Winning Entry
The proposal:
An axis that winds and contorts its way around and through the site, offering the public a diversity in choice in how to interact with the structure. The project attempts to create intrigue within the site, while being conscious not to create an overbearing structure within the already tightly defined space. The projects hopes to welcome people into the space, beyond the necessity of needing a somewhere to wait for transport, by creating a fun and unique proposal.
The Ainslie Ave bus shelter proposed is inspired by the axis that the site sits upon. The curving, unpredictable form is in juxtaposition to the geometric layout of the original Canberra plan. Ironically, that geometry is best seen from the viewpoint at the apex of Mt Ainslie, which is directly visible from the site and indeed lays on a key axis from the mountain towards City Hill, only broken by the shopping center itself. The way the form weaves around the site is also reminiscent of how Canberra attempts to weave itself into the landscape, embedding itself in the valleys around the prominent city peaks.
The proposal offers diversity through a series of modules that attach to the axis [rail]; somewhere to sit while waiting for transport, somewhere to take a break from the retail space, somewhere to have a bite to eat either from the Vinnie’s Night Van or on a lunch break, somewhere for children to play, somewhere to intrigue…
Early concepts in collaboration with Maitlan Brown.