Australia: ASF reveals details of its Gold Coast Integrated Resort

As the Gold Coast Integrated Resort continues to progress through the State Government’s Integrated Resort Development process, ASF has release more design detail on the public open space, entertainment and leisure experiences.

The newly released details reveal the project caters to the active Gold Coast lifestyle, offering public mooring and beachside parking options for adventurous locals that prefer to travel by boat, jet ski, kayak or tinnie.

Once parked-up and with two feet on the ground, visitors can fill their days with free family friendly activities, including fishing off piers, walking through the sub-tropical gardens and swimming and lying by the beach.

After a day exploring the outdoors, visitors can head indoors for dining, shopping, gaming or enjoying the multiple interactive entertainment attractions located throughout the resort.

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The currently inaccessible land will be transformed with the project creating vast amounts of new public open space and experiences across the 9,200m2 waterfront square and over the 20,000m2 of rooftop terraces and gardens, boardwalks, skywalks, parks, and beaches

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Art and culture lovers are invited to explore ‘Art on the Broadwater’, featuring visual and interactive artwork, or visit the open-air 1,200 seat amphitheatre for live music and stage performances on the water, and check out the indoor and outdoor interactive experiences.

The newly released details include the following attractions:

• 9,200m² waterfront square • Sub-tropical canopy, skywalk and gardens
• Waterfront amphitheater • Signature ballroom
• Broadwater coves for fishing,
swimming and casual recreation
• Marina, public boat and jet ski
moorings
• Medi-spa and health and day spa • Waterfalls
• All ages leisure attraction • Jetties and piers
• Terrace and rooftop gardens • Boutique shopping arcades
• Waterfront restaurants • Waterfront markets
• Art on the Broadwater • Restaurants, bars and nightclubs
• Rooftop park with outdoor cinema

Gold Coast Integrated Resort architect Michael Rayner, of Queensland-based Blight Rayner Architecture, said the design had to reflect the Gold Coast community’s values and diversity to ensure it appealed to locals and tourists alike.

“We were able to achieve this scale of public offerings by increasing height; this approach reduces the building footprint and opens up more public space for locals and visitors to enjoy,” Mr Rayner said.

“The existing three storey height limit was appropriate for its time but can only result in privatised resorts with limited public accessibility such as already exists on The Spit.

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The towers we have designed are well-dispersed on the near six hectare site, creating maximum public realm and opening up new and accessible areas never before available to Gold Coast residents or visitors, he said

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Mr Rayner commented that considerable work has gone into the design to ensure community views on height are respected and responded to in the design.

“Height is a relative issue; for instance, the Q1 Resort and Soul Surfers Paradise buildings are over 77 storeys and now stand as two of the Gold Coast’s most significant buildings. We’re proposing buildings of 45 storeys, down to 20 storeys, down to 3 storeys, creating a tapering of height along the coastline,” he said.

ASF Development Director Dean LaVigne also discussed the role height plays in enhancing public realm.

“Reducing site coverage and increasing height are the most effective ways to increase public space,” Mr LaVigne said.

“Height and scale are required to attract tourists, generate critical mass onsite, and deliver the revenue required to create high quality public spaces and free attractions for all ages and nationalities to enjoy.

“The fact is, the ‘height limit’ is a town planning matter; there is no prohibition on exceeding height, rather if exceeded, it is merely a trigger for a more stringent planning assessment process.

“We strongly believe the building heights are reasonable and necessary, and the combination of community, economic, and design benefits from the project give the Integrated Resort ‘significant planning merit’,” he said.

Height is one of the defining elements of the Gold Coast Integrated Resort and is critical to creating a landmark project for Queensland that will attract and excite locals and visitors for years to come.