Options outlined for Victoria Square

Press, 1 June 1985, Page 9

Options outlined for Victoria Square

Staging of Victoria Square redevelopments would be practical, and financial constraints should not restrict an initial design for the square, a group of city organisations has told the Christchurch City Council. Yesterday was the deadline for public submissions on the victoria Square redevelopment issue. By late afternoon, between 18 and 20 submissions had been made. One was a design brief prepared by the Civic Trust, the Historic Places Trust regional committee, the Canterbury Landscape Group, and the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects. The group said that Victoria Square alternatives prepared for discussion by council officers in 1983 had been deficient in some respects. They said that two plans retained an emphasis on traffic within a redeveloped square. The group said the contouring of square land to screen peripheral car-park-ing was inappropriate for a city square. Undefined areas ’ with • ■ contouring and . car-parking would achieve little. s

Victoria Square at present did little to recognise the importance of the Avon River, which flows through it. The present square had little cohesive landscape character or variety of spaces. Its historic features were randomly located. The group said that one design aim should be to develop stronger visual and physical links between the square and its surrounding public and private spaces. Oxford Terrace should be closed to traffic, and careful design work should be done for car and bus parking in the area. x Future desirable links should be considered, such as possible skyway connections between the Vacation Hotel and *a future Farmers’ store site development. Those connections could be made to small buildings on the edge of the square. The square’s micro climate, such as cold, prevailing winds, should be considered in redevelopment. The best of existing trees should be preserved, with future planting complementing the over-all design. The best existing historic features should be retained, such i as the' Queen Victoria statue; the'Captain Cook statue, the river bridge, and

the ramp to the river. Those features should have less dominance than they had now. Any buildings proposed next to the square should be integrated into its over-all design character. That could require additional design controls in the city’s district scheme. A variety of spaces in Victoria Square should offer a range of opportunities for active and passive uses of the area, such as sitting, speaking, walking, music and drama, modern sculpture, and eating and drinking. There was considerable merit in considering having an outside consultant as a Victoria Square project leader. A project team could be supported by a committee of consultants. That could integrate informed public opinion into the design process. Mr Neiel Drain, the City Council’s parks and recreation director, said yesterday that submissions would be considered over the next few weeks before a report was prepared for the > council. ■, From there, 1 the council would be:developing aminic tial development. plan ;for Victoria Square.