Adelaide Festival Centre

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The Adelaide Festival Centre

The Adelaide Festival Centre is Adelaide's first multi-purpose art center. The Festival Centre is located approximately 50 metres north of the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, lying near the banks of the River Torrens and adjacent to Elder Park. It is distinguished by its three silvery-white tetrahedron dome roofs and its plaza consisting of lego block-like structures to the south and lies on a 45 degree angle to the city's grid. It is the home of South Australia's performing arts.

Sir Robert Helpmann, a well known dancer and actor, discussed the matter of developing an arts centre with the Premier Don Dunstan in 1967/1968 because of the expansion of the Adelaide Festival of Arts and Adelaide's inability to house it in a decent venue. Succeeding Premier Steele Hall made the decision for a waterfront location adjacent to the River Torrens over initial opposition. However, when the Dunstan Government was returned to office it warmed to the location and the Festival Theatre was completed during Dunstan's tenure as Premier.

The building of the Centre commenced in April 1970 and the Festival Theatre was completed in 1973, remarkably to the cost of $50,000. The Adelaide Festival Centre was built in three parts and was completed in 1980 and was the first multi-purpose performing arts centre in Australia.

The Southern Plaza was completed in March 1977, comprising what was then a controversial environmental sculpture by West German artist Otto Hajek. No longer intact, the sculpture was conceived as a concrete garden and iconic City Sign. The lego-like forms and colourful paint work across the Plaza were designed to conceal an air-conditioning vent at the same time as providing a playful place to congregate.

The Festival Centre Plaza also serves as host to an outdoor collection of sculpture, including the prominent stainless steel Environmental Sculpture (also known as Tetrahedra), by Bert Flugelman.

Since the completion of the Festival Theatre, the Festival Centre been the home to the South Australian performing arts and remains so.

There are multiple theatres within the centre, holding a total of 5000 people. The Festival Theatre holds up to 2000 people and is considered as one of the best acoustic theatres within the Southern Hemisphere. Other theatres include the dual level Dunstan Playhouse that can seat 620 people and the Space Theatre that can hold up to 400 people. There is also an outdoor amphitheatre that can hold 600 people.

In 2003, the area around the Adelaide Festival Centre was subject to a redevelopment. Redevelopment has included the inclusion of cafes, restaurants and a retail area. The centre also provides dining facilities for various functions and occasions and has art collections.