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SCOOT 1 @ CIP

intro | motives | process| location: CIP| designs | ACTION! | demo web |

version one: set in the Creative Industries Precinct, Brisbane, Australia.
(essentially a university campus with a group of small enterprise bussinesses and a theatre/exhibition complex)

CIP: About the Site

The CIP is part of the braoder "Kelvin Grove Urban Village" (KGUB) project set in the suburb of Kelvin Grove, on the very edge of the Brisbane CBD... "where a government and university have come together to plan and build a new integrated community" [kgurbanvillage.com.au] The KGUB imagineers state that: "It (the CIP) provides a unique opportunity for designers, artists, researchers, educators and entrepreneurs to easily connect and collaborate with others to create new work, develop new ideas and grow the creative industries sector in Queensland."

As well as being a place of urban renewal with various opportunities for community engagement, this is a "$60 million site that boasts some of the most advanced digital facilities" [ciprecinct.com.au] and is therefore a rich technological 'node' whose infrustructure is connected to multiple remote partner 'nodes' throughout the country and overseas. According to Graham and Marvin [1993] this would be deemed a model 'telematic' space, that supports ideal access to the global 'information flow" [Castells, 1993].

However, what is the local impact of this clash of electronic space and urban place? The everyday stakeholders are not ALL convinced that the CIP will give them the opportunities that are boasted above. The major inhabitants of this site are the staff and students of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

some initial findings:

note: this Precinct is a very new construction. I was planning to host the game as a 3 day lead up to an event that would mark the official opening of the site by the 12th of May, 2004.

stakeholder access was limited to their deemed role within the site. Most areas were accessed by swipe cards only:
- although it was a terrific 24/7 access, QUT students could only enter teaching spaces that they were enrolled to have classes in... they were unsure where else they could go, making them behave cautiously in the space... loitering in labs and corridors only.
- QUT staff have slightly more access, including their own officce space... but were mostly unaware of the other staff areas, especially those in other buildings that were commercial tennants.
- being a new site, students and staff were unsure where some of the previous services were now available... eg. library book drop off, student reception desks, assessment submission boxes, public phones, food!!?? etc.
- a cafe was opened on the main level in an effort to encourage more movement of people around and through the site. However, it was run by a catering group and the high price and low range did little to promote movement and interaction
- there is a building, "the Works", that housed a group of small commercial businesses that were government assisted start ups. Their contact with students and research staff is potentially productive... however, there was no real explicit incentive

from history to narrative

"The site’s rich and extensive indigenous and European history has been honoured and revitalised by reusing elements of the 100-year-old Gona Army Barracks buildings, and integrating aspects of the Turrbal people’s culture into park names, landscaping and public art.

Indigenous history
The Turrbal people’s affinity with and understanding of the land they once used as a meeting place has been drawn through consultation with the Turrbal Association. This process has captured the significance of the site and the important relationship between Indigenous people and the land. They also provided valuable input into the native vegetation chosen for the site.

Military history
The site development also incorporates land formerly used by the Gona Army Barracks. In recognition of the unique military history of the site, some areas of cultural significance, including buildings and spaces on the parade ground area, have been preserved and recognised in various artwork and street names. "
[KGUV: Maintaining a Diverse Heritage fact sheet]

"Still in existence in front of Buildings C39, C33, C32 and C32A are the door stops that were also used as mounting blocks by the city-bred artillerymen so that they could alight their horses. Legend has it that, in 1939, an adjutant fell from one these mounting blocks when his horse became uncontrollable. The adjutant died after he split his skull and his ghost is said to haunt the Artillery Drill Hall."
[Joel Barnett, 21 July 1998 in an interview with Dr Jonathan Ford, A Brief History of the Site Occupied by the Australian Army’s Gona Barracks, at Kelvin Grove, Queensland, 1998, Commissioned by The Carson Group]

Local Stories
- in the 1890s, the Trustees would receive complaints from residents in adjoining properties, that young lovers were trespassing on the Endowment and committing lewd acts. [Pam Barnett, Archivist, Brisbane Boys Grammar School, interview with Jonathon Ford, 24 July 1998.]
- The mess in the Signals Corps Depot (Building C43) had the reputation for being one of the few places in wartime Brisbane where you could still buy a Hoadley’s Violet Crumble Bar chocolate.
- Soldiers based at Kelvin Grove would often take a shortcut down to the tramline by hopping the fence and using the Mrs L.A. Kohn’s private stairway that led down to Kelvin Grove Road. Some 32 years after the end of World War II, Mrs Kohn would request that the Army help pay for the cost of replacing these stairs, by citing the wear and tear that soldiers had put on her stairs, both during and after the War.

- in terms of contemporary stories... many former students of QUT remember a circus with all sorts of performers and animals on the site.