Blockhead Concept - Pier-ing into the future

A lot has happened since my last concept article (This Little Piggy went to Market (on his fixie)): Kevin Rudd is now Prime Minister, Australia has lost The Ashes but is fighting for respect, The Maroons are State of Origin champions and Hawthorn lost to Geelong while Essendon has run out of steam yet again.

All the while I've been lying in bed at night thinking about Station Pier, Port Melbourne. This article forms part of a series of articles focusing on Port Melbourne's past, present and future. As the name suggests I'll be focusing on a possible future for at least part of the site.

I may revisit the pier itself for another article at some stage, however I have decided to focus on the area highlighted in red below, closest to Waterfront Place.

My concept for the site consists of seven parts as seen on the map below:

1. A museum and visitor centre focusing on the history of the pier
2. A raised sloping park with public parking underneath, replacing the current open air car park and nature strip
3. New paved square
4. Overpass and raised public concourse allowing for courier/truck access through and underneath the development
5. 8-storey apartment building with retail at ground and concourse levels + 2 rooftop gardens and pergola structure
6. 55-storey Hotel and apartments with retail and commercial space at ground and concourse levels + garden on rooftop
7. 65-storey apartment tower atop a 3-storey shared podium, retail at ground and concourse levels

While the height of the towers may be significantly beyond any other development in the area, they sit to the south of the existing residential area and west of the beach; overshadowing of the beach only really occurring late in the afternoon, which particularly in summer, might not be such a bad thing. As per previous concepts dreamt up for Urban.com.au, I have tried to provide a reasonable balance between private and public spaces.

The idea is the development would act as a gateway for visitors arriving via sea (standing out from a distance) while also activating what is an otherwise series of 'dead' spaces. The concept won't appeal to all, but hopefully it serves its purpose in provoking thought for a complex that could be so much more.

Hope you enjoy the images below, click for them for a full screen view.