Adelaide Creative
Community
Hub

This project shows great potential for inviting people of all types to explore, watch, or contribute to creative production. The sunken first floor and variations in below grade levels permit myriad lines of view among interior levels and the street. While the jury remains not entirely convinced of the form taken by the exterior shell and wave-form roof as shown in the exterior rendering, it found the building’s transparency compelling and to positively contribute to the city’s street life, the building’s openness, and the site’s ability to function as a public space. The plans and sections are especially strong in expressing an organic layout of program and volumes which seem to float about an internal forest. This fluid organization creates a variety of engaging, dynamic spaces.

The Live-Play-Work nature of this building is clear, and it was one of few entries which offered residences as part of the program. Indeed, all around the globe today there is a tendency for residential and work programs to be fused as a way of bringing people together around the clock, where they can simultaneously relax, work, and discuss ideas. The jury found the entry somewhat undeveloped in that the form of the building is taken as a direct reference to its programmatic diagram; it is also not completely clear why each of the tower forms - an L, rectangle, and circle - is shaped as such. However, the intelligent connection of the ‘make’, ‘live’, and ‘show’ tower volumes within a common ground-level podium for ‘sharing’ ideas expresses great promise for this building to function as an ideas factory for the city of Adelaide.

This project was well-received by the jury for its ability to establish a village within the city. Such a design could take shape in any site, on any landscape. The project’s collection of small buildings set about a central square reminds of such typologies as markets, summer camps, and small towns - all types of shared spaces where people live or work together closely, gather for common events, and come together to share products or ideas. The small-scale nature of the project was unique and stood out among many entries that built up the site to its full extents.

The winning entry owes it success to the noble practice of restraint in architecture. The design proposal shows a clear understanding of the way life and people are at the front of successful urban design. It is recognised that the proposal has extended the brief past providing a space for communities and goes further to encourage wellness through individual creative pursuit. Coupled with a beautifully rendered scheme it further articulates the design approach through a sense of immediacy and depth. 

An intentionally under programmed collection of external and internal spaces are seamlessly woven into the site, suggesting a link to Victoria square without dominating the intent. It is foremost a pocket of public space that feels accessible and inviting. Spaces to explore in whatever way you wish to interpret them. This is the power of an architecture that truly activates the mind and spirit.

The Ideation Hub sits as a veiled centrepiece to and exceptionally balanced green forecourt. Internally a tech black hole allows us to escape our over-connected lives and truly detach from the pressure of every day. A Theatre shopfront veneers the street, proudly showing willingness to connect to the life of the city. Materiality is restrained as a silent backdrop to the rich invitation for creativity and community. The designers are commended for their refreshing and thoughtful approach to a competition that is not seduced by the realm of architectural folly. It recognises the complexity of our pursuits as humans and reminds us of the beauty and fragility of our existence.