The Australian Institute of Architects has joined the calls for the South Australian government to reconsider its choice of site for the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital citing heritage concerns.
Recently released draft plans by Woods Bagot with Bates Smart, Jacobs and UK practice BDP, proposed to build the hospital in Thebarton on the site of the current police barracks.
Following the state election, the new government dumped the previously proposed site for the hospital, adjacent to the existing Royal Adelaide Hospital on grounds that it was significantly constrained and would inhibit the future development of both hospitals.
The proposal received significant pushback from members of the architectural community and the South Australian Heritage Council on the grounds that it would require the demolition of 10 heritage buildings dating as far back as 1917.
Heritage Council chair Keith Conlon argued that razing the precinct would pose “unprecedented loss” for the state’s history and heritage protection legislation.
The Institute’s SA chapter president Anthony Coupe agreed the proposal was “inappropriate” on heritage grounds and at odds with Labor’s previous commitments to heritage protection.
“The haphazard process that has led the government to land on the historic Thebarton Police Barracks site for its mega development has not acknowledged the heritage and cultural impact,” said Coupe. “It’s not good enough for governments to simply rezone land on a whim.”
The Institute has also put forward three alternative sites for the proposed hospital including two sites opposite Bonython Park in Thebarton of 34,000 and 38,000 square metres respectively and the 28,000-square-metre former site of Australia Post bounded by Grote, Gouger and Blenheim Street and West Terrace.
“The government needs to consider the broader impact that the new hospital will have on the area in which it is located and its potential to provide a catalyst for regeneration of the wider precinct,” Coupe added. “This project is a significant investment in the future of our state and should demonstrate a mature approach to city shaping.”
Source: Architecture - architectureau
