Concept 1

My first concept was an application to be used among friends and families as a digital scavenger hunt. People would download the app and there would be 30-45 minutes of the game for them to go around singularly or in pairs and take pictures with as many things on the list as possible, with the app or the locations providing key insights into Northshore and it’s past along the way. 

Concept 2

My second concept is to create a maze out of shipping/cargo containers which would be painted by the community. There would be the incorporation of blue and carving patterns or water ripples and other aquatic themes into the cargo containers to allow for some airflow, sunlight, and views out to the to link back to the riverside aspect of Northshore and pay tribute to the heritage as an important port of Brisbane. 

Due to the rise in technology and the move away port related activities, many Western waterfront cities have been impacted due to the ‘suburbanisation’ (Lehrer.U. & Laidley. J.,2008). This decrease in port activities has led to many of the waterfront cities internationally start a redevelopment plan in order to try and rebirth the waterside as a vibrant place with recreational activities (Lehrer.U. & Laidley. J.,2008). This redevelopment of the waterfront cities is more important now due to the identity of the waterfront areas slowly deteriorating due to the rapid development and globalisation (Mohamed. B., & Salim. N., 2018). Through the implementation of projects such as the digital scavenger hunt or the maze, this encourages community collaboration which will further build a strong sense of place at Northshore through the reference to the port’s heritage. This will be done through active engagement of diverse people coming due to the concepts being suited for all ages, whilst the concepts are best suited to the day which would significantly improve the daylight hour visitation. Both projects are also significantly socially and environmentally sustainable as they would enhance the cultural regeneration of Northshore, increase the community’s perception of belonging, and increase the social capital whilst simultaneously changing the site’s image and further generate value for the territory (Sepe, M., 2013). The site’s image however changed in the regeneration of the waterfront, will maintain and even increase the references to the port’s history, keeping the cultural importance of the site for the community to see and engage with. The main current and continuous users of Northshore are two separate categories, of 18-35 year old’s consisting of university students to young families, and 55-74 year old’s which are retirees. Both of these key visitors come in small groups, have a strong sense of place, adventurous DNA, celebrate physical activity, and place an importance on social experiences often through a connection to landscape.

References:

Sepe. M., (2013) Urban history and cultural resources in urban regeneration: a case of creative waterfront renewal, Planning Perspectives, 28:4, 599-600, DOI: 10.1080/02665433.2013.774539 

Lehrer. U. & Laidley. J., (2008). Old Mega-Projects Newly Packaged? Waterfront Redevelopment in Toronto. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. Volume 32(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2008.00830.x

Mohamed. B., & Salim. N. (2018). Preserving Sense of Place at Historic Waterfronts in Malaysia. Volume 45(06004). Pages 1 and 2. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20184506004

• Could move eat street up so people can do a continuous walk along the river side 
• Make it more dog friendly (as many members of the community in Northshore and surrounding areas like to walk there dogs along the waterfront)
• More public bathrooms and water fountains – especially on the right side
• More affordable shops and cafes 
• Public transport routes to allow for easy access to the area 
• Food trucks/ Public BBQs 

• PPS says to make standalone buildings have multiple purposes, you could consider making the water tank have multiple purposes
• The beach is a fairly popular space for people when visiting Northshore especially when they have little children and can go to the café afterwards
• The incorporation of the wharfs along the current ‘no pedestrians access’ point near the water tank could make for good land use and peak the interest of visitor
• The large grassy area near the beach is also a potential spot as it is currently not being used for anything
• The large grassy area beside the children’s mini park area is also substantial space being left to waste with nothing to incorporate there 

UAP’s Kraken Installation

Value indicators for the project would include the increase of civic participation and cultural memory in the site specific concept. This social measure of success is expressed through story telling and placemaking, as Tom Borrup states that stories can move the community forward or hold it back. It brings people together to share the stories in a space where all knowledges are shared, valued, and used in the process of decision making (Borrup, T., 2018). This level of community members having a connection to the place then also results in the audience having a higher level of commitment to the site and the history behind certain installations.

Borrup, T., (2018). Arts and Cultural Management; Critical and Primary Sources. Retrieved from: https://content.talisaspire.com/qut/bundles/5c806af969df50292672aec4

Although the client brief stated that Northshore was after a concept that was original, the brief that outlined what it was looking for in the projects is very similar, and sometimes the same, as those that other international waterfront cities are looking at getting out of their redevelopments. Those such as audience engagement, public accessibility, incorporating historic structures already at the site, and avoiding the obstruction of views to the water are deemed to be some of the most necessary elements amongst international waterfront redevelopment cities (Adom. A. A., Jussem. B., Pudun. J., Yatim. A. B., 2012). Through the art of creative placemaking bringing people together to create better lives for those sharing a geographically defined community (Borrup, T., 2018), I believe that both of the concepts I have created meet the criteria of incorporating placemaking into the project and providing a cultural connection for the community of Northshore through arts and activities. Further research has shown that the photo scavenger hunt is not a common activity across the world however a few cities and large parks such as Emerald City, Anastasia State park in St. Augustine, Baltimore, and Tampa have a similar activity. However, it is still a pretty rare activity and one that is not yet apart of Brisbane. Mazes, especially made out of shipping containers are also not widely popular internationally, especially for free public use. Through building on local physical and historical assets such as the shipping containers of the maze and the many historical structures around Northshore for the digital scavenger hunt, I believe that this will help to enhance the social fabric of the city whilst building on local character and stories (Borrup, T., 2018), further strengthening the bond and relationship between people and place. 

References:

Borrup, T., (2018). Arts and Cultural Management; Critical and Primary Sources. Retrieved from: https://content.talisaspire.com/qut/bundles/5c806af969df50292672aec4

Adom. A. A., Jussem. B., Pudun. J., Yatim. A. B. (2012). Factors That Influence Visitors’ Satisfaction Toward Kuching Waterfront. Journal for the Advancement of Science and Arts, Volume 3(2), Pages 41 and 42. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/30a6/c4ed606ab4d0cdd8de732db5d2f276250328.pdf

Key insights…

• Don’t kill your baby, mutate your baby until it’s something that you’re happy with
• Show someone and see how they react and interact with the prototype to help you further the project and see if anything needs changing
• Establish the motive behind the client 
  • Why they want certain things incorporated into the projects
• Understand strengths personally and as a team to see how you can better the project development
• Don’t be disheartened with people who have done similar things to you project wise, join forces and white-label
• Teams:
  • Establish roles as early on as possible 
  • What you expect of the other members
• Projects with technology
  • Make sure the audience has access to the technology 
  • Capability vs audience
  • Lifetime: just for a weekend or ongoing?
    • Maintenance
• Risks:
  • Pressure is created by resistance to flow
  • Where are the bottlenecks in project delivery?
    • Comment section needs to be moderated by someone
    • Kids and the elderly need to be able to use it – needs to be easy to use
  • Analytics during development – there will be no time at the end 
    • How long did people spend in different places of the project
  • Sightliness post-delivery
• Strategy:
  • Distribution and activation
  • Are people going to be motivated enough to download the app?
  • Would people spend this time with the content?
• Most important thing is that there is a lot of cross over between the creative, design, and delivery/installation departments because what one person does, affects the next person and stage of the project
  • Open communication and a high level of collaboration 
• Make sure there’s relevance for the materials used and for the audience to connect to the site 

In order to revitalise Northshore in such a way as to increase audience engagement in a site specific project whilst addressing issues such as diversity, ethics, and sustainability; I have come up with two concepts in which could increase the visitation of the site and incorporate the port heritage of the site. My first concept is that of a photo/digital scavenger hunt app, to be used amongst groups of friends and family, in which they would have a checklist of sites around Northshore they would have to take photos with and would provide key insights into Northshore and its past along the way. This incorporation of the history of the port, the showing of all the important landmarks such as ‘The Shed’ and ‘The Deck’ in this fun and interactive way, would help actively engage the community whilst creating a digital footprint for the site. This concept would improve brand awareness and visitation of the site whilst simultaneously reflecting and responding creatively to the history of Northshore through the digital footprint and the dispersion of historical knowledge at each photo location. My second concept would reflect the historical importance of Northshore as an important port of Brisbane established in 1923, due to the use of the shipping containers. The audience engagement for my second project would be continuous as they would help create the project before it is installed. Through the use of getting the community to come together to paint the shipping containers with colours of light yellow, pink, and blue, to reflect the heat whilst also painting aquatic themes and patterns onto the containers. After the painting sessions have fully covered the containers and made it the community’s property and creating a sense of place, they would be set up to form a maze for all to enjoy, making the project extremely site specific . This concept would actively engage the community through each stage of the projects development while creating a sense of cultural connection to the piece. The painting sessions and the set up maze will both increase audience visitation and engagement when coming to Northshore whilst once again reflecting and responding creatively to the history of the site.

I have been given the opportunity to design and pitch a project concept to the client – Economic Development division of the Queensland Government – of Northshore. Northshore is a 2.5km riverfront industrial site I am to respond and deliver a project of cultural connection, in order to benefit the community. Using the $40,000-$70,000 budget allowed, I am to address at least two of the project dimensions outlined; audience engagement, a digital footprint, site specificity; and incorporate diversity, ethics, and sustainability into the temporary yet engaging project. In order to transform the site into a vibrant creative precinct and lifestyle destination and promote ‘new ways of living’, Northshore is aiming to expand on Eat Street in order to offer customers a diverse range of activities and experiences for everyone to enjoy. The goal for the client is to accomplish this whilst simultaneously emphasising the heritage of the port and drastically increasing the visitation throughout the week. This achievement is also having to combat some of the key challenges that the site faces, such as competing with Southbank as a primary waterfront site in the city, and the lack of public transportation leading to Northshore, making visition more difficult than that of a site like Southbank.