Oh my......it's been such a long time since I visited this space! And I just realised that I have been so caught up with PhD-related stuff that I'm currently really backdated in posting photos. I have not even started putting watermarks on my Switzerland photos - got to do that in the near future! Anyway - I've posted a very very quick sneak peek of the Switzerland photos that I'll be uploading. We covered lots of destinations in Switzerland within 10 days (if I recall correctly, we covered Zermatt, Gornergrat/Matterhorn, Interlaken, Visp, Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Jungfraujoch, Bern, Geneva, Luzern, Zurich, Schaffhausen and Rheinfall). Pictures will be up once I have put watermarks on all of them - and I hope that I won't be bogged down by too much work!
OK let's now backtrack to November 2014 - when the Open House Perth was held. This meant that there were quite a number of buildings (iconic buildings especially!) that were open to the public - and we really had to choose carefully because there were so many of them! In the end we chose three but managed to sneak into a couple more. The three main ones featured - and the ones we spent most time in - are Moana Chambers, Space3d (Space-Cubed) and Central Park.
Starting off with Moana Chambers - home to a really amazing cafe (Moana Cafe) and an art space. From what I recall, Moana Chambers is a heritage building which has since been converted into a space for artists. Well, the design of the building itself is pretty artistic......
Since I'm really interested in architecture (you'll see it clearly when I put up my Switzerland photos), I really had a nice time scrutinising the details on the railings, the curve of the staircase etc etc etc. And of course, I had to take some pics of the staircase in its full glory!
Close up of some of the details on the staircase.
Quaint little cafe on the top floor. I heard that the food's good - but we didn't have much of a chance to sit down and savour some of the pastries because we were running out of time. So I took pics of the cafe and the decorations around.
Our next destination - the open-concept office, Space-Cubed. Space-Cubed is an entrepreneurs' hub right in the middle of Perth CBD, and is home to many budding entrepreneurs. It adopts an open-concept office design (which I found interesting because my own PhD office has a similar concept). The place itself looked really chic, modern...and open...
First area I walked into - the pantry and the rest area. Check out the beautiful photograph at the end of the pantry area!
The location of Space-Cubed - in relation to the other buildings and offices in Perth CBD. This is an interactive display with the buildings represented as tiny blocks...according to height.
And here's the office area itself! There were two main office areas - and this was one of them. This one even had a small corner with beanbags inside, where people could chill out in, or even take a nap!
The other office area I spotted - which was separate from the first one by some glass barriers. This one looks more sleek, unlike the other one, which I found more 'earthy'. Nevertheless, both were unique in their own ways! The office was virtually empty apart from one person right at the end of this area...but he was too engrossed in his work so he didn't really interact with us. I hope I didn't disrupt his thought processes with my crazy photo-taking antics!
Some sketches of the desks used in Space-Cubed.
Our third destination - Central Park - one of the tallest skyscrapers in Perth (7th tallest building in Australia). This itself is another iconic building in Perth, situated on St Georges Terrace. It is really hard to miss it. The building itself has 51 storeys, and functions as an office building. It has been around since 1992. It's constructed mainly of steel and concrete...
The main entrance - people were gathering to take the elevators up to the highest floor (indoor viewing deck). Apparently this place was so popular that only a limited number of people were allowed to the top of the building each time...and only for a limited period of time...
Well - we DID manage to get to the top...and we got really good views of the Perth skyline! We even saw Central Park's 'neighbour' - the BHP Billiton Building - up close!
After leaving Central Park - we passed by this heritage building along St George's Terrace - I can't remember what it's called but it was supposed to be open to the public. Anyway I managed to sneak a picture of the main entrance - it looks so beautiful! I'd love to go in there someday...and go crazy over all the architectural details...
Last destination - the Hilton Hotel. We entered a ballroom and realised that there was going to be a masquerade-themed party that night! How cool!
Ended the day with a nice plate of Japanese katsu curry and dessert (chocolate as always). Unfortunately the katsu curry place closed down shortly after...and up till now I still can't believe it's gone for good! The eatery was such a lovely cosy place...and the service was superb too! I'm gonna miss the katsu curry and all the other food I ate there...
And I guess that's it for now! It looks like I've to head off to bed - tomorrow (or should I say today?) is going to be a pretty busy day! Got lots of readings to do!
Will definitely be back in this space soon...and hopefully will post more regularly!