The big news that sleepy little Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley is the site for a new 12-storey luxury hotel has drawn a mixed reaction.
As for the architecture of the $50 million building, a lot of people love it.
Plenty hate it. Some are just plain confused by it.
The project, called Oscar Seppeltsfield, has been called every name under the sun on social media in the past 24 hours.
Here’s a selection of comments, in alphabetical order…
“A bit ugly.”
“An absolute shocker.”
“An appalling monument.”
“Big boot.”
“Bloody awful.”
“Carbuncle on the face of the Barossa.”
“Cite du Vin in Bordeaux.”
“Disneyland.”
“Eyesore.”
“Fancy curvy decanter.”
“Gastropodic looking.”
“Giant slug.”
“Giant pee bottle.”
“Got twisted in a super-windy day.”
“Handsome snail.”
“Huge carafe overflowing.”
“Old woman’s shoe.”
“Old Mother Hubbard who lived in the shoe.”
“Power station condensation tower.”
“Scar on the terroir.”
“Slug coming out of the ground covered in green slime for St Patrick’s Day.”
“Snail.”
“Twisting vine growing from the ground.”
Can’t believe no one’s mentioned the Loch Ness Monster.
And does anyone else see the end of a dried frond in that curving roofline?
Personally, I love it. It’s a big idea in a state crying out for big ideas.
In fairness to Oscar, there have been plenty of positive comments about it as well…
WBM‘s Instagram post showing an artist impression of Oscar Seppeltsfield has 119 likes – very solid.
Here’s what the fans say…
“Build it and they will come.”
“A beacon of hope.”
“Fantastic and positive news for SA.
“Love it.”
“It’s easy to criticise creativity but this design is bold and spectacular.”
“A fine looking building that will be enjoyed for decades.”
“Makes a stack of shipping containers look a bit ordinary.”
Seppeltsfield owner Warren Randall expected a mixed reaction.
He says The Centennial Cellar inspired the design.
“It is a twisted barrel… probably polarises people,” he told Channel 7.
“Some people look it and go ooh, I don’t like it.
“Others look at it and go ‘that is just magnificent’.
“And that’s exactly what we wanted.”
The timing of the announcement – with coronavirus causing havoc in Australia and around the world – caught a lot of people by surprise.
“We hope that this is a glimmer of hope in this crazy time we are all going through, that a six-star hotel, the pride of South Australia, is being planned,” Warren says.
“This will be so important for our region, so important for our state and I think so important for this country.”
We will have a full report on Oscar Seppeltsfield in our Friday ebulletin The Week That Was. Subscribe here.
Recent Comments