kings square fremantle
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kings square fremantle
site location plan : urban strategy
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City Square Civic Square Urban SquarePark & Civic Tree Colonnade Civic Colonnade City Connections Connections to place Urban “Room”
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1. Round house 2. Kings Square3. Queen Square4. Monument Hill5. Train Station 6. Esplanade
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kings square fremantleSteeped in historical significance and cultural identity, the city of Fremantle is a wonderful tapestry of urban design, heritage, artefacts and memories from which a new and invigorated Fremantle can emerge.
The City Square
The strength of the axial route of High Street, from the Round House, West Australia’s first public building, to the War and Sailors Memorial at Monument Hill, cannot be ignored. Not only does it host some of Fremantle’s most significant artefacts and memories, hinting at the historical importance and a once thriving gold rush town, but it comprises the ingredients from which a contextual approach has been taken.
Kings Square, the heart of this axial route has been reinstated as the civic and garden triangles that were intended in the revised urban plan around St John’s Church, of the late 1800’s. Reinforced by its surrounding built form, and the realignment of its sister civic space, the neighbouring Queen’s Square moves west of the crucifying intersection, to form a more functional community space. New urban blocks flank Queens Square, of suggested residential use, as the axial route of High Street motions towards suburban Fremantle. Densification of Queen Street strengthens the nodal point and urban significance of the eastern corner of Kings Square.
The Civic Square
Kings square, once the heart of the city, owes in part its demise to the focus of the activity along the Esplanade, Market Street and South Terrace, famously coined the ‘cappuccino strip’. The success of these places in the city, relate to strength in character and nature. They are places for people. The strong European influences of Greek and Italian communities is evident in both the architecture of Fremantle and its identity.
On approach to Kings square at a pedestrian level, the dominance of the three Morten bay fig trees along the axial route are prevalent, creating nature’s colonnade to the green edge of the square. To the civic edge a stoa; the civic colonnade is proposed, acting as both a historical reference to the canopy that occupied the site in the 1930’s, and as homage to the strong European community of the city.
Stoa: “type of ancient Greek portico of limited depth, but great length with a long wall at the back and a cannonade on the front, usually facing a public space, used for promenades and meetings…”
The park edge is frayed with urban seating and an arbour to the west of the square, imitating a soft response to the stoa and defining ‘the civic square’ of which St John’s Church spire is the focus.
The Urban Square
Site lines and penetrations into the urban triangle work with both the existing and proposed urban fabric to de-mass the block and to create an opportunity for a sheltered and intimate ‘urban room’ within the block. Visual connections to the sites historical landmarks, the Town Hall and St John’s Church to create legibility and orientation within the urban context.
Suggested materials have a civic nature in massing of the Stoa and civic spaces. The use of Limestone references Booyeembara, the Nyungar name of the limestone hills upon which Fremantle lies, whilst use of concrete and metal mesh façade responds to the contemporary intervention of the site.
A public active edge to High Street is created with the Tourist Information, visual connection to the library and café on the corner. To the North of Newman Court is the more private public council reception and council office lobby. South of Newman court and William Street, a retail edge is proposed, with a setback area to respect the adjoining town hall.
The urban square is a sheltered court, activated by the proposed restaurant and sunken reading court which transcends into the children’s library. This intimate space could draw upon Fremantle’s art community and its physical relationship with the town hall, creating an alternative entrance point and use as an out-door theatre/events space for year round calendar events. A first floor restaurant/bar generates first floor activity to the court.
The council chamber is located on the second floor of the tourist information block directly looking over St John’s Spire. The procession into the chamber is via the council office Lobby and linking into the chamber, moving from levels of transparency to translucency and screening of the glimmering metal mesh. Break-out space from the council offices are on the third floor loggia, a colonnade overlooking Kings Square to St Johns Church, and back towards the Town Hall tower to the West, relating to the context within the city and orientating to the historical artefacts present on the site.
The design of the façade has a civic aesthetic of solidity and permanence. Respecting its historical context, the building does not compete with the majesty of the Town Hall or St John’s Church. The articulation of the façade draws upon its classical context in contemporary manner whist the ratio of solid to void provides the foundation for a comfortable working environment.
The design of the stoa and loggia provide a shady walkway and breakout space for council offices, whist promoting passive solar shading, through the restricting of the northern solar gain in summer and providing access for horizontal winter sun. The urban square is a shaded space in summer, both by orientation and through the large overhang of the council chamber above. Equally low western evening sun penetrates the glazing into the children’s library space. The subterranean library provides the foundations for stability in temperature, whilst double height spaces allow natural light deep into the plan in winter. Active ESD measures are considered with the excavation of the basement providing an ideal location for a rain water harvesting tank and on the flat roof, pv cells.
The approach to the urban fabric of Kings Square has been to identify with the culture of Fremantle, its historical past, its connections to place and its reinforcement as a civic heart.
ancient greek stoa high street colonnade european infulences
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kings square fremantle
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ground floor context planscale 1:250
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KEY1. St Johns Church2. Stoa 3. Town Hall 4. Urban Court5. Sunken Reading Court6. Tourist Information7. Main Council Reception8. Council Office Lobby9. Cafe
10. Bar11. Retail12. Library Void13. Library14. Children’s Library15. Council Offices16. Loggia17. Council Chamber18. Services/ Core
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-1 basement planscale 1:500
+1 first floor planscale 1:500
+3 third floor planscale 1:500
+2 second floor planscale 1:500
site axonometric
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kings square fremantle
View East along High Street “SAVED VIEW 1” View from Queen Street
Library Courtyard PlazaView along Stoa
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1. Loggia2. Council Chambers3. Bar4. Tourist information5. Childrens Library 6. Sunken Reading Court7. Urban Square8. Council Offices9. Library10. Café
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Axial View along Promenade