Golden Square Carpark

Golden Square Carpark was a temporary venue project assembled from spiegeltents, shipping containers, scaffold structures and event infrastructure. The venue operated under a temporary planning permit that was renewed across multiple seasons, with an occupancy of approximately 2,000 people. The project required the coordination of a large temporary site as if it were a permanent venue. The work included tent layouts, container bars, scaffold platforms, entries, exits, toilets, services, back-of-house areas, circulation, queuing, fire safety, access, signage and operational planning. The architecture was in the arrangement of these systems. Spiegeltents formed the main rooms. Containers held bars, storage and service functions. Scaffolding created platforms, edges and circulation. The project had to be approved, assembled, operated, removed and then repeated. The project is useful because it shows how a temporary permit can support a substantial public venue. It was not a pop-up in the decorative sense. It was a working venue with the capacity, services and compliance burden of a small cultural precinct.

Client Spiegel Haus Melbourne / Chris Mitchell Project Team Lauren Garner, Isaac Wise Consultants Planner: Tract (Paul Lewis, Cara Belvedere-Bain) Fire / BCA: BCA Engineers Temporary Structures: Engineered Events Scaffolding: Swift Scaffolding Building Surveyor: Philip Chun Location Melbourne, Victoria Country Naarm, Kulin Country Status Complete Type Temporary venue, cultural infrastructure, event architecture