised Bonython Park, biomedical precinct, entertainment precinct and the current Royal Adelaide Hospital site. The Royal Adelaide Hospital site provides a unique opportunity and challenge for Adelaide, Mr Weatherill said. Its heritage buildings are central part of the institutional precinct on North Terrace. We want the best ideas we can gather for how to replace the hospital when it moves to its new home in 2016. We also want to make sure that the community has a big say in our decisions. So today we are announcing a design-led engagement process which incorporates a twostage competition. Stage one will invite submissions and then six short-listed candidates will be asked to submit final proposals with prizes for winners. Deputy Premier and Planning Minister John Rau said the next step for the future of the current Royal Adelaide Hospital site will be the states biggest design-led engagement process. Situated in the cultural centre of the Greater Riverbank Precinct, the current RAH site presents enormous opportunities for recreation, entertainment and mixed use development, Mr Rau said. The design-led engagement process being announced today will cast a broad net for the best ideas based on the key principles for the Greater Riverbank Precinct. "The best part of this process is that everyone will be able to be involved. Designs submitted will be made available on a website for the community to view and comment on. A final six entries will be selected and these design teams will be asked to incorporate feedback into their proposal." The Adelaide City Council, business owners and members of the community will assist the State Government in formulating key criteria for the site and an independent panel will judge the best designs. Mr Rau said that it was essential that those most affected by the change in use of the site were directly involved in shaping the criteria for which designs are submitted. "Being such a large and busy site presently, it is anticipated that there will be an impact on local businesses when the Hospital relocates in 2016. Therefore they will need to be involved in this process," he said. "Importantly, there will be many opportunities for the community to engage with submitted ideas and to shape how the site looks in the future. "At the heart of the cultural precinct of North Terrace and close to attractions like the Botanic Gardens, the current RAH site presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." The process will be led by the Office for Design and Architecture SA in conjunction with Renewal SA. Government Architect Ben Hewett said that an open ideas design process will stimulate creativity and innovation. This is a process similar to that which developed some of Australia's great sites, including Melbournes Spencer Street Station, Mr Hewett said. I am anticipating world-class proposals that contribute to the vision of the broader Riverbank Precinct. We will be asking design teams to come up with economically viable ideas to support the East End and to inspire the local community." Stage one (18 July 28 August) will invite design teams to anonymously submit their initial concepts, with designs shared with the public through a dedicated website. Six competitors will be shortlisted by an independent judging panel to participate in stage two. Stage two (16 September 8 November) is the opportunity for the six shortlisted design teams to incorporate further community and stakeholder feedback and to develop and modify their 1stage one submission. During this stage, all finalists are required to include South Australian firms participation into their team. It is anticipated that the final proposals will be unveiled to the public in December. To register your interest in receiving updates and to offer your ideas for the site please visit: www.odasa.sa.gov.au/rahsite. |