Docklands Wheel

Büro North collaborated with Peter Bennetts and Squint Opera to envisage a futuristic reuse concept for Melbourne’s ill-fated Southern Star Observation Wheel, imagining the wheel as a tram depot in the sky for “flying steam powered punk trams”.

Featuring wind turbine blades and solar panels, the sci-fi windmill would generate power for a fleet of flying trams, alleviating congestion in the city. The reuse proposal for the “heat-damaged and conceptually flawed” wheel, which closed 40 days after it opened in 2009 when cracks appeared in the frame, features landscaped platforms elevated above a newly-greened Docklands.

“There are some serious ideas, and also some questions amongst the madness. How to efficiently adapt, reuse and re-function outdated infrastructure as we move to a more sustainable future.”