Royal Adelaide Showground
[Back to Urban Design]Wayville, SA
Hemisphere Design has been appointed by the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia to lead the urban design component of a comprehensive redevelopment of the Adelaide Showgrounds' 22 hectare site, including the New Commercial Precinct.
The main objectives have been to enhance and redevelop the public realm precincts, whilst creating pedestrian priority areas where required, improving lighting and security and introducing tree planting and paving themes, to create a high visual amenity with a sense of arrival and departure. The design concepts have at all times been cognisant of demonstrating how the showgrounds could operate during current events staged within the precinct, and offer options and flexibility to allow for possible future events.
The concept designs for the public realm promote themes associated with the principles of managing and sustaining the land, drawing reference from agricultural and horticultural practices of South Australian indigenous and pioneering history. Each concept presents the opportunity to incorporate these themes, in built form and feature elements.
At the New Commercial Precinct, unique plaza experiences have been created as attractive and functional outdoor event spaces through the integration of themed paving bands, banners and tree planting, water displays and fountains, retaining and seating walls, shade canopies and structures, tree grilles, tree guards and fencing.
Goyder Plaza, forwarding Goodwood Road, is a delightful area with significant landscaping, a spectacular water feature and a paved amphitheatre accommodating 180 people. This plaza interacts with the Goyder Pavilion through glass doors providing an opportunity for collection of guests in a peaceful setting prior to entering their event. The Plaza features symbols of the Adelaide Event and Exhibition Centre’s heritage; raised planter beds featuring the state's horticulture, historic working windmill and interpretative signage explaining current environmental initiatives of the Centre. The landscape design of the Jubilee Plaza, adjacent to the Rose Terrace car parks, includes planter beds, native trees and paving designed for maximum visitor impact. Jubilee Plaza has been designed with large open areas to accommodate significant outdoor exhibition sites.
The design will demonstrate outcomes that address practical consideration of accessibility (pedestrian, including special needs, vehicular), personal safety, efficient drainage across paved and lawned areas and the establishment and maintenance of lawned areas and trees. Elements of the themes will extend from the Showgrounds through to the parklands to enhance the sense of ‘journey’ as the user moves through and ‘to and from’ the Showgrounds.
A number of Water Sensitive Urban Design initiatives have been incorporated into the designs that include: the harvesting of stormwater and storage in underground tanks, planting selections that require low levels of watering and water-wise planting techniques and irrigation design.