Medium. Signage & Wayfinding
Client. Goulburn Street Parking Station
Title. Facade Concept
Collider was approached to conceptualise a repurposing of a facade on a distinctive but quite brutal inner city parking station in Sydney. Built over the north-south subway line entrance between Central Station and Town Hall, the existing building has been a severe presence in the Central/Chinatown area for years. In line with a new repurposing initiative, the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, wanted to investigate ideas for a rebirth of this building. This included new power initiatives such as tri-generation and photo voltaic panels but also better facilities for cyclists and electric car docking. It also involved looking at how the facade of the building could be rethought to soften the impression of the building and provide a greater attraction to the local community.
Our primary direction for the project was to pursue a greening initiative with a twist: we proposed the building be allowed to be completely overtaken by nature. Inspired by a postlapsarian world where cities are abandoned to be overgrown, the concept involved letting vines and trees appear to grow naturally to cover the severity of the building while bringing a new life to the architecture through the use of giant rope weaves and living sculptures.
The key aspect of the idea was an inherent randomness in how the greening was achieved through a more chaotic arrangement of flora in different aspects of the structure. The building could then begin to function as a park with rooftop garden attracting bird species, reducing the amount of heat reflected from the rooftop and providing an alternative public space to local residents.
The concept was well received by City of Sydney and has led to the development of a trial of green walls which are currently installed to test the scope of the idea. The project is on hold pending further holistic development around the building.
The images below were visualisations used in the concept proposal. Bird illustration by Clemens Habicht.