The beautiful and
tranquil Nepalese Peace Pagoda - the only
remaining participant-made Pavilion from
World Expo '88 remaining on the former
Expo site - takes centre stage at the Clem
Jones Boulevard, which runs along the
Brisbane River South Bank foreshore - and
faces the Brisbane City CBD - just a few
hundred metres away.
Click to enlarge
The calming blue
salt-water man-made beach at South Bank
Parklands is a quick get-away for those in
Town - and is just perfect for Brisbane's
sub-tropical blue sky weather. Low-rise
residential, and medium-rise office space
and hotel space - including the 2006
opened Saville Luxury Hotel (image right),
feature at the Parkland's western rail
corridor.
Click to enlarge
The
view from Brisbane's Highgate Hill of 2006
Brisbane. The Expo symbol
tower 'Night Companion' has been moved
several hundred metres from it's
original South Bank of the Brisbane CBD
Expo '88 location. It is now
located at the far left of this image. The
white curves partially
visible in the centre of the image is the
curved roof structure of
the Brisbane Convention and
Exhibition Centre, formerly the
site
of 'World Expo Park' - a 'made to be
permanent' fun park adjoining the
Expo site. To the further right of this
one can see a fawn coloured
low-rise building, adjoined by a silver
and colour loover low-rise
building, and several other dark grey
low-rise buildings. This is the
western corridor of the former Expo
site - the now popular
South Bank Parklands, which also include
Residential and Business
components. Development at the Parklands
Brisbane River foreshore is
predominantly parkland. At opposite
foreshore [R] is
the Queensland Parliament
Annex.
Click
to
enlarge
South
Bank
Parklands today stretches from the
southern bank of the Brisbane River
from the left side of this image,
connecting with the Queensland
Performing Arts Complex (intersected by
the Victoria Bridge), and then
re-connecting with the Queensland Museum,
Art Gallery, State Library
and new to be launched Queensland Gallery
of Modern Art - on the right
side of this image. Click
to enlarge
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South Bank
Parklands (Mark II) featured
removing the artificial inland water canal,
and replacing it with a back-bone
structure running from one
end of the site to the other - dubbed
the Energex "Arbour Boulevard".
A beautiful sight in summer
or spring, the purple bouganvilleas
that have taken root flower
all the year-round, and cling naturally to
their imaginatively
desgned steel tendril supports.
A curved
roof follows the path (as in left image)
for some of the way.
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The
Galleria Apartments (above image) have
become another welcome
medium-rise residential block at the
Parklands, and front the southern
end of the park, overlooking formal
gardens and the Brisbane River.
In
early 2001 an Imax Cinema complex, with
several standard-size screens,
was launched at South Bank, however, did
not prove a financial success.
The complex has now re-opened, and
is booming, using the Imax screen
for 'big-number' films, and charging
admission and car-park fees the
envy of the more established Brisbane
Cinemas.
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Low
to medium density residential developments
are a major feature of the periphery
and railway corridor-edge of the
Parklands, with riverfront
views
protected by park space at the Parkland's
river front edge.
These
developments
also incorporate office space, gourmet
restaurants, cafes, convenience stores
and delicatessens, newsagencies, as well
as the South Bank Cinema Complex. All apartments
have river and CBD views, fronting onto
prime CBD parkland.
The
Arbour Boulevard, designed by Denton Corker
Marshall, weaves a
mysterious path through the site, intimately
narrow at times, and
othertimes not.
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Without
a doubt, the most popular feature of the
Parklands for sun-loving
Aussies is the man-made salt-water beach and
rockpools.
Once originally planned to go from one end
of the site
to the other, the beach pool feeds into
several rock pools up
and down the beach site, making it a
wonderful haven for curious
children who wish to explore.
The
beach is also the place to meet for the New
Year's Day and
Australia Day (Jan. 26) annual fireworks.
With
it's tropical palm-tree theme and real sand,
this free inner-CBD
beach is a mecca for all those near and far,
or simply
those who wish to get some sea-salt and sun
in their office
lunch break.
Queensland
wasn't called the 'Sunshine State' for
nothing!
(RIGHT)
A
river-side view of the leafy parklands, the
Brisbane River, and
in the distance, the new 'Goodwill Bridge',
named after Brisbane's
role in the final "Goodwill Games" in 2001.
This pedestrian-only
'green' bridge links the southern end of the
South Bank
Parklands with the inner CBD and City
Botanic Gardens,
on the other side. The 1970s established
Captain Cook Bridge, linking
the City with the Pacific Highway is visible
at left.
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