TRANSITION EXHIBITION ON SATURDAY 14TH NOVEMBER
Here Studio will launch their much anticipated 5 concepts at the Transition Exhibition on Saturday 14th November at 10.00am in the Civic Hall car park. Members of the Save Civic Hall group have worked tirelessly over the past years for restoration and retention of the Hall for future use by the community. Everyone is invited to view the 5 concepts and offer feedback to Here Studio.
THE PARTNERSHIP GROUP
The Partnership Group, comprising Councillors, members of Save Civic Hall, The Committee for Ballara and, more recently, Commerce Ballarat and Ballarat Foundation, has been meeting with Here Studio for the past 12 months. Some of these meetings have been frustrating for our members and others as some design concepts emerge without a clear vision of usability.
Currently we understand from the draft sketches that there is only one design emerging from the Participatory Design Process that Save Civic Hall would support. Only Option 2 appears to retain both the main hall and Lower Hall, flytower and foyer.
Save Civic Hall has a clear vision for the Civic Hall’s future and will continue to advocate for the best outcome for maximum usage by the community and others.
$100 MILLION DOLLAR PRICE TAG FOR THE CIVIC HALL REDEVELOPMENT IS MISLEADING
A recent article in the Courier suggested that it would cost $100 million to redevelop the Civic Hall. This is misleading as this is for development of the whole site, not just the Civic hall.
Estimation for the Civic Hall for stage 1 of its redevelopment is $10-12 million. This $ amount would prepare it to be event ready. This does not include any other development that may go on the site.
THE BUILDING IS SAVED BUT WHAT ABOUT THE INTERIOR?
There has been much debate about the Civic Hall’s future uses and what can and cannot be altered. A number of changes have been discussed none of which Save Civic Hall accept:
- The stage and flytower could be blocked off while its use is considered. A new stage could be erected in front of the original stage greatly reducing seating capacity, therefore making it a competitor for all smaller venues.
- Graduated seating which would destroy its multi-purpose functionality resulting in the loss of the dance floor.
- The entrance could be moved to the Eastern side of the building and foyer used for another purpose.
- The Upper Floor Dress Circle rear seating divided into small lecture theatres or meeting rooms. Patrons would no longer be able to view the stage from the upper floor.
- Snack bars could be developed into a restaurant which would further reduce the seating capacity.
- The Lower Civic Hall and Flytower could become part of the Library redevelopment with a possible partial or full demolition of the Lower Civic Hall.
- The loss of one of the staircases in the foyer which could hinder an emergency exit leaving only one staircase in use and a lift that could not be used in the event of a fire.
These are only a few of the ideas that have been discussed during Phase 2 of the Process, it is critical for the community to view the next 5 concepts and offer feedback to Consultants Here Studio.
THE PEOPLE’S HALL EXHIBITION NOW IN THE VICTORIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTION
Documentation of “The People’s Hall…” – exhibition, held at Backspace Gallery in June 2015, was recently accepted into The Victorian Historical Society after its nomination for a Community History Award. This is great news as it will be preserved for future generations andbecome a valuable resource for anyone researching Ballarat’s history.
Items that were accepted included photos, promotional posters, brochures and film footage by WIN NEWS.
As the Society has many entries for 2015 it will take some time to list them all so here is the link to the site for future reference.
http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/collections
Thank you to the Ballarat Community and all Civic Hall supporters who visited the exhibition and made it a resounding success.