Rocks Laneway Project
Rocks Laneway is a vibrant community hub that lies in the centre of the retail precinct on Marine Terrace. This award winning space is highly flexible and caters for a broad range of public and private events and activities.
The Rocks Laneway Project was the first cab off the rank in the revitalisation of the City Centre. The project not only created a major new pedestrian connection between the CBD and the Foreshore, it features spaces for year round community events and activities, including opportunities for local artists to exhibit and perform. This sequence of activated spaces is stitched together with a bold meta graphic by renowned artist Trevor Richards that references Geraldton wildflowers (pink, yellow and white) on a background of green sea grass. Project overview here
This visually striking feature attracts visitors, brings locals back to the City Centre and encourages longer visitation both day and night. More here
Grand Reveal
On Friday 20 September, the brand new Rocks Laneway project was revealed to the community for the very first time.
To mark the opening, there was an official ‘light switch flick’ which illuminated the Ghost Office to the public for the very first time. Click here to find out more.
The Design
The design and construction of the Rocks Laneway Project comprised of a team of professionals.
Design
- UDLA: Urban & Landscape Designers and lead consultant
- Taylor Robinson Chaney Broderick: Architects
- ARUP: Structural, Hydralic & Fire
- ETC Engineering: Electrical
Construction
Geraldton Building Services & Cabinets (GBSC)
Project Elements
The project comprises of the following four key elements. More here
The Rocks Building
Town Square and Ghost Office
Post Office Lane
Meta Graphics
Project overview here
The Rocks Building
Formerly a traditional retail building that fronts Marine Terrace and Foreshore Drive, the building has been converted into a pedestrian laneway. This new laneway enables easy pedestrian movement between the beach and the retail heart of Marine Terrace. The building structure will be a new community hub in the centre of the retail precinct with a highly flexible space that caters for a broad range of public and private events and activities. More here
Rocks from Marine Terrace. Rocks from Foreshore Drive.
Inside Rocks. Rocks floor plan.
Town Square and Ghost Office
This space has been simplified to create an uncomplicated more cohesive and welcoming plaza that is a comfortable meeting place for pedestrians. The removal of the existing clock tower enabled the road way to be straightened and reinstated the legibility of Marine Terrace. An architectural interpretation of the Post Office that formerly stood on the site was constructed (called the ‘Ghost Office’) to provide shade, seating and a historical context (with the re-housed original clock) to the street. The Ghost Office incorporates functional lighting to encourage night time activation. More here
Check out this short video of the Clock Tower being demolished to make way for the Ghost Office. Video here
Ghost Office and town square. Straightened Marine Terrace.
Original Post Office
Post Office Lane
Post Office Lane connects the Town Square further into the fabric of Geraldton ending at Chapman Road. The lane also provides an important connection between the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, the Town Square and the Rocks Building. The laneway prioritises pedestrians with new trees, seating and lighting. Light boxes mounted on the wall of the Telstra building display community art.
The Telstra building in the Post Office Laneway.
Meta Graphics
Conceptualised by renowned artist Trevor Richards, a meta graphic painted on walls of the Telstra Building, the pavement of the post Office Laneway, across Marine Terrace and through the Rocks Laneway ‘stitches’ the whole project together. This bold pattern referencing Geraldton wildflowers (pink and yellow) on a background of green sea grass is a visually striking feature of an unprecedented scale in regional WA. Its key role is to enable further community art installations in this part of the City Centre, generating activation and ownership of the precinct. A sequence of seating barnacles have been strategically located at both ends of the project, from the Art Gallery through to the Rock Groyne opposite Dome Café. More here
The Telstra building.
Grand Reveal
On Friday 20 September, the brand new Rocks Laneway project was revealed to the community for the very first time.
To mark the opening, there was an official ‘light switch flick’ which illuminated the Ghost Office to the public for the very first time.
Click here to find out more.