Woods Bagot unveils design for Adelaide Central Market

All images courtesy of Woods Bagot

Bagot's new development will be a mixed-use project that will connect the arcade to the market and serve as a cornerstone of the broader market district.

As appetite grows for a modern destination to help elevate the city’s profile, the arcade redevelopment will receive over 8,000m² of space. The program of the market will include retail, food and beverage, a central public hall, rooftop gardens, education spaces, a hotel, apartments and offices.

Lifestyle destination

"As part of a broader vision to attract the best and brightest people, the city intends to transform the market precinct into one of Australia’s most recognised lifestyle destinations," said associate principal Alex Hall, who lead the design efforts for this project. For measure, the bazaar attracts approximately 8.5 million visitors on an annual basis.

Woods Bagot proposes to capture the spirit of the market in the arcade redevelopment. The design for the new arcade will seamlessly integrate with the existing Adelaide Central Market, which is being left untouched, by creating a continuous connection between the two neighbours.

"The Adelaide market dates back to 1869, when a group of local gardeners sold their wares without any structure other than gas lights and a fence. A century and a half on, we’re looking to sensitively create a space that can carry that local entrepreneurial spirit forward," Hall added.

All images courtesy of Woods Bagot

New social and commercial precinct

The new design scheme aims to reinstate the arches sympathetic to the former Grote Street façade (partially demolished in the 1960s), the design adds a new social and commercial precinct supported by publicly accessible spaces on the ground floor and podium roof terraces. Biodiverse roof terraces are planned as a green hub for lifestyle and hospitality experiences.

"This is a design exploration of the market’s heritage beyond just a facade treatment and makes its brick arches – which have always been emblematic of the market – part of the whole experience," Hall said.

The Woods Bagot proposal includes potential connections from the existing public car park over the market and 260 new parking spaces to provide much-needed relief.

All images courtesy of Woods Bagot

Stakeholder engagement

From here, Woods Bagot will embark on a detailed design involving engagement with all stakeholders to deepen its understanding of what’s needed – working through the entire planning process and guidelines.

"Our design team has a local connection to this project. We live here, and visit the market regularly. This is an opportunity we meet with pride, sensitivity and a genuine desire to shape and evolve our city for the better," added Hall.

ICD Property managing director Matthew Khoo said that "the redevelopment will help boost Adelaide’s economy and tourism by making what is already a world-class market precinct even better".

"The Adelaide Central Market Arcade has been a prominent community space for 150 years. What we intend to do is enhance the existing structure by restoring and protecting heritage items and building complementary new assets that will become new amenities for the community to enjoy," he said.

Article originally published on World Architecture Community.