Art Drives Reimagined Paint Factory Plans

EXCLUSIVE PHIL BARTSCH A+JESSICA MOLONEY 08 AUG 23 The Urban Developer

The deft and dexterous hand of cultural urbanism is shaping Australia’s cities in new and creative ways but it’s not just art for art's sake.

As the late English author Simon Raven’s extension to the old adage says, it is also a matter of?“money for God’s sake”.

And perhaps never more so, given the impact of the ongoing construction crisis and prevailing economic uncertainty.

On opposite sides of the country, two mixed-use projects are expanding the palette of innovative and transformative urban development.

Both designed with an arts focus, they integrate residential and creative industries components to provide a commercial anchor and viability.

“If you think back to like Soho in New York in the 1960s you always had artists and residential mixed together,” says Tom Payne, a partner with placemaking and design consultancy Hoyne.

“But, essentially, it was illegal in planning terms … so even though it feels like we’ve come full circle, it’s super innovative.”

In Brisbane, long-awaited plans have been lodged for the redevelopment of the old Taubman’s paint factory at Yeronga in the city’s inner-west.

The application is seeking a zone change and preliminary approval for the first stage of The Paint Factory Arts Village earmarked for a 3.43ha

AUTHOR Phil?Bartsch