Walkshop - 05/03/12

Although the official Walkshop was cancelled, we thought it wise to undertake it anyway. We decided to go as a group (the group for Project 1, for consistency). Considering the rain, the route we took to the Howard Smith Wharves was via the Citycat. Not only did this allow for a faster route to the site, it also allowed us to view the site from river level; something which we can no longer do from the Riverwalk.

QUT Gardens Point Ferry Terminal

Considering the speed of the Citycat, it was difficult to gain a good look at the site, however being at river level allowed me to observed the scale of the Story Bridge and the cliffs behind. It also allowed for the observation of the existing structures on the site, some images of which may be seen below.

This image shows the Bridge with the Howard Smith Wharves underneath. By comparison to the Bridge's pier, the buildings look tiny.

Some of the existing context.

Another image that gives an indicator of the scale of the buildings in relation to the Bridge's supporting pier. It is clear that our 5m x 5m x 5m Folie will be difficult to spot in the site unless it is visually striking.

Another glimpse of the existing buildings in relation to the cliffs behind.

An image of the Bridge showing the Howard Smith Wharves and the city behind.

As mentioned above, the site can no longer be accessed via the Riverwalk, due to last year's flood. As a result, it was necessary to approach the site from above, by walking through the suburbs. Although this was less than ideal for a comprehensive site analysis, it did provide some rather artistic views of the Story Bridge and the CBD that were ideal for DAB525!!!

A nice glimpse of the Story Bridge!

From above, it can be seen that there is a reasonable amount of land at the foot of the cliffs where the Wharves once stood. The remnants of the bike path that ran through the site prior to the flood are evident (paved surfaces), as well as the old warehouses. The area appears to be level. There is not traffic flow currently, as the site is not open to anyone.







Old warehouse, at the old bike path running along side.

As we continued, we followed a path under the bridge, and found some interesting spatial and auditory qualities there which provided food for thought about our Folie project.