Letting the fumes out at Southbank!

One of the most distinctive structures in Southbank sits in the small park along Grant St, next to the yellow Vault sculpture, itself a work of renown for the district. But it is not a dwelling – it’s a ventilation stack to release the fumes from the freeway that runs beneath.

The freeway opened in the 1980s and required massive changes to the streets of Southbank – some were re-routed, some disappeared completely, new streets were created, new buildings emerged (such as the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) on Sturt St, which has an exterior of rusty steel and is juxtaposed with a shiny metal and glass foyer), an Arts Precinct was created, and many other buildings were updated and re-modelled, including projects for Melbourne University. In addition, changes were made to tram and bike lane infrastructure and street surfacing and lighting.

But right in the middle is the Grant Street Reserve, a neighbourhood park designed for local recreation with a naturalised playground.

Within the park is the industrial style ventilation stack, constructed in 1983. It was designed to extract exhaust fumes and assist with fire safety and plays a vital role in distributing fumes from the freeway below.

The stack is close to 50 metres high and nearly eight metres in diameter and its distinctive finish in orange/red (of automotive standard) is hard to miss. It’s a design that is simple but effective and adds some industrial chic to the precinct.

The construction of the stack was controversial. When first proposed, many local residents (particularly those in apartments) were convinced that the fumes from the stack would be absorbed into their homes and were worried about the potential health impacts on the community from the stack.

But many studies have been performed with emission levels monitored and reported as being well within EPA requirements. The design of the stack is part of a global effort to manage and improve freeway emissions.

With the recent approval of more high-rise towers in Sturt St, concerns have again been raised that future residents might be impacted by being within close proximity to the stack. But the developer has been required to submit studies to the effect of the exhaust stack on its development as a condition of its planning approval. •