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Palais Theatre & Luna Park Forecourt

City of Port Phillip
CLIENT
Bunurong
COUNTRY
St Kilda
LOCATION
2020—2024
DATE

A revitalisation of one of Melbourne’s most photographed places, celebrating and protecting active streets; public places rich in culture and arts.

The redesign of this significant public site protects the newly pedestrianised areas with carefully hidden hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) barriers, integrated cleverly into people-focused spaces. With grand architecture that meets carnival antics, this project creates a unified public space. Taking cues from its context and history, the revamped precinct explores visual delight and offers an inviting raised lawn and riotous planting that is punchy and unapologetically retro. 

Both Palais Theatre and Luna Park forecourts have a decorative paved ‘doormat’ of their own, to reorientate the way the site welcomes people to the entrances to these iconic venues. An extensive team of consultants included GHD, who engineered the stormwater network to protect the site from flooding and mitigate storm surge events, embedding climate-change resilience within the design. The Open Space team at the City of Port Phillip shaped the project with their passion and rigour. We also recognise the work by Oculus on the initial design concept. Although toned down due to a squeeze on the budget, we hope the parade of penguin characters, turrets and larger-than-life treats designed by the talented Studio Periscope will bring even more character to the space in the future.  

As a project that embraces the spectacle of two culturally significant and iconic landmarks of St Kilda through the day and into the night, this precinct is, and will continue to be, the beating heart of St Kilda and possibly Melbourne. 

PROJECT TEAM

  • Studio Periscope (Industrial Designer)
  • Access Solutions National (Disability Access Consultant)
  • 2BDesigned (Lighting Consultant & Electrical Engineer)
  • Smart Water (Irrigation Designer)
  • Clive Steele (Structural & CIvil Engineering – Review)
  • MOS Urban Design Team
  • Arup (HVM & Risk Consultant)
  • GHD (Structural + Civil Engineer)
  • Urbis (Planning Consultant)