Perth Unbuilt is an exhibition of unrealized designs by some of the city's most prominent architecture studios.

Perth Unbuilt is an exhibition of unrealized designs by some of the city's most prominent architecture studios.

On display at WA Museum Boola Bardip, the exhibition surveys a selection of designs that succumbed to the vagaries of political and economic forces.

Hassell's speculative proposal for the redevelopment of East Perth Power Station is one such scheme. The proposal called for the former power station to be transformed into a gallery for exhibits of Australian Indigenous and contemporary art. The design is characterized by overhangs and cantilevers with "rotating and shifting planks" inspired by the cliffs of the WA coastline.

While an art gallery is not on the cards, the WA government is still looking to redevelop the site. In 2020, the government selected a proposal from broadcaster Kerry Stokes and mining magnate Andrew Forrest to transform the site into a residential, commercial, recreational and tourism precinct with a concept designed by Kerry Hill Architects and, later, Woods Bagot. But in March 2023, it too fell on the scrap heap.

Perth's Swan River foreshore has also been subjected to many failed schemes. One of them, ARM Architecture's early masterplan for Elizabeth Quay, was selected for the exhibition. Its design concept featured a swan-shaped island and was once dubbed "Dubai on the Swan" for the futuristic-looking towers with which it would have surrounded the waterfront.

In 2008, a change of government saw ARM Architecture commissioned (along with Richard Weller and TCL) by the incoming Liberal government to come up with a new scheme for the waterfront. The eventual built result is "a vibrant hard and soft landscape in a wonderful homage to Roberto Burle Marx and Rio's Copacabana," Nigel Westbrook writes in his review of Elizabeth Quay.

Perth's Old Treasury Buildings heritage precinct was the subject of another unsuccessful scheme. The WA government originally appointed Peter Elliott Architecture and Urban Design, Donaldson and Warn, Sandover Pinder, and Palassis Architects to redesign and redevelop the precinct. The resulting plan would have refurbished the Old Treasury Buildings and created a new multi-storey office block, which would have faced Barrack Street. However, this too fell foul of political forces - though the project was later revived with a design led by Kerry Hill Architects as part of the Mirvac Fini consortium.

Perth Unbuilt is on exhibition at WA Museum Boola Bardip until 30 March 2023.