street with a 50m x 50m columnless , suspended steel structure flying over the street , releasing the potential activities of the street .
The pedestrian street created through the Watershed creates a vital urban connection between the main active area around the shopping centre precinct and the Clock Tower
Precinct on the one side and the aquarium , the bus stop , the GSB campus and new BRT stops on the other . Wolff Architects designed what has been dubbed ” the floating floor ” – a suspended structure that makes a 50m x 50m gridded steel slab over the market . The floating floor meant that the activity of the street below could be complemented by another type of space , running perpendicularly overhead . This substantially increases the diversity and intensity of human interaction in the street .
The Offering The ground floor of the building is now home to some 150 small business owners selling a multitude of arts and crafts , representing over 365 local brands . This is complemented by a Wellness offering upstairs – contributing a range of treatments for the mind , body and soul . The consolidation of the Blue Shed and Red Shed traders into one space provided valuable retail space within the Victoria Wharf for the introduction of new international retail offerings .
A 1,000m 2 exhibition space over two floors attracts locals to the V & A with a peak visitor flow of 500 per hour . The space hopes to be home to some of the top exhibitions in the world , with Art of the Brick being the first exhibition .
The final element to the Watershed is the soon to be completed Workshop 17 offering on the first and second floors . Workshop 17 , operated by Open Workspaces , will be a social innovation and co-working space , offering a desk rental model with communal working facilities which will tap into a new model for small and start-up businesses , bringing diversity to the V & A Waterfront .
454 The Watershed