Feb 11, 2015 - to achieve the desired vision stated in the Brisbane City Center Master Plan 2014 .... George and Albert Streets running parallel north-west to south-east, .... Bridge. Ample seatings including the steps made the square a good.
George Street Conceptual Design Jing Miao 43697210 Keqi Si 43399765 Sichang Wang 43796999 Wanghin Wong 42834139 Yachang Guan 43669598 Submission Date: 02-11-2015
Introduction
The future Queen’s Wharf Brisbane will become an important infrastructure in the future. The planned UBTS will be complementing the future development by providing greatest quality transit interchange and facilitating substantial foot traffic generated. It requires substantial coordinations among different buildings, land uses, functions, public realm located in the city center precinct and of the entire city center as a whole. Working collaboratively with the Queensland Government and private developers are therefore crucial to achieve the desired vision stated in the Brisbane City Center Master Plan 2014 which is igniting and opening Brisbane City to all people locally, interstate and internationally . The planned Underground Bus and Train Station (UBTS) will be located at the southern end of George Street in the Central Business District (CBD). By locating adjacent to the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, the strategic location of this underground station will take a significant role in supplying world-class transit experience and providing sufficient capacity for the public transport system by accommodating 100,000 commuters per day as well as creating employment (BCC 2014). Positive influences are expected to bring locally and to the rapidly growing South East Queensland region. It will create boundless opportunities for businesses, tourism, economic, social and cultural development as well as reinforcing the prosper world city image of Brisbane to the outside world (BCC 2014). An opportunity is given to create a conceptual design for redeveloping the site locating from 59 to 63 George Street (hereafter as the subject site). The design will be responding to the future urban development, mainly complementing the Queen’s Wharf. Analysis and solutions addressing the current issues in land uses, accessibility, built form, intensity and public realm in and around the subject site will be involved. The purpose of this report is to utilize a range of initial critiques of the existing themes around the subject site (i.e. land use, public realm, movement & access, and build form) as a fundamental framework, formulating innovative conceptual design of the subject site as well as architecture within so as to create a distinctive identity for the future UBTS and above ground development. The conceptual design in this report will be focusing on the delivery of a world-class transit hub, providing a mixed of retails, necessities, entertainment, and offices, with prioritization of pedestrian cyclists movements and ground floor activations. The redevelopment of the subject site will be creating an interesting and attractive interface with the Queens’ Wharf, activating the night time economy as well as revitalizing the street frontages. The UBTS will definitely become one of the most important identities for the Brisbane City.
Vision Statement The transformation of the subject site into a world-class transit hub will be connecting commuters, residents, visitors locally, interstate and internationally. By reinforcing the distinctive identity of subtropical world city and providing a range of exciting experiences to the public, Brisbane will be able to reinforce its international position. The UBTS will become one of the most important identities of the Brisbane City.
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Context and Rational Subject site The subject site occupied an area of 4580m2 with two major buildings at present. They consist mainly government & public works offices, such as the Mineral House, with 29,918m2 of B grade office space and 42m2 of retail space, and Department of Energy and Water Supply and Department of Housing and Public Works, with 10,415m2 of B grade office space and 170m2 retail space. The major tenant of the buildings is Queensland Government’s Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning. It will be move to William Street once the development there completed. There will be a series of Queensland Government Departments concentrated in a single location. Moreover, the subject site will be no long term tenant after that.
Surrounding trip attractors
Climate & Geography
Demographic
The planned integrated resort, a part of the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane will be located right in front of the subject site. Heavy foot traffic will be generated to or from the planned UBTS. The surrounding trip attractors will also generate substantial foot traffic around the site. For instance, there will be over 60,000 people at QUT daily, regular CityCat services in every 13 minutes with additional services at peak times, and the surrounding predominant use of offices will retain and release a large number of people during A.M. and P.M. peak hours.
The subject site is located at the highest section of ridgeline in the Brisbane CBD on George Street. Due to its special location, the subject site is highly legible and visually prominent. Pedestrians can therefore draw advantage from the typography in terms of pathway configuration and way finding. The subtropical and temperate climate of Brisbane allow locals and visitors to enjoy an alfresco lifestyle. By orienting to the west, sunlight will be sufficiently provided from afternoon to late afternoon. In the morning, shades of buildings provide a comfortable walking environment for pedestrians. Outdoor activity is therefore encouraged to take place at any time. Moreover, by locating at a higher position, adequate breeze allow to penetrate through the subject site. In order to maximize pedestrian movement experience, on street landscaping by vegetations, shades & awnings, as well as designs for solar access and air ventilation are therefore expected for the future stations.
The population of Brisbane Inner City is expected to increase by 87,000 people from 2011 to 2036. The majority of them are couple families with no children living in apartments. People who work in the Brisbane Inner City are characterised as well-educated, high-income earners. 36.8% of them are professionals, followed by Managers (16.8%) and Clerical and Administrative staff (13.8%). Employment in Brisbane Inner City is forecast to reach 467,197 people by 2031 which is a growth of 52% from 2011. The top five employing industries are business services, health and community, government, finance, and retail. They will be contributing more than 60% to total employment growth. High quality offices are therefore in high demand to accommodate the dominant types of works in the CBD. It is also predicted that an additional of 50% offices and apartments are needed in the future.
Relationship with the Brisbane City Master Plan As per the Brisbane City Master Plan 2014, the UBTS will be the major city centre transit center, integrating with identifiable grand architecture, seamless interchanges, abundant green public spaces, civic plazas, and public art to maximize transit experience. The station is a major arrival gateway for the city. Its strategic location offers substantial redevelopment opportunities to facilitate high volume of visitors, commuters, and tourists daily. People will be able to navigate around easily since the above ground designs of the station, including public art, civic plaza, the Queen’s Tower, street furniture, paving, and landscaping will enhance overall legibility of the entire precinct.
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Site Analysis: Physical Form The planned UBTS is located in the southern area of Brisbane CBD at 41 (Lot 1 on RP159900) and 63 George Street (Lot 23 on SP180748) and between Mary and Margret Streets. The site consist of mainly government & public works buildings, such as the Mineral House, Department of Energy and Water Supply and Department of Housing and Public Works. George and Albert Streets running parallel north-west to south-east, intersecting Margret, Mary, and Charlotte Streets. The surrounding grid structure and the names of the streets are easily recognized by pedestrians, legibility is therefore achieved. Most of the roads are in linear structure, the less curved roads urban grid structure convenient pedestrians and drivers in terms of wayfinding. George Street, moreover, is the key arterial road linking important key trip attractors by a single street, for instance, QUT, the Botanical Gardens, the retail heart on Queen Street as well as other major public transport stations. Major surrounding land uses of the buildings and ground floor will be illustrated in the later section.
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Site Analysis:Build Form &Land Use The surrounding buildings are diverse in building heights. There are heritage buildings on the Mansions and Harris Terrance, office buildings, and residential towers, ranging from 2-40 storeys . The inconsistent building heights reflected the individuality of each building. New buildings on the subject site should complement with the adjacent development, in terms of height, exterior design, and characteristics. The general building setback for government office buildings on Mary and George Street (i.e. Executive Buildings on 41 George Street, and Education House on 80 George Street) are relatively large, ranging from 5 to 10 meter comparing to the surrounding heritage buildings with no setbacks required. It provides a well-knitted interface with the pedestrian footpath, and maintaining human scale. Taller buildings with larger setbacks can reduce the bulkiness feeling to pedestrians. Greater ground floor setbacks also allow better pedestrian circulations. The current building is lacking an unique identity on the subject site. It can be improved by modern and attractive exterior designs in order to increase visually prominence and legibility.
Substantial business opportunities are presented by the future Queen’s Wharf development and being located on the major arterial road George Street. Walking routes of pedestrians are easily influenced by the availability of vibrant ground floor land uses, street furnitures, and street arts. They are what George, Margret, and Mary streets currently lacking of. Inadequate attractive frontages can diminish the vitality of the streets and hence limiting the chances for pedestrians to pause and interact with each others. Moreover, this phenomenon is possibly due to the predominant use of offices and inattractive retails. Mary and Charlotte Streets are mainly occupied by government and commercial offices. Moreover, ground floor uses are poorly served on Charlotte, Mary, and Margret Streets. For instance, there are limited number of restaurant and cafe are very limited, with hair dresser, fast food and entertainment (i.e. karaoke). It is criticised that these basic services might not be attractive enough to retain people. Furthermore, the limited diversity will be an obstacle to activate the streets. However, George Street is better in ground floor activation by having a number of cafes and restaurant with outdoor seating. It can increase the interaction between pedestrians and the shop frontages. But, still the diversity of shop is inadequate. A range of restaurants on Albert Street offering cuisines from different countries which can successfully active the street. However, limited number of pedestrians are observed in the whole precinct during night time. It is due to most shops around only operated between 9am to 6pm, and there are insufficient night time economy. It is suggested that, diverse types of retails should be allocated on ground floor in order to create a vibrant area during day time, night time, weekdays, and weekend.
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Site Analysis:Access and Movement Active transport A survey had been undertaken indicating that the major pedestrians traversed along George Street were workers and students from the surrounding government and office buildings, and university. Both side of footpaths along George Street were not very crowd even during the peak hour. However, pedestrians were mainly concentrated on the eastern side of the footpath. They were mainly gathed at George-Margret, George-Mary and George-Charlotte intersections, having approximately 1800 people/hour. The level of services (LOS) can be rated as C to E as indicated on Figure 1 (where F is the greatest ranking). The ‘platoon’ effects created by the above issues reduced mobility and accessibility of pedestrians since frequent speed adjustments were needed. Besides, major trips attractors retain and release massive amount of people during peak hours as shown in Figure 2, smoother routes should be therefore provided. The movement and access of elderly, children, and wheelchair users will also need to be considered. Limited cyclists was observed during the pedestrians count (only 5). It could be due to a number of reasons. For instance, lack of end-of-trip facilities, bicycle racks, high speed limit (40km/h, but the traffic alway exceed), dangerous to change lanes, and large trucks were frequently observed near the subject site. Single way streets can be found on main arterial roads with relatively busier traffic such as Elizabeth, Charlotte, Margaret, Alice Streets in order to ensure better traffic flow and hence potentially reduce congestion. Multiple way roads on Adelaide, Albert and George Streets are located in sections that have certain pedestrian volume, it can reduce the traffic speed and to ensure a more safety environment. The dedication of multiple way roads is also a consideration of increasing access to businesses on the side of roads. Multiple way roads are where restaurants, cafes and bus stations concentrated. The number of pedestrians is also relatively greater. It is also observed that bus stations with frequent usage were mainly located on multiple-way roads whereas those with limited bus services were found on single-way roads or bus stations. Bus routes on George and Margret Streets are of low frequency and patronage. Greater connections with buses and other public transports for pedestrians should be considered, however it will need to be balanced with the prioritization of pedestrians.
Figur 1
Figur 2
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Parking and loading Two of the four lanes on George, Mary and Margret streets were occupied by parking lanes and loading zones. However, on George Street, maximum 3 hours of parking is allowed, but prohibited from 7am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm on weekdays. Besides, there are sufficient parking around the subject site on Margret, Mary, and George Streets. Although parking is expensive, they are usually fully occupied. Moreover, loading zones are available around the subject site, to allow maximum 2 minutes pick up and drop off. Most of them are adjacent to on-street parking. Some of them were sharing with bus stations with less frequent services. After the time stated on the loading zone sign, cars can be parked at the loading zone. It helps increase mobility of pedestrians since they can reach places with limited bus stations. Besides, a number of off-street parking were observed on Margret and Mary Street. The distances between those parking and their entrances and exits are quite close. It can possibly interfere the movement of the traffic during peak hours since vehicles came out from the parking will slow down the traffic by merging into the driveway.
open space There are three major public realms around the site within the walking distance. They are Brisbane Square, Queens Park and Botanic gardens. Brisbane Square is an important civic place connecting the retail heart on Queen Street, the Treasury Casino, and SouthBank via the Victoria Bridge. Ample seatings including the steps made the square a good gathering place for people to rest. However, adequate shadings should be provided since people in the square exposed to the strong UV sunlight directly during the afternoon. Public arts are also available in the square, it became an interesting spot for visitors to take photographs and gather. Public art is important since it can reflect local cultural significances, and enhance the amenity of the whole public realm. Moreover, the square is highly adaptable for holding diverse range of events and activities, such as food night market, events such as ‘Bands in the square’, and ‘Salsa Dancing’. Primary seatings(benches and seats) are very limited. They are almost located about every 80 meters. With no shelters over the seating places, pedestrians found to be so uncomfortable under strong sunlight during afternoon.
Site Analysis:Public Realm Queens Park is located two city blocks away from the site. It is a park with large area of lawn with a footpath constructed in the center. It also has few seatings along the path, however, it fails to provide shade and passive facilities for pedestrians. Most people decided to rest far away from the footpath since it makes them feel more safer. It has proven by Gehl in his book ‘life between buildings’. The park is normal use for protest and gathering. Besides, the park will be transforming into Queens Garden, an important public space in front of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the future. More passive design should be adopted to develop a quality public space. Botanic Garden is the largest park in the CBD with an area of 18 hectares offering substantial grass grounds and great recreational opportunities. A comfortable pedestrian environment is contributed by sufficient seatings along footpaths, shaded by trees and a great number of plant collections. Located near the Brisbane River also attributed to a better landscaping and hence attracted a lot of social interactions to the place. The Garden has a range of adaptable uses, including picnic, music festivals and triathlons. This quality public realm attracts a lot of students and staff to rest in the garden. However, more recreational facilities can possibly provide to attract people in a more diverse age groups.
Seating and Shelter
As a sub-tropical city, the walking environment should provide adequate seating awnings or shades in order to create a comfortable walking environment for pedestrians. The awnings along George Street provided sufficient protection to people from rain and strong UV sunlight. However, trees along the street are limited. Besides, they are too short and tiny to provide enough shade for pedestrians. Therefore, alternative tree species providing larger shades and increased planting are recommended. It is criticised that there is inadequate seating around the subject site. It is due to lacking of active frontages on George Street. Pedestrians utilize George Street only as a channel to reach certain destinations. This should be incorporate with the strategies of land use to reactivate the public space. There was a bus station In the opposite at Harris Terrance. Due to lacking of seating, some patrons even decided to sit on the floor, which is a form of secondary seating (other includes plants, bed, and steps). Primary seatings(benches and seats) are very limited. They are almost located about every 80 meters. With no shelters over the seating places, pedestrians found to be so uncomfortable under strong sunlight during afternoon. 7
Key Design Findings The UBTS will play a significant role in transferring people to or from the station. It is expected that the station will service approximately 93,500 passengers per day. Moreover, the projected population of Brisbane will be reached 5.4 million by 2020. As it is located on a strategic location, substantial opportunities for business, culture, and social development are presented. In the light of the rapidly increasing population, foot traffic and opportunities created by the Queen’s Wharf development, the conceptual design will be focusing on optimizing the future pedestrians and cyclists experiences around the spaces connecting the Queens Wharf and the UBTS while maximizing the ease of transit of commuters. The design will also emphasize landscaping, sociability, and activations in order to create a vibrant and attractive public area for all, as well as ensuring effective sustainable design. A number of issues that might cause adverse impacts to the future UBTS have been reviewed in the analysis and observation: A large number of foot traffic traversed along George Street but not remaining in the area due to lacking of ground floor activation and active frontages; Pedestrians experienced ‘platoon effect’ along George Street and gathering at the major intersections. The level of service is high at those intersections, and hence decreased accessibility and mobility of pedestrians; Lack of diversity in land uses around the subject site, dominated by offices. The surrounding land use only serves a limited range of people; Lack of nighttime and 7 days economy; Limited number of cyclists are observed due to lacking of cycling infrastructures such as dedicated cycling lanes, end-of-trip facilities, secure storage. Dangerous environment with fast moving vehicles and trucks are also key issues; Lack of cross-block links around the subject site, reducing permeability and mobility of pedestrians ; Infrequent use of buses and low number of patrons around the subject site on George and Mary Streets; Lack of passive design of surrounding buildings, pedestrians exposed to sunlight in the afternoon at southwestern side of the subject site; Lack of trees with large shades; Lack of primary seating and street furniture, such as chairs and benches; Lack of street art, cultural installations, colour, and street furniture; A lot of on-street parking and loading zone threatening safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
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Concept Design Design Objectives Basing on the existing context around the subject site and the analysis of four themes, land use, built form, access & movement, and public realm, six overarching objectives for the design outcome have been developed. They are: To prioritize pedestrians and cyclists movement and creating a safe and comfortable environment; To maximize ground floor as well as night time activation; To provide diverse, vibrant and exciting land use for pedestrians in order to activate the subject site and surround areas; To improve sociability and facilitate social interactions around the site by creating an attractive public realm for people to gather and pause; To optimize transit experiences of passengers from the UBTS and optimizing the interfaces between the UBTS and the Queen’s Wharf. To enhance accessibility and legibility of the future UBTS. To enhance passive design and provide more natural shading
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Master Plan and Elevation
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Build Form
Scale and setback A 25 storeys high iconic ‘Queen’s Tower’ is proposed to be built above the UBTS, providing a combination of vibrant, exciting and diverse land uses to the public, including entertainment, multicultural dining, mixed retails, and daily needs. There will be a podium with 4 storeys, 20 meter high, covering almost 50% of the subject site. The podium will have a 5 meter setback from Mary and Margret Streets, providing a sense of enclosure to pedestrians. A 10 meter setback will be provided from George streets in order to assist pedestrian circulation by wider footpath and aiding the future pedestrianized environment. Furthermore, 3-3.5 meter setbacks will be provide from the stolen road space on George and Margret Streets. It will be further explained in the movement section. There will be two 21 storeys office towers on top of the podium with further setbacks in the front, side and rear (i.e. 6m, 5m, and 5m). The setbacks of the towers will provide further public space on top of the podium level to reserved for a Podium Garden. The building on the subject site will be complementing with the surrounding buildings by creating a hierarchical form of urban fabric in the southern precinct of the CBD. Different building heights in the area can emphasize the individuality of the Queen’s Tower.
Built form design The entire structure of the Queen’s Tower is a combination of a number of concave and convex geometries indicating a distinct and modern exterior design, increasing its identity, visually prominence and legibility. The Podium Garden and Roof gardens attributed to the unique geometry built form of the architecture. Designing with a series of curved shapes on the podium as well as the towers, the bulkiness of the buildings can be reduced. In order to maximize the use of spaces, there will be a series of public spaces on ground floor, on the podium, and on two towers. The geometry design of the towers not only can enhance visual prominence, but also providing extra spaces for the gardens in every few storeys. Office workers can therefore take a fresh breath by simply going out to the gardens. Referencing from other subtropical city, Hong Kong, passive designs are encouraged (i.e. shades, solar access, air ventilation) for all outdoor spaces, including all gardens and civic plazas in order to create comfortable and inviting feelings. The orientation and the use of glass material of the building will maximize solar access into the towers as well as the podium to maximize energy efficiently. Besides, the geometry shapes allow natural ventilation to Albert Street via Mary and Margret Streets, resolving the unpleasant wind tunnel effect around George Street. Two pedestrian bridges will be developed to connect two podium with distinctive uses. The bridges can increase connectivity of two podiums. Space below the bridges is an arcade, providing shades for pedestrians and people who are eating outdoor at the restaurant.
Active frontages A vibrant streetscape is a fundamental elements for creating an attractive place and activating the place both during the daytime and at night as well as weekdays and weekends. To improve the current unpleasant land use, a number of ground floor usages are suggested. The ground level of the podium will design as a half-opening outdoor dining area, maximizing the interactions between shop frontages and pedestrians. Tenancies will be given to cafe and a combination of multicultural restaurants with distinctive brand identity. Avoiding giving them to franchise cafe can ensure quality and room for better shop designs. From this, vitality of the street can be enhanced. Moreover, the design of the building provides sufficient shades for people who are sitting outside. It is important to note that those cafe and multicultural restaurants will be operating until very late night (e.g. 2:00am) so as to provide a gathering place for people. For instance, pedestrians might need to eat something after shopping or watched a movie at night, say 12:00am. Those restaurants can provide some light meals, desert, or dim sum at that period of time. By creating an active frontage, the Queen’s Tower will ignite the surrounding streets, including Margret, Mary, George, and Albert Streets as well as the entire precinct during daytime, at night, and weekdays and weekends.
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Land Use Having noticed the surrounding residential land use, uses with noise are not considered. Furthermore, in response to the rapidly increase population and demand of office spaces, the tower sections will be mainly provided as A grade offices with Podium and Roof garden which will be discussed in the public realm section. The major mixed uses will be developed at podium levels. Other than the ground floor half-opening outdoor cafe mention in the ‘active frontages’ section above, the podium will be designed with two distinctive themes as follow: Podium closed to Mary Street: Mainly multicultural high-end restaurants, retaining substantial number of pedestrians, can create vibrant night time economy.
Podium closed to Margret Street: Since the size of this section of the podium is larger due to a bigger lot size, a number of larger scale entertainment, services and land uses are suggested to accommodate a wide range of people. It includes: Cinema Supermarket Mixed retails with a majority of top and medium class brands Daily needs (including hair dressing, pharmacy) Banks Children playground/workshops Information kiosks
Underground land use The station will have 3 underground levels, U1/F, Concourse, and Platform. The underground structure will be design as a small shopping center. The rooftop will be using frosting glasses, allowing sunlight access. The center area on U1/F will be emptied, allowing people looking through to the concourse level. Areas around U1/F will be allocated for boutiques and jewellry shops. A large number of cafes, bakery, convenience store, snacks & dessert store, and atms will be provided on the concourse level. It offer people quick breakfast and coffee in the morning, and light meals and dessert at night.
Train Station section plan
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Access and Movement Extension of pedestrian footpath for pedestrian prioritization The increasing foot traffic, reduced mobility and accessibility reflected the need for expanding existing pedestrian footpaths on George Street so as to prioritize pedestrian circulation and diminishing the implication of the ‘platoon’ effect and high level of service at the major intersections. It is suggested that on street parking and loading zones on two sides of George Street and Mary Street, and western side of Margret street can be eliminated. The lanes reserved can be used for extending two sides of the existing footpaths on George and eastern side of Margret Streets by 2.8 - 3.5 meter on each side. On street parking on the eastern side of Margret Street will be retained. The limited access to George Street will not have adverse impact since there are adequate space servicing either directions on George and Margret Street. Moreover, Alice Street will have enough capacity for cars to access pacific motorway. More spaces will then be accommodating people in needs, such as the elderly, children, and wheelchair users. In regards to other road reconfigurations, the most southern lane on Mary Street will be dedicated a bay for a taxi rank and bicycle lane in order to increase accessibility of people reaching or leaving the station. The bicycle lane will be ended before the taxi rank, accessing the public bicycle storage and end-of-trip facility in the site. The lane next to for traffic left turn. The third lane for right turn. The City Cycle station at the most northern will be moved next to the public bicycle storage, and the whole lane will be dedicated for the opposite direction of traffic for a smoother traffic.
Cross-block link To increase permeability and accessibility for the site cross block links are developed. It allow pedestrians walking through the building under the bridge, and reaching Mary and Margret Street at the back.
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Access and Movement
End-of trip facility & bicycle access Bicycle access will be located on Mary street. Outside of the building, public bicycle storage and City-Cycle station will be provided just outside of the building near Mary Street. The end-of-trip facility will be located in the building near the Mary Street entrance. It will need a permit to access, offering lockers, secure storage, changing and bathing room, repairing tools to cyclists. A lift near the Mary Street entrance will allow pedestrians cyclists accessed from Mary Street to have direct access to U1/F and Concourse of the station.
Bus stations Due to the low frequency and occupancy of bus services as well as pedestrian prioritization, bus stops around the site will be move to the northwestern side of George Steet, dropping pedestrians back a bit, and walk to the stations, feeling the energized George Street.
Station entrance Two major station entrances will be located near the corners at George Street. Corner accesses will be maximizing pedestrian accesses from Mary and Margret Streets, visual connectivity and matching the flow of foot traffic that traversing along George Street. As per the analysis, Mary Street has more foot traffic than Margret Street. In order to assist cyclist and pedestrian access via Mary Street, an entrance will be opening up in the Queen’s Tower near Mary Street. Pedestrian can reach U1/F and Concourse via the lift provided in the building. Rabbit entrances will be located approximately 3 city blocks away on Queens Street, and Albert Street. It will be allow easier access for children, elderly, and wheelchair users to reach the station from low elevated ground. It also protecting people from direct exposure of sunlights in the afternoon. Moreover, it provide direct connections from the retail heart precinct on Queen Street and the future Green spine of the CBD.
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Public Realm The design of public realm on the subject site aims to create a comfortable gathering place for visitors and passengers by a number of recreational elements to facilitate social interactions. Unique characteristics should be developed for the public realm in order to create synergy with the design of the Queen’s Tower and to deliver a new identity for the entire precinct.
Civic Plaza The Civic Plaza is located between two podiums, oriented to the northwest. There will be a water fountain in the center of plaza. It is what Brisbane CBD lacking of, and very suitable for the subtropical climate of Brisbane. It provides terrace for people to rest and chilling. The water fountain moreover is welcome and encourage children and parents to interact with water. There will be flexible is around the water fountain. It is an area for street performance and small market.
Seating and shelter A number of primary and secondary seating and shelter will be provided to create a comfortable gathering place for visitors. In the Civic Plaza, people can rest on the terrace of the water fountain, the lawn, benches, and seatings available at the restaurants and cafe. They will be provided in diverse orientations and locations, allowing people to decide resting under shades from the tower and trees or enjoying sunshine. In the Ground Garden, secondary seating will be providing on the terrace. A large awnings will be located close, providing shading, chairs and tables for people who are waiting cars at near the loading zone. The site is surrounded by large shades trees lined along the boundary of the site. It can provide fresh air and natural shades for people around the station.
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Public Realm Community Garden Ground Garden is public space at the back of the buildings, connecting the Civic Plaza by cross block links. It consists of natural trees, lawns, and flower beds for people to gather and rest. A number of gardens also located on the podium (Podium Garden), within the towers and on the rooftop (roof gardens). They created on ground and above ground greenery landscaping, as well as an energetic and vibrant urban environment around the subject site for the public and workers who work in the towers. The Roof Gardens are located in different heights, providing a comfortable space for workers and the public of the towers to breath, rest and discuss. By providing extra greenery, it allows these urban landscapes connecting with the skyline and become vertical landscaping. Also, the greenery at the roof gardens will become a sanctuary, separating from hustle and bustle in the city for people to rest and enjoy themselves with fresh air and breathtaking views to the Brisbane River.
Public art An aboriginal sculpture (street art) will also be placed in this area. Reminding people to respect, admire, and celebrate aboriginal culture. People from the Queen’s Wharf and the station will be able to see the sculpture. It also enhance place identity, visibility and legibility of the subject site.
Safe and Secure environment By reducing traffic lanes on George, Mary, and Margret Street, and the speed limit to 30km/h on George Street, it created a safe environment for different types of pedestrians. Moreover, a dedicated cycle lane on Mary Street will allow cyclists riding to the station safely. There will be barriers along Margret Street and George Street to prevent car entry.
Public art
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Staging Plan Stage 1 2016-2020: Planning and construction George station Ensure no adverse environmental impacts presented by EIS, completing detailed design, feasibility and engineering studies Sort out financial arrangement Complete development approval Station construction commences Initial works of on ground and underground structures Building Excavation and construction of the Bus and Train Tunnel, including underground level of at 41 and 63 George Street Evacuate workers on existing buildings in the precinct Construction of Queen’s Wharf Brisbane commenced (works expected to begin in 2016, but delay is expected)
Stage 2 2021-2025: Construction complete George station Open sufficient lanes only, for road lanes reconfiguration, new loading zones, on-street parking, and bicycle lane connecting to Albert Street Footpath extension Completion and commissioning of the entire structure of UBTS Identification of businesses tenants Building Completion and commissioning of BAT tunnel Construction and commissioning of Queen’s Tower Buildings Identification of businesses tenants On-going development of Queen’s Wharf Brisbane
Stage3 2026-2030:Fully Operation and Improvement George station On-going streetscape and landscape improvement Operation of UBTS Connection between pedestrian and bike complete Retail in the train station complete Building Completion and operation of Queen’s Tower and surrounding ground facilities
Stage 4 2030-2034: Monitoring and matching with the surrounding development Market the precinct, stimulate more and more foot traffic On-going monitoring and improvement of all facilities, structures, road conditions Linking the whole precinct to the extension of the Brisbane CBD
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Summary and References Summary
References
According to the Department of Transport and Main Roads, a new BAT tunnel and UBTS station will be developed underground in the south of the Brisbane CBD. The concept plan is aiming at redeveloping the site on 43 and 60 George Street, connecting it to the future infrastructure and expanding the transport network. By creating synergy with the Queen’s Wharf, the whole precinct will be vibrant, diverse and exciting. The design solutions of the site and the UBTS have been formulated by conducting comprehensive and rigorous site analysis as well as in accordance to deficiency of the site. The redesigned of the UBTS and the Queen’s Tower will be transform into a key regional hub in Brisbane.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011 Census Quick Stats:Brisbane City,http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/ getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/SSC30237?opendocument&navpos=220 Brisbane City Council, City botanic gardens master plan, http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-building/planning-guidelines-tools/city-centre-master-plan/city-making-moves/city-botanic-gardens-master-plan Brisbane City Council (BCC) 2014, City Center Master plan Brisbane Inner City Investment Prospectus 2014 Carmona, M, Magalhães, C, d, Hammond, L & Ebooks Corporation, 2008,Public space: The management dimension, Routledge, New York. Dezia, G. Dondia, G. & Sangiorgia, C. 2010, Urban freight transport in Bologna: Planning Commercial Vehicle Loading/ unloading Zones, The Sixth International Conference on City Logistics, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences Vol.2, 2010 p.p. 5990–6001 Fruin, JJ 1971, Pedestrian planning and design, Metropolitan Association of Urban Designers and Environmental Planners Inc, New York, USA. Gehl Architects, 2004, Towards a fine city for people, public spaces and public life- London 2004, Gehl Architects, London. Gehl Architects 2009, Brisbane: People-First Strategies for a Smarter Brisbane: A People Oriented Vision for Brisbane [Final Draft], Copenhagen. Gehl, J. (2011) Life between buildings Lerma, Y., Rofè,Y.,& Omer, I. 2014, Using Space Syntax to Model Pedestrian Movement in Urban Transportation Planning Geographical Analysis Vol.46, p.p.392–410, 2014 Marta. 2010,A great Public Realm, Transit-Oriented Development Guidelines, chapter 3 p.p.51-88 Orellana, D & Wachowicz, M 2011, ‘Exploring patterns of movement suspension in pedestrian mobility’, Geographical Analysis, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 241-260. Pantzar, M 2012, Pedestrian level of service and trip generation, Strategic Planning, Transport, Melbourne. Pieprz, D .2004, Reconstruction of waterfront area in downtown, Urban Studies, Vol. 1, 2004 p.p. 31-35 Queensland Univeristy of Technology (QUT), 2015, QUT statistics, viewed 5 August 2015, . Shokouhi, M 2003, Legible cities: the role of visual clues and pathway configuration in legibility of cities, 4th International Space Syntax Symposium London 2003, London. White, P. 2009, The technology of bus and coach system: Buses on road networks Public Transport Its planning, management and operation, 5th Edition, chapter 4 p.p.68-76 2009 Wood, JM, Lacherez, PF, Marszalek, Ralph P & King, MJ, 2009, ‘Drivers’ and cyclists’ experiences of sharing the road : incidents, attitudes and perceptions of visibility’, Accident Analysis and Pre-vention, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 772-776. Zacharias, J 1997, ‘The impact of layout and visual stimuli on the itineraries and perception of pedestrians in a public market’, Environ. Plan. B: Plan. Des, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 23-36. Zacharias, J 2001, ‘Pedestrian behavior pedestrian behavior and perception in urban walking environment’, Journal of Planning Literature, vol. 16, no. 1, pp.3-18.
Key design features are summaried as follow: Geometry shapes and the use of glass material of Queen’s Tower allow solar penetration and air ventilation as well as identity creation. Ground floor and night time activations by providing attractive cafe and restaurants operated until late night. Cross block links in the site facilitate internal circulation Rabbit entrance connecting retail heart on Queen Street and Green Spine on Albert Street Two arc-shaped station entrances constructed by glass and steel located at the both corner of the site along George streets to maximize the legibility and identity of the station. Subtropical gardens located on three different levels of the Queen’s Tower, with a glass bridge in between connecting the podium levels. Two podium with distinctive themes: multicultural high-end restaurants closed to Mary Street and a rich mixed use of cinema, supermarket, retails, banks, children playground closed to Margret Street. Providing diverse experiences to pedestrians. A fountain with sculpture and shallow pool located in the middle of civic plaza, also an aboriginal public art located near Margret Street. Civic Plaza and Ground Garden providing ample awnings, shades, tables, benches, and chairs. Native planting with large shades also provided Additional loading zone, taxi rank, bicycle lane on surround streets. Bicycle facilities including public bicycle storage and end-of-trip facility near Mary Street Footpath extentions on George and Margret Street; road reconfigurations on surrounding streets
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