WK07 Project Two Development: Project Direction

After receiving feedback from project one I am now re-examining the local and contextual issues for the suburb of Paddington and narrowing my focus on the issues of densification, gentrification and the topographical challenges of the site. I am concerned about rising real estate prices and the effect this has on low income residents and shop owners in the area. Paddington identity is intertwined with low income students and creative types who utilise and contribute to the retail shops that respond to their needs. Paddington's demographic has shifted due to real estate prices and 73% of locals are now non-students with 19% of those being professionals. My future scenario will look at this increasing rental price trend in about 15 years time when traditional housing stock will be largely unaffordable for low and even medium income residents. Many of the existing specialty thrift, craft and antique shops will have been forced to relocate or  close to make way for the generic and boutique.

Project Direction


Typology

My architectural response will be in the form of a mixed use building with a retail shopping centre, restaurant, cafes, cultural spaces (music, art, theatre, digital), antique centre, event space, market place, commercial spaces and residential apartments.

Scale

The shopping centre component will be approx 4-5 stories high and the residential towers will 7-8 stories.
The building foot print will be reduced to allow for an outdoor public to wrap around the north west corner of the building.

Target Users

The target users are 20 to 30 year old creative professionals and students of low to medium income. Other users that are catered for include 35 to 45 yo creative types who have an appreciation for the eclectic, diverse, retrospective and urban cultures.

Possible Scenarios

One scenario I am interested in is the future of character retail outlets such as the Paddington Antique Centre. The year is 2027 and the gentrification of Paddington has seen many antique and 2nd hand shops fold due to high rental prices. The significant land values and population spike of inner city Brisbane has resulted in the densification of Paddington's main ridge lines with the focus on Given and Latrobe Terraces.
Many of the older Queenslander style homes have been renovated leaving a small percentage of affordable homes for low income residents such as students, artists and musicians. The cultural character of Paddington has been slowly diluted as more high end boutique shops replace home-style cafes and thrift outlets. The demographic shift towards the affluent has eroded the cultural diversity that Paddington was once synonymous with.

The owner of the Antique Centre has formed a community group dedicated to restoring and preserving Paddington's cultural heritage who have lobbied the Brisbane City Council to assist through development regulation. The developer of the Paddington Central site has not only accepted BCC's without amendment but has gone much further to embrace the idea of fostering cultural heritage through a mixed use building. The Antique Centre has been recommissioned and relocated within the new development as a not-for-profit organisation with a rent subsidy provided by local government. The mixed use centre has been affectionatly called 'the Depot' as a reference to the sites original use as Paddingtons tram depot. The name also refers to the developers vision of the building as a 'depot' for Paddington's culture, manifest through an eclectic mix of people and the artefacts discovered within the retail centre.