Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL) with Troppo Architects have been selected as the winning design team to reinvent Adelaide’s historic Henley Square. The City of Charles Sturt in South Australia opened the design competition for the precinct in February 2013 and declared the results on the first weekend in August 2013.
TCL and Troppo have been engaged by Charles Sturt City Council to complete detailed designs for Henley Square, which is the first stage of its redevelopment. As part of the design process, community engagement will begin in late August 2013.
The jury was made up of architects, landscape architects and urban designers from Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane including Catherin Bull (University of Melbourne/Queensland University of Technology), Tanya Court (AILA SA chapter president), Henry Inat (City of Charles Sturt), Debra Just (Urban Renewal Authority), and Philip Thalis (Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects), and was chaired by Ben Hewett, (SA Government Architect and executive director for the SA Office of Design and Architecture.
While each of the competition submissions allowed for a variety of future possibilities, the TCL/Troppo scheme responded to the site’s three fundamental elements of the Square itself, the promenade, and the beach, with a sense of fun and interest in working with the existing “bones” of Henley Beach.
“This well-loved coastal suburb has special qualities inherent in the crossings and interaction of people, the spaces and experiences. It forms a littoral zone where cultural space meets the expansive natural qualities of the gulf – where the intimate dwells within the immense and private and public spaces co-exist. Our vision is to create a revitalized square where public space remains for the people.”
“This is not the place for serious highbrow gestures, but a site for playful opportunities that offer new outlooks to a beautiful beach. Open lawns for sports, picnicking, theatre, art and other events, while a promenade circuit allows for evening passeggiata, which is an event in itself.”
“An overriding factor for the jury was the ability of the winning design to build on the unique character of Henley Square and adapt over time,” says Mayor Kirsten Alexander. “What I also loved was the sense of fun and family that is present in the design. It really highlights all that we love about Henley Square.”
