Winner Retail Category:
The Watershed at the V&A Waterfront
‘The Watershed’ is the name given to the redeveloped Blue Shed, situated along the
pedestrian route from the Victoria Wharf Mall to the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A
Waterfront. Previously, part of this historic warehouse was occupied by a craft market,
with the remainder having long been vacant and in poor condition. “This project
displayed innovation and excellence in the use of structural steel,” the judges said.
The Watershed project was born out of an urban strategy to improve and upgrade the
pedestrian experience, whilst also seeking to provide a so-called Innovation Hub and
exhibition space. There was also a desire to reinstate and enhance the Blue Shed craft
market. To achieve this, the alterations involved opening the gable ends of the building,
and re-routing the pedestrians through the warehouse to create an inside-out/
outside-in space, with two new floor levels to house the Innovation Hub, exhibition
hall and retail tenancies.
The ground floor space has been converted into an ‘undercover street’, with the
upper floors flying over. The stalls have been re-constructed as moveable timber
units, such that this area could be vacated temporarily for larger events. It was
therefore important that the 23m wide central area was column-free. A central
driving force in the overall design was the need to visually connect the spaces on the
various levels. Structural steel was the ideal material to achieve this. From an energy
and sustainability point of view, translucent skylights; high performance glazing;
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