2056ENV Urban Analysis - Activity 5

Photography Assignment
The Southport Hospital Site
By:
Matilda Kaveney S2891872
Jessica Hutley S2885283
Nicola Moore S2894907
Calan Cockburn S2895254
Justin Jones S2896623

2056ENV Urban Analysis

Group Photography Assignment- Activity

Part 1. Analysis of Photographs

Figure 1: Low angle shot of main building for the old Gold Coast Hospital,
(Matilda Kaveney 2014).
The above photograph depicts the main building of the old Gold Coast Hospital, as
taken on Friday 25/4/14 at approximately 2:30pm.
The perspective of the photo emphasises how big the main building is and its
dominant occupation of the entire hospital site. The building is perceived as an
eyesore to the surrounding Southport area, emphasising the untidy and plain
aspects and large size compared to its surrounding structures. As Orellana (2008, p.
78) emphasises, without the context of the photograph it could have many different
meanings. Therefore it is critical to point out that the photo provides additional
evidence for the possible future of the site (Fink 2012, p. 36). This image
emphasises the run down state of the building, highlighting the idea that it could
possibly become a brownfield development in addition to the further expansion of the
proposed Southport CBD area (Schratz & Steiner-Loffier 1998, p. 246). However the
existing building may present an authoritative stance in the Southport local area,
providing history and value to the existing Southport community and its concerned
residents (Fink 2012, p. 36). Therefore the sites history and local meaning should be
considered when deciding on an alternate use for the site and its potential impact on
the functionality of the Southport CBD.
insight into ways in which places have meaning for residence as empowering
participants involved in community development and as creating powerful evidence
to bring about policy change (Fink 2012, p. 36).
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Figure 2: Old Gold Coast Hospital main entrance, (Matilda Kaveney 2014).
The above photograph depicts the entrance to the old Gold Coast Hospital, as taken
on Friday 25/4/14 at approximately 2:30pm.
This photograph depicts the hospitals presentation as being neglected with excess
and over-grown vegetation, fencing surrounding the building and chains outside the
front door. This photo was selected due to its demonstration of site degradation,
showing due cause and need for redevelopment or refurbishment. This photograph
represents aspects that may encourage the audience and more specifically the
people of Southport to question the present and future use of the site challenging
proposed development ideas. Questions such as Why have the front doors been left
open on an empty site?, or Whats going to happen to the site?, are asked by a
sceptical community that offers critical input regarding the sites future (Van De Ven
2008, p. 389). The local communitys idea should be taken into account due to the
sites overbearing influence and experiences provided to the local community (Fink
2012, p. 38). Consideration must be given to the photographers views compared to
the views of local residents when analysing this photo, where views are shaped by
the individuals social position (Orellana 2008). This image was taken by holding the
camera over a surrounding barrier, where it restricted what could be captured of the
old Gold Coast Hospital (Orellana 2008).

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Group Photography Assignment- Activity

Figure 3: Proximity of Light Rail to old Gold Coast Hospital site, (Matilda
Kaveney 2014).
The above photograph depicts the light rail station on Nerang Street in reference to
the old Gold Coast Hospital site, as taken on Friday 25/4/14 at approximately
2:30pm.
Easy access to the light rail encourages public transport usage, which will benefit
any type of development that could be proposed for the site. A large inconvenience
for the community of Southport focuses on barricades particularly road works due to
the light rail construction and the containment of the old Gold Coast Hospital site.
These barricades may be perceived as a danger to the community of Southport due
to the lack of safety signage for pedestrians and motorists. Although there are many
barriers there is a security camera watching the light rail track. This could implement
crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) whilst the site is
redeveloped, and will continue as the new development is available for public use.
Maximising surveillance in the Southport CBD will increase of sense of safety and
decreases criminal activity (CPTED document, dont know how to reference it) .
When looking at figure 3, the building itself doesnt look neglected like the other side
of the building displayed in figure 4. However this view can be reflected on the city
image. When taking photographs the image can be manipulated to make a site look
better and change the publics view (Bridge & Watson 2000, p. 7). An example of this
is if the light rail was not in figure 3, the building in the photograph would be
perceived as an eyesore.

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Group Photography Assignment- Activity

Figure 4: Degradation of existing buildings on old Gold Coast hospital site,

(Matilda Kaveney 2014).
The above photograph depicts the old hospital building from Little High Street, as
taken on Friday 25/4/14 at approximately 2:30pm.
Severe weathering in a dominant aspect that is portrayed through the apparent dirt
build up and outline of old signage in this photograph. Weathering may have
impacted this specific building the most due to its orientation that stipulate ideas of
neglect. However the degraded state of the building could draw on memories of the
city image as it is currently standing as a monument (Bridge & Watson 2000, p. 13).
The Gold Coast Hospital signage has been removed from the building displayed
above due to the decommissioning of this site and the relocation of hospital services
to a new development. Due to weathering the outline of the letters remain on the
building portraying that the site has been striped from its name and branded. If the
building was to be refurbished, the amount of neglect on the outside of the building
would make any new purpose for it degrading and could have severe implications
towards potential investors. This is wear city image is a key point, if the public sees
the site as an eyesore, the clientele, business and economic value of the area can
drop dramatically and change the whole view of the Southport CBD (Bridge &
Watson 2000, p.7).
This photograph was captured on the south side of the site and because the image
was captured at approximately 2:30 in the afternoon, the Eastern end of the site
receives no sunlight. CPTED will have to be managed on that side of the site during
the late afternoon when developing and planning the site.

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Group Photography Assignment- Activity

Figure 5: Old Gold Coast Hospital precinct and barrier, (Matilda Kaveney 2014).
The above photograph depicts the connection between the old Gold Coast Hospital
and Griffith University Building above Little High Street, as taken on Friday 25/4/14 at
approximately 2:30pm.
Also shown in the picture is the mental health building (the middle building) and the
psychiatry ward (yellow building on stilts). This photograph depicts an extended view
of the hospital building and its dominance in comparison to surrounding buildings
within the same precinct. As discussed by Schratz & Steiner-Loffier (1998),
photographs are about trying to find where the physical relationships exist in
comparison to the relationships demonstrated through feelings.
The size of the building shows its importance in the community and suggests it acted
as a landmark among its surrounding precinct. The two buildings adjacent to it are
smaller and suggest that they are of secondary importance to the main structure in
terms of assistance provided by each facility. The green space in front of the two
secondary buildings could have had an alternative use for patients as a calming and
peaceful retreat, however this green space presently looks very overgrown and
neglected. Schratz & Steiner-Loffier (1998) discuss how the use of camera angle
and perspective can be used to portray a variety of focal points that can skew
peoples perception of the surroundings.

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Group Photography Assignment- Activity

Figure 6: Cancer and blood disorder outpatients building on old Gold Coast
Hospital site, (Matilda Kaveney 2014).
The above photograph depicts the cancer and blood disorder building and what used
to be a car park, as taken on Friday 25/4/14 at approximately 2:30pm.
A dominant aspect perceived in this photograph depicts the extremely poor and
degraded condition of what was the existing parking area allocated for cancer and
blood disorder patients. Scattered parking barricades, and a general lack of upkeep
demonstrate the abandonment the site has received due to its decommissioning.
The colour of the blood disorder building in contrast with the hospital is quite
significant. The hospital has dull grey walls and dark windows, giving off a sad and
ominous feeling that differs from the orange blood disorder building and the cream
coloured building next to which both appear to be more inviting. Seen by the style of
air conditioning suggests that the buildings age is quite significant as outdoor air
conditioning for individual rooms is an outdated model. Therefore it can be implied
that photographs enable details, which were previously overlooked, to come to
therefore and become points of interest (Schratz & Steiner-Loffier 1998).

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Group Photography Assignment- Activity

Figure 7: Eastern view of old Gold Coast Hospital site, (Matilda Kaveney 2014).
The above photograph depicts the Hospital from a North-East pedestrian perspective
on Nerang Street, as taken on Friday 25/4/14 at approximately 2:30pm.
The harsh boundary between the site and community is depicted clearly in this
photograph, demonstrating the sites dominance in the Southport local area. The
framing of this photograph enhances the severity which the wall and construction
fence impose on the footpath by allowing it take up the entire right hand side of the
frame which is a technique pointed out by Crisman (2006, p. 40). Although this
technique is being used, the photograph was still taken at the eye level of someone
walking by or waiting at the bus stop. Following the angle of the barrier towards the
left of the photograph encompasses the sheer space sectioned off.
This camera angle makes the old Gold Coast Hospital appear to be breaching the
surrounding barrier reflecting the stance of the building within Southport CBD.
Aesthetically, the current state of the old Gold Coast Hospital site offers nothing to
pedestrians who walk past this section of the site or wait for a bus out the front which
fails to benefit the community (Fink, 2012, p. 45). From this photograph, it is hard to
imagine a new development that will incorporate good pedestrian or even transport
orientated development on this site. However, there is definitely opportunity for such
things to occur as once the clear boundary of the site is overlooked one takes notice
of the bus stop and furthermore the G:link light rail on Nerang street (Yigitcanlar,
Fabian & Coiacetto, 2008, pp 44-45). This photograph depicts an almost distressing
view of the old Gold Coast Hospital being cut off from the city it once served.
Furthermore it shows a glimmer of prosperity for the sites future through the
possibility of transport-orientated development and the future sustainability of the
site.
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Group Photography Assignment- Activity

Figure 8: St Hildas School in surrounding area of Gold Coast Hospital site,

(Matilda Kaveney 2014).
The above photograph depicts St. Hildas School, as taken on Friday 25/4/14 at
approximately 2:30pm.
St. Hildas School is located across the road from the old Gold Coast Hospital site.
The photograph has been taken at a time of day when little sun is on the building,
reducing the lighting and vibrance of the landscape but still captures the essense of
the area (Schrahtz & Steinner-Loffer, 1998, p. 249). Only one tree is visible within
the boundary of the school; there is no further green space or vegetation. The
bitumen carpark within the school gates represents the lack of vegetation. These
factors have created a scene of a school building which looks very dull and grey in
the photograph. With the opportunity the old GC Hospital site offers, just across the
road, this school (according to this photograph) could utilize green space and areas
that offered it students access to natural vegetaion and landscapes. The site could
be used as a park which would bring a number of benefits to the Southport
community, including the students of this school, such as: increased happiness,
more socialbility, and decreased stress (Konijnendijk, 2005, p. 113). This photograph
offers an evalution of the world (Schrahtz & Steinner-Loffer, 1998, p. 249)
surrounding the old hospital site which could use softening and brightening up with
green space.

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Group Photography Assignment- Activity

1b. Put the photographs onto a map of Southport and clearly number the map
showing the corresponding photograph. Use this map to develop a walking
tour which a person could follow to get a better feel for the character of the
area around the old Gold Coast hospital site. There are examples of walking
tours in the resources folder.

1c. Now as a group, reflect on the photographic experience. Describe what it

was like. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this type of research? Did
you experience any problems? If so, describe them here. Go back to your
course readings for ideas.
Photographing the old Gold Coast Hospital site was challenging with respects to
gaining adequate uninterrupted site access, causing a few problems with the
photographic process. These problems largely included the sites obtrusive
surrounding barrier that acted as a significant obstacle when attempting to accurately
portray the site. It also proved difficult to capture photographs given the locality of the
site adjacent to a light rail station and the busy road. It was noted during the process
that providing foreground context to the site was difficult when attempting to avoid
car registration and pedestrians as a matter of ethics (Van De Ven 2008, p. 389).
Ethical behaviour when capturing photography in public spaces can highlight the
many strengths and weaknesses in this type of research.
The strengths in this given situation were the ability to provide a visual
representation alongside a critical analysis of the photograph and its showcased
surroundings. It also provides a comprehensive summary of the main structure and
its surrounding attributes seen in the cancer, blood, psychiatric and mental
buildings. However, it is evident that there are many overbearing weaknesses to this
type of research including selective representation, perspective, photographer bias,
and ethical behaviour.
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Selective representation can be seen within each of the eight figures throughout this
critical analysis, where each figure showcases and provides perspective on a certain
aspect of the old Gold Coast Hospital site. Perspective shown dominantly in figure 2
acts to show the main buildings dominant character among the surrounding smaller
structures (Orellana 2008). Weaknesses also largely include to inability to capture
multiple focus points of the site in the one image, creating the need for multiple
images to complete a complete critical analysis. Capturing multiple focal points also
proves challenging when considering the issue of ethics in a public space. As
previously mentioned, a weakness commonly experienced was excluding vehicle
registration and pedestrians from the images, as discussed in figure 3 and 7.

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References
Bridge, G., & Watson, S. 2000, City imaginaries, Companion to the City, Blackwell
Publishers, Oxford, pp. 7-17.
Crisman, P. 2006, Outside the frame: a critical analysis of urban image surveys,
Places, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 38-43.
Fink, J. 2012, Walking the neighbourhood, seeing the small details of community
life: reflections from a photography walking tour, Critical Social Policy, vol. 32,
no.1, pp. 31-50.
Konijnendijk, C. 2005, 'Benefits and uses of urban forests and trees', in Urban
forests and trees a reference book, ed. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg,
pp. 81-114.
Mee, K., & Dowling, R. 2003, Reading idiot box: film reviews intertwining the social
and cultural, Social & cultural geography, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 185-99.
Orellana, M. F. 2008, Space and place in an urban landscape: learning from
childrens views of their social worlds, Visual Sociology, vol. 14, pp. 73-89.
Schratz, M., & Steiner-Loffler, U. 1998, Pupils using photographs in school selfevaluation, in Image-Based Research: a Sourcebook for Qualitative
Researchers, ed. J. Prosser, Falmer Press, London, pp. 235-51.
Van De Ven, A. 2008, Photographing people is wrong, City, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 38390.
Yigitcanlar, T., Fabian, L., & Coiacetto, E. 2008, Challenges to urban transport
sustainability and smart transport in a tourist city: the Gold Coast, Australia,
The Open Transportation Journal, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 29-46.

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