[DAB510-Site] Journey to Howard Smith Wharves

My route to HSW begins at home (Petrie Terrace), from which I walk to Roma St Station and catch a train to Fortitude Valley. From there, I walk up Brunswick St and on to Martin St, then cross to the bicycle/joggers' path on Bowen Tce that leads under the Story Bridge.

Whilst others may take the boardwalk route from QUT, I much prefer entering from Bowen Tce and going under the bridge. It's a unique experience in itself, providing a perspective of HSW that is otherwise not available from the jetty or indeed along any other route that can be taken. This route is totally void of any river views until you get to the site, and is very much an urban route in the sense that it requires different means of transport through built up streets. The verticality of the site allows for a panoramic view out towards Mowbray Park to the south-east and the CBD to the south-west, punctuated heroicly by the steel structure of the Story Bridge's underside and massive structural supports arched out between the two sheds. The experience of being out in the open so high up but still so grounded by the vegetation, heavy structures to the back, and by passing joggers and cyclists marks this verticality distinctive of this site and of HSW.

I also ventured back up Bowen Tce to view the wharves from the rear end of the cliffs at Wilson Outlook. This route cuts along the residential edge.

On the other hand, accessing the site via the boardwalk has its own distinguishing features. This route is very much a journey of denial and reward as contrasted to the very high-impact visual overload received from the Bowen St entrance. The boardwalk is a defined path, visible from before you even step foot on it, marking it as a landmark of the river's edge. Winding around the piers and restaurants and sometimes even underneath them, the wharves are never far from sight, allowing for different views and juxtapositions created by surrounding elements as you progress towards them. As such, the wharves seem to be a destination point for users of the jetty and as a revitalised parkland, the node (depending on siting) may be visible from very early on on the riverwalk.

Additionally, the view of the site from the Story Bridge provides excellent examples of shadows on the site cast from the CBD. This can be used to inform siting of the node in the design.

 

Further site analysis regarding surrounding zoning etc I won't bother with as the proposed area will be turned into parkland, so obviously our nodes will contribute to the activities of that space as a place of leisure amongst the residential, low-rise commercial, and high-rise commercial districts.