What about the left-over space?

(Clockwise from left: No activation at street edge, Public space or left-over space?, Docklands Blvd)

I've found myself talking to many of my students about Melbourne Docklands lately. Mainly about whether I think it has been a successful design or not. My usual response is "it depends on the user group".

It's an interesting way in which to physical develop a major tourist/entertainment/residential area. Buildings have been procured through competitive tendering resulting in a range of different towers. Whilst the Docklands area is split up into different precincts, it's safe to say there is quite a wide range of building style and land uses in the area. But what becomes of the left-over space? It's not just the obvious associated public open spaces and how they are designed/integrated into the urban realm. It is also literally the spaces between the buildings that become interesting. How much space do you need? How much space is too much, or too little? What is the ideal density for Docklands? Apparently, the proportional system used for Melbourne Docklands was picked up from those used in Vancouver in Canada. I'm not entirely sure what Vancouver has to do with Melbourne...

The two cities are completely different, different land uses, different cultures, different demographics, different climates. The result of this proportion system has led to built form outcomes that are alien to the city of Melbourne. Tower buildings do not relate to the public spaces below. The density level in terms of building footprint versus open space is out of whack with what a major city (such as Melbourne) should be. These proportions simply do not work for tourism and activation. Sure they do work in certain areas that have a strong localised population, i.e. New Quay. But for the zone between the CBD and Docklands Boulevard, where the majority of the commercial office buildings exist, the success of public open space is relatively diminished.

For the spaces between the rear of Etihad Stadium (formerly Telstra Dome) and the piers, originally designed as the major public open space, or break-out space, success relies on the finer grain design. As it stands, spaces are very expansive and under-utilised. There is room for large public open spaces in Melbourne, but given the relative success of Federation Square and Southbank, the question needs to be asked... Is there too much left-over space at Docklands??

There's certainly a LOT of work to do to bring the "space" up to speed with the buildings in Docklands. The location of some of the land uses are questionable, the underdone nature of the open space is an interesting point. I hope, for the sake of the success of this new public area that whoever is in charge of the design doesn't opt for the easy superficial treatment. If priority is not given to the public realm, the whole area will fail. If the marketing is accurate, and the City wants Docklands to be an extension to the CBD, then getting the public realm right should be an absolute imperative.

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