How many successful examples spring to mind if you’re asked to think of a destination that has been transformed whilst retaining its own distinctive destination character? Not just in the way it’s marketed, but also in terms of its architecture, street design and built tourism product?
The transformation of Las Vegas in
the 1990’s from a seedy gambling town into an entertainment capital has for a
long time fascinated me. Without losing
its iconic Sin City personality, Vegas has dialled up the charm, appealing to a
much broader (and sustainable) target market.
And now closer to home in
Queensland, I’m equally fascinated at how Australia’s “Famous for Fun” tourist
capital, the Gold Coast, is undergoing a similar transformation. I’m talking specifically about Surfers
Paradise (aka the glitter strip) which up until a year ago was the Gold Coast’s
equivalent of the Hollywood strip – a tired mix of cheap t-shirt and souvenir
shops, deep-fried food, bemused tourists, shady characters and jaded
locals. Of course, there’s much more to
the Gold Coast than Surfers Paradise, but once a destination’s jewel in the
crown has lost its lustre, the whole crown somehow loses its shine.
Fast-forward 12 months, and Surfers
Paradise has gone into overdrive to reshape its destination image as a much
more upmarket act whilst staying true to its surf culture and beach holiday
heritage. It’s attracted some serious
development, with the opening of the Hilton Surfers Paradise, an upgrade to
Cavill Mall, and a complete redevelopment of the foreshore.
Last weekend, I took my partner away
to the Gold Coast for her birthday, and took the opportunity to check out the
new developments. The standout project I
believe to be the catalyst for transforming the destination character is the
new Surfers Paradise Foreshore Redevelopment.
As a public space, it works so well.
But unlike so many other redeveloped waterfront spaces I’ve visited around
the world, this one truly captures the unique local identity – it is quintessentially
the Gold Coast, remodelled in the most charming of designs. Here are the top three things I love about
the new foreshore design:
1. Distinctive local character
Everything –from
the surf-inspired street furniture, to the quirky signage – is a nod to the
Gold Coast’s apt destination brand “Famous for Fun”. It’s all co-ordinated, and with a distinctive
local character.
2. Designing to consumer insights
2. Designing to consumer insights
Having grown
up by the seaside in a resort town, I’ve
observed one thing to be true – nearly everyone loves the beach, but generally
from the comfort of the shore. A trip to
the beach is less likely to entail a dip in the water or a sunbaking session,
and for the majority is more likely to involve a waterfront BBQ or a picnic, a walk,
a throw of a ball, or watching your toddler tirelessly chase seagulls.
And so from a
design perspective, the Surfers Paradise Foreshore Redevelopment has catered
precisely to this consumer insight by extending the beach experience well
beyond the high tide mark.
3. Designing for Activity
3. Designing for Activity
Active spaces
always attract activity. We are hardwired
to be attracted to places where we can see other people having fun, and quite
often bypass (or actively avoid) spaces that appear to be devoid of activity.
The foreshore
redevelopment design has taken this principle and enhanced it – with things to
see, do, read, or play with every few steps.
Even though you think of it as one big public space, it’s really a
series of cleverly-designed interlinking smaller spaces, each designed with a
specific activity-generating feature every few metres.
Design take-out:
I think the Surfers
Paradise Foreshore Redevelopment is one of the best contemporary examples of
public waterfront spaces, because:
·
its
design truly lives up to the destination brand (Gold Coast – Famous for Fun)
·
it
showcases a distinctly Gold Coast flavour (as opposed to a generic contemporary
beach-themed design)
·
it
has been purposefully designed to cater to some quite specific consumer
insights into the way visitors undertake their beach experience, and
·
its
activity-generating spaces give people a myriad of reasons for wanting to spend
time using this public space.
Further
reading »
Great write up on coastal foreshore development! Andrew.
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrew glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteCraig, I'm a bit late, I know, but I just stumbled across this review. I worked on the team that designed this space, so it's encouraging as a designer to see that people understand where we were coming from and what we were trying to do. Cheers, Cameron.
ReplyDelete