Gawler Place is one of the busiest thoroughfares in Adelaide with more than 25,000 people walking through this street every day. Perfectly positioned, it connects office workers, students and tourists along with commercial delivery and taxis to Rundle Mall, North Terrace and the Riverbank. Gawler Place has been the centre of Adelaide’s city since 1904 with a number of historic buildings including Gawler Chambers, the Oriental Hotel, Claridge House and the Allan’s Building.
The City of Adelaide wanted a people-friendly atmosphere
The last time Gawler Place was upgraded was way back in the 1960’s so it was due for a new look. The City of Adelaide wanted a people-focused street with a quality retail experience which included greenery, lighting, art exhibits, and spaces to encourage people to sit, socialise, mingle and enjoy the atmosphere. The design had to be future-proof, in other words, be an attractive and useable space for at least another 50 years before needing another renovation.
The new Gawler Place officially opened in December 2019 and now has wider walkways and new road surfaces for a low-speed shared use for commercial vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. Improved lighting and shade structures, large trees and understorey plants make it cool, relaxing and attractive for outdoor dining.
Three bold and innovative art exhibits have been installed and just like the Malls Balls, will most likely be meeting places plus a source of many conversations among the locals!
Panorama Concrete’s commercial work at Gawler Place Adelaide
The upgrade to Gawler Place was a $17.6 million project completed toward the end of 2019, and Panorama Concrete was invited to be part of this interesting project.
We installed extensive decorative concrete paving from North Terrace through to Grenfell street in a variety of patterns and textures for different purposes. The City of Adelaide was specific about the use of the concrete; it had to be durable enough for commercial vehicles and high foot traffic and smooth enough for bikes and pedestrians. They chose a custom exposed aggregate concrete mix with our Milled finish exposure.
The work was carried out at night so as not to disturb retailers and customers in Rundle Mall.
Exposed aggregate concrete with a Milled Finish
The Milled Finish is ideal for high traffic walkways. It’s an upmarket, sleek, and sophisticated look crafted with a very fine exposure of stone that is smooth to walk on. It can be saw-cut to look like pavers, without the high maintenance that pavers require. So there’s no weeding and no movement, it looks as good as the day it’s installed for many years to come.
Firstly, we select an exposed aggregate mix in a colour and texture to suit the project and a mid grey was ideal for Gawler Place.
Once the exposed aggregate was laid, we allowed it to harden and returned several days later to hand cut the patterns. Larger patterns will create a more expansive, modern look and smaller patterns suit heritage or traditional style applications. In this case, Adelaide Council opted for large 1.2 x 1.2 shapes in the main as well as other sizes. We saw-cut the shapes into the top of the paving as we do with the handcrafted saw-cut patterns in our residential work, to give the finish a paver look.
Shared use concrete solutions – pram, wheelchair, bicycle, and vehicle-friendly
Handcrafted saw-cut concrete paving has many benefits at Gawler Place. The final result is a sleek, modern and smooth appearance easy to walk and cycle on, friendly for wheelchairs and prams, and strong enough to hold trucks and heavy vehicles.
Handcrafted paving looks like high end pavers so it’s elegant and modern, but there are no cracks, therefore no weeds can grow in between them. There is no movement or subsidence either and as there is with pavers. This milled finish is not only ideal for commercial applications, it also works well for many modern residences in driveways and patios.
The newly upgraded Gawler Place was officially opened in December 2019 by Adelaide City Council’s Deputy CEO Clare Mockler, and Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor, in time for the rush of Christmas.
Other commercial projects in the city of Adelaide – Bank street and more
The commercial concrete project we completed on Bank Street, Adelaide was similar. Bank Street is a busy thoroughfare of 15,000 people using it daily to traverse through the city. We installed a darker black granite aggregate again with a milled finish to create a smooth walkway easier to walk and ride bikes on.
The Adelaide Convention Centre required a lighter coloured durable concrete and chose the Platinum exposed aggregate series in a sandstone colour with a milled finish.
The Adelaide Airport was another good example of our Milled finish in combination with different concrete colours to create the contrasting shapes we have all become familiar with while pulling our suitcases toward the entrance doors.
The Adelaide Festival Centre northern promenade was upgraded in 2017, and we laid over 2500 square metres of exposed aggregate concrete with a lighter reveal of stones to make it easier for pedestrians and bicycles.
Panorama Concrete Adelaide – the only concrete company in Adelaide with a display centre
We have been in Adelaide for more than 35 years, installing concrete in residential and commercial buildings. We are the only concrete company in Adelaide with a display centre that has many examples of exposed aggregate, pattern pave, decorative and stamped concrete samples.
- Visit us at 1 Maple Avenue, Forestville.
- Call us on 08 8297 9611 for an obligation-free discussion about your concrete project.
- Organise a no obligation site visit to discuss your concrete project.
We’ll give you all the options available for your concrete project so that you can make the best informed decision before you lay your concrete. We work to your design and specifications and offer custom solutions where required. Call us on 8297 9611 for an initial consultation.