Queensland Cultural Centre

South Brisbane railway station, 1902, now a neighbour of the Queensland Cultural Centre

Prior to European settlement, the entire South Brisbane Peninsula was known as Kurilpa, an important gathering place for the Yuggera/Jagera people. The tip of the South Brisbane Peninsula was a traditional river crossing. After the establishment of the Moreton Bay Penal settlement in 1825, convicts cleared the river flats to grow crops for the settlement and in the 1830s timber was exported from the south bank to Sydney.[1]

From the 1840s, South Brisbane emerged as one of the most important locations for port activity in Queensland, initially aided by direct access to the Darling Downs and Ipswich. As maritime trade expanded, shipyards and warehouses were gradually built along the river. Over time, a range of commercial, light industrial, and manufacturing activities also developed, as well as civic and residential uses.

The area prospered in the 1880s and South Brisbane became a municipality (the Borough of South Brisbane) in 1888. As part of the development boom, a dry dock was opened in 1881, coal wharves and associated rail links were built, and South Brisbane railway station was established as the terminus for suburban and rural trains.[1]

By the end of the 19th century, the area had developed into a substantial urban settlement, with Stanley Street as a major retail center and thoroughfare.

In 1911, the Cremorne Theatre (Then called the Cremorne Gardens) opened where the Queensland Art Gallery now stands, on Stanley Street, South Brisbane.[3] It was used mostly for vaudeville, variety shows and for occasional drama productions. By mid-1952, the building was remodeled to be used as office and storage space for film rental companies. In 1954, it burnt down and was never rebuilt. The current Cremorne Theatre in the Queensland Cultural Centre was named in its honor.

By the late 1960s, much of South Brisbane, especially along the river, was in economic decline due to the reorientation of economic activity and transport networks. Shipyards, stores, and rail sidings were closed and subsequently demolished as shipping increasingly moved downriver. The decline of such a centrally located area in the capital provided an opportunity for extensive urban renewal.[1]

Cast in costume on stage at the Cremorne Theatre, circa 1927

Old Museum Building, Gregory Terrace, 1926

Old State Library of Queensland being extended in 1959

Pressure to address the lack of adequate cultural facilities in Queensland increased in the 1960s as public awareness of the importance of the arts to the cultural health of the community grew. At that time, Queensland's major cultural institutions were located in buildings and sites in Brisbane that did not meet their current or future needs. The first purpose-built museum opened on William Street in 1879, but proved inadequate from the start. It was converted to the Public Library of Queensland (the State Library from 1971) in 1900-02, after the 1889 Exhibition Building at Bowen Hills was converted for use as a Museum in 1900. From 1895, the Queensland Art Gallery was housed in the Brisbane Town Hall, moving in 1905 to a purpose designed room on the third floor in the new Executive Building overlooking George Street. When the new City Hall was completed in 1930, the Concert Hall at the Museum building was remodeled to house the art gallery.[1]

Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane, circ 1898

Until the opening of the Queensland Cultural Centre, there were no government-run performing arts facilities in Queensland. Most music and theater performances were initially held in local venues such as art schools, churches, or town halls, which had varying degrees of suitability. Purpose-built facilities were limited and were constructed only in larger centers. By the 1880s, Brisbane had four theaters, of which the 2700-seat Opera House (later Her Majesty's Theatre ), built in 1888, was the most magnificent and prestigious. The Exhibition Building was one of the first buildings designed specifically for musical performances and contained a concert hall with a four-manual pipe organ. It became the center for major musical events until the opening of the Brisbane City Hall in 1930.[1]

Throughout Australia in the postwar period, major arts development projects were undertaken by governments at all levels, including stand-alone and integrated projects for institutions such as libraries, theaters, and art galleries. The sites for such projects were often in centrally located areas where previous uses and activities were in decline or had become redundant. This type of urban renewal provided a blank slate for development, where the existing layout could be reconfigured and the built environment reshaped. Construction of the Sydney Opera House began in 1959; preliminary investigations for the Adelaide Festival Centre began in 1964; the National Gallery of Australia was established in 1967; the first phase of the Victorian Arts Centre, the National Gallery of Victoria, was completed in 1969; and the Civic Centre in Perth was also developed in the 1960s.[1]

In Queensland in the 1930s, there was an earlier phase of civic buildings (primarily town halls and council chambers) that often included spaces for arts and cultural activities. In the early 1950s, architect and urban planner Karl Langer designed town centers for larger regional centers such as Mackay, Toowoomba and Kingaroy.[1]

Extension of the Old State Library

Aerial view (perspective) of Wickham Park showing proposed Dental Hospital, Art Gallery and Public Library, in Turbot Street, 1938

Several attempts were made to build stately cultural institutions in the Queensland capital, but all failed. The construction of an art gallery and museum near the entrance to Government Domain on land granted in 1863 never materialized. In the 1890s, a major architectural competition was held for a museum and art gallery on land in Albert Park to meet the need for adequate space. In 1934, on a nearby site along Wickham Park and Turbot Street, an ambitious urban design proposal to incorporate a public art gallery, library and dental hospital resulted only in the construction of the Brisbane Dental Hospital. Post-World War II plans to incorporate the art gallery into the extensions to the original Supreme Court Building did not come to fruition. The Queensland Art Gallery Act of 1959 paved the way for a new board of trustees to establish the gallery with public funds subsidized by the government. The proposal at that time, for a gallery and performance hall at Gardens Point, to mark Queensland's centenary, was not realised; however, an extension to the State Library proceeded and included an exhibition hall and reading rooms.[1]

A proposal for a State Gallery and Centre for Allied Arts, on the former municipal markets site adjacent to the Roma Street railway station, formed part of a government backed plan for the redevelopment of the Roma Street area. Prepared by Bligh Jessup Bretnall & Partners in 1967, the project included a series of city blocks inspired by the redevelopment of vacant downtowns in Europe and new cities in America, and included a significant commercial component. The plan was abandoned in 1968 due to conflicting local and state interests and the lack of acceptable supply.[1]

The following year, the Treasury Department initiated a formal investigation into a suitable site for an art gallery, led by Treasurer, Deputy Premier and Liberal Party Leader, Gordon Chalk. An expert committee, including Coordinator-General Charles Barton as chair, Under-Secretary of Works David Mercer and Assistant Under-Secretary Roman Pavlyshyn, considered 12 sites, including those from previous proposals. Three sites were shortlisted:[1]

• The Holy Name Cathedral site in Fortitude Valley
• Upstream of the Victoria Bridge at South Brisbane
• The BCC Transport Depot in Coronation Drive

The South Brisbane site was preferred as it was considered the most advantageous to the city and the most architecturally appropriate. The recommendation was accepted and work began on a design.[1]

In 1972, the Queensland Government decided to build a new Queensland Art Gallery as part of the project.[4] Later, during 1974, the government decided to build a comprehensive Queensland Cultural Centre that would include the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Museum, and the Queensland Art Gallery, so that all of these facilities would be in close proximity to each other and would also be easily accessible to Brisbane central business district.

1974 flood of the Brisbane River in the South Brisbane area

In April 1973, Robin Gibson and Partners Architects won a two-stage competition to design the new Queensland Art Gallery in South Brisbane with a sophisticated design that was considered superior in its simplicity and presentation. While this design was never realized, the art gallery built as part of the cultural center was very similar in many ways, including the material palette and modernist design details inspired by the Oakland Museum in California in 1969. The original design occupied the block bounded by Melbourne, Grey, Stanley and Peel Streets. Over Stanley Street, a pedestrian walkway connected the gallery to the top of an amphitheatre leading to sculpture gardens along the river.[1]

Sir Leo Hielscher

The development of cultural institutions was reconsidered during 1974 and evolved into a much more ambitious project. In early November, Deputy Premier Sir Gordon Chalk (who had a genuine interest and commitment to the development of the arts in Queensland) announced a proposal for a $45 million cultural complex as an election campaign measure. While the development of the Art Gallery had been progressing, Chalk, with the assistance of Under Treasurer Leo Hielscher, had covertly commissioned Robin Gibson to produce a master plan for an integrated complex of buildings which would form the Queensland Cultural Centre (QCC). The plan included an Art Gallery, Museum, Performing Arts Centre, State Library and an auditorium and restaurant. The devastating floods of January 1974, which had further hastened the decline of South Brisbane, provided a timely opportunity to utilize more space adjacent to the river, through resumptions of flood-prone land.[1]

Clem Jones, Mayor of Brisbane

When the proposal was submitted to Cabinet by Chalk in late November, it was initially opposed by Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. However, the support of Brisbane's Lord Mayor, Clem Jones, (who gifted council-owned allotments on what became the QPAC site); influential public servants Hielscher, Pavlyshyn; Mercer, and Sir David Muir, Director of the Department of Commercial and Industrial Development, helped the project gain momentum. After winning the December 7 election, the proposal was formally adopted by the Bjelke-Petersen government. Muir was appointed chairman of the planning committee and became the first chairman of the QCC Trust.[1]

Gibson's November 1974 master plan for the Cultural Centre differed significantly from his winning competition design for the Gallery and gave Gibson an opportunity to further demonstrate his planning principles for downtown development. Stanley Street was to be rerouted under the Victoria Bridge to Peel Street, with the art gallery and museum occupying a large block. The design called for building forms with oblique angles to the street grid to accommodate major access points. The performing arts building, consisting of a single multi-purpose hall, and the art gallery, extending from the museum to the riverfront, were oriented diagonally around the Melbourne Street axis to provide access from the Victoria Bridge. Pedestrian bridges provided access to the site via Melbourne Street and to South Brisbane Station via Gray Street.[1]

While maintaining the approved general arrangement of the individual buildings, the following changes were made to the plan of the complex: the orthogonal realignment of the individual buildings, the doubling of the multi-purpose hall to provide separate spaces for musical and theatrical performances, the extension of an existing Stanley Street detour upstream to Peel Street and under the Victoria Bridge, which was bridged by a wide plaza as the forecourt of the Gallery.[1]

Robin Gibson (1930-2014) attended Yeronga State School and Brisbane State High School before studying architecture at the University of Queensland (UQ). After graduating in 1954, Gibson travelled through Europe and worked in London in the offices of architects, Sir Hugh Casson, Neville Conder, and James Cubitt and Partners. Returning to Brisbane in 1957, he set up an architectural practice commencing with residential projects, soon expanding into larger commercial, public and institutional work. Notable Queensland architects employed by his practice included Geoffrey Pie, Don Winsen, Peter Roy, Allan Kirkwood, Bruce Carlyle and Gabriel Poole.[1]

Robin Gibson & Partners' contribution to Queensland's built environment is significant. Other major architectural projects include: Mayne Hall, University of Queensland (UQ) (1972), Central Library, UQ (1973) Library and Humanities building at Nathan Campus, Griffith University (1975), Post Office Square (1982), Queen Street Mall (1982), Wintergarden building (1984), Colonial Mutual Life (1984) and 111 George Street (1993). Over time, Gibson and his body of work has been highly acclaimed and recognised through numerous awards including: 1968 Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Building of the Year award, Kenmore Church; 1982 RAIA Sir Zelman Cowen Award (for public buildings) for Queensland Art Gallery; 1982 RAIA Canberra Medallion - Belconnen Library, ACT; 1982 Queenslander of the Year; 1983 Order of Australia; 1986 Honorary Doctorate - Griffith University; 1988 Advance Australia Award; 1989 RAIA Gold Medal for outstanding performance and contributions; 2000, and the 2007 25 year RAIA award for Enduring Architecture.[1]

The design development, documentation, and multifaceted construction program for the entire complex were led by Roman Pavlyshyn, Director of Construction at the Ministry of Public Works. Pavlyshyn had previously overseen the site selection and managed the competition for the Queensland Art Gallery. The cultural center was to continue the Department of Public Works' tradition of constructing buildings of high quality design, materials and construction throughout the state.[1]

The funding of the QCC came entirely from the government-owned Golden Casket. The revenue derived from the Golden Casket was effectively "freed up" from health funding after Medicare was introduced by the Whitlam government. Annual revenues of $4 million at the time were to fund construction of the QCC over 10 years. By the early 1980s, the effects of inflation had driven costs up to $175 million. Under Hielscher's leadership, the Queensland Treasury sought other ways to raise revenue. In response, Instant Scratch-Its and midweek lotteries were introduced in Queensland. This successful increase in gaming revenue allowed the QCC to be built at no additional cost to the state budget and without going into debt.[1]

The construction of the cultural center was a complex undertaking and involved a multi-faceted program that spanned 11 years and involved thousands of workers, from the design office to the on-site laborers. Pavlyshyn managed Phases One, Two and Three through completion and the start of Phase Four before retiring in July 1985. With so many contractors and suppliers involved, quality control was a critical factor in a successful outcome. For example, the consistent quality of the concrete finish was achieved by securing a guaranteed supply of the principal materials, South Australian white cement, Stradbroke Island sand and Pine River aggregates, for the duration of the project and the strict control of color and mix for each contract.[1]

The program began with the construction of the Art Gallery, the most developed building design. The first phase also included underground parking for the gallery and museum, and the central services building at the corner of Gray and Peel streets. Contractor Graham Evans & Co. began construction in March 1977 and the Art Gallery was officially opened by Prime Minister Joh Bjelke-Petersen on June 21, 1982.[1]

A development plan for the largest component of the complex, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), built as Stage Two, was released in 1976. The project architect for the center was Allan Kirkwood of Robin Gibson and Partners. Theater consultants Tom Brown and Peter Knowland, the Performing Arts Trust, and user committees were involved in the development and design of the center. Completed in November 1984 by contractors Barclay Bros Pty Ltd, a concert for workers and the first public performance were held in December ahead of the official opening by the Duke and Duchess of Kent on 20 April 1985.[1]

The center included three venues, each specifically designed for certain types of performances. The Lyric Theatre and Concert Hall shared a common entrance on Melbourne Street with common and replicated foyers, bars, circulation spaces, and ancillary facilities. The Studio theatre, now the Cremorne, had a separate entrance and foyer on Stanley Street with its own discrete ancillary spaces.[1]

The Lyric Theatre, (2200 seats) was designed for large dramatic productions such as operas, operettas, musicals, ballets and dance performances. It had an orchestra pit, a stalls, two balconies and side aisles. The 1800-seat concert hall was intended for orchestral concerts, choral performances, chamber music, recitals, popular entertainment and ceremonies. A Klais Grand organ with 6500 pipes was installed in the stage area. Its "shoebox" shape, designed to enhance natural acoustics, included an orchestra pit, stalls, a single balcony, side galleries, and side aisles. The studio theater seated up to 300 for dramatic performances and could be configured in 6 different ways, from conventional setups to theater in the round. It had a stalls and balcony level with an internal connection to the other two theaters.[1]

The Queensland Museum (Stage Three), which opened in 1986, was connected to the Art Gallery by a covered walkway and to the Performing Arts Complex by a pedestrian bridge over Melbourne Street. The entrance on the Melbourne Street side was accessible from the street and the pedestrian bridge over Melbourne Street. The six-story museum building, constructed over the Stage One parking lot, had four floors open to the public, while the top two floors were for offices, laboratories, the library, and artifact storage. The second floor was intended for a variety of uses, including lecture halls, back of house, preparation areas, and workshops. On levels 2 through 4, collections were displayed in galleries located on either side of a central circulation core with corridors, stairs, elevators, and escalators. The outdoor area contained a geological garden on Grey Street side (in 2014 the Energex Playasaurus Place). Stage Four included the State Library and adjacent Fountain restaurant and auditorium building (now The Edge) completed in 1988.[1]

As part of the construction of the QCC, several pieces of public art were commissioned from Australian artists. Five outdoor sculptures were purchased and installed in 1985, the largest commission of public sculpture at one time in Australia. Four were directly commissioned: Anthony Pryor's Approaching Equilibrium (Steel, painted. River plaza-upper deck); Leonard and Kathleen Shillam's Pelicans (Bronze. QAG Water Mall); Ante Dabro's Sisters (Bronze. Melbourne Street plaza) and Rob Robertson-Swann's Leviathan Play (Steel, painted. Melbourne Street plaza). Clement Meadmore's Offshoot (Aluminium, painted. Gallery plaza) was an existing work.[1]

Other public artworks commissioned at the time of construction are located at QPAC: Lawrence Daws' large interior mural, Pacific Nexus and Robert Woodward's Cascade Court Fountain.[1]

With the exception of the Fountain restaurant (now The Edge), each of the buildings in the QCC has retained its original use. Subsequent alterations to accommodate changing needs have altered the buildings within the complex to varying degrees. The most significant of these changes were the Playhouse addition to the QPAC and the multi-million dollar Millennium Arts Project, which included a renovation of the entire complex.[1]

The QPAC was well utilized from the beginning, and the need for a mid-sized theater was soon recognized. Plans for Stage Five, a 750-850 seat Playhouse theater designed by Gibson, were developed with input from the same committees and consultants as Stage Two. Completed in 1998 and added to the east end of the QPAC, the Playhouse had a stalls, balcony, center platform, and balcony boxes for patron seating. It had a separate entrance off Russell Street and was separated from the rest of the complex by the loading dock. The Playhouse was renovated between 2011-12.[1]

The key features of the Millennium Arts Project (2002-2009) were: the addition of a new Gallery of Modern Art and public plaza; the major redevelopment of the State Library of Queensland, including the addition of a fifth floor; a new entrance to the Queensland Art Gallery, and refurbishment of the Queensland Museum and QPAC.[1]

At the northwest end of the complex is the Gallery of Modern Art, completed in 2006, which houses Queensland's growing art collection and is connected to the rest of the complex via a public plaza.[1]

The library's extensive renovation in 2006 included the addition of a fifth floor and significant changes to both the interior and exterior. A new entrance and circulation system were created. The stepped terraces were removed and replaced with a large addition facing the river. The new entrances to QAG and QM were designed by Gibson and completed in 2009.[1]

The new entrance to the art gallery provided alternative access from Peel Street and included partial roofing of the courtyard, a new staircase, and an elevator. At the museum, in addition to the new entrance at the east end of the museum, a café was added at the west end, internal circulation was reconfigured, and a new entrance on Gray Street was created to provide access to the Sciencentre, which was moved from George Street to the first floor of the museum in 2009.[1]

In 2009, QPAC was renovated to meet safety standards and improve access. A drop-off area was installed along Gray Street to replace the drop-off tunnel that closed in 2001. Changes to the circulation area included the installation of elevators and the replacement and realignment of stairs. The lobby bookstore was replaced with a bar, and other bars and lobbies were renovated, removing salmon-colored trim in higher-traffic areas. Brown carpeting was installed and the red marble trim in the bars was replaced with black in the Lyric Theatre foyer and white in the Concert Hall foyer. Many seats were also replaced in the Lyric and Concert Hall. The Cremorne Theatre remains largely unchanged.[1]

On 4 October 2009, Premier Anna Bligh officially opened the Kurilpa Bridge, a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, across the Brisbane River, connecting the northern part of the Brisbane CBD with the south bank of the river next to GOMA and close to SLQ, QAG and the Museum.[5]

The Edge, operated and managed by SLQ, reopened in 2010 as a new facility with workshops, creative activity spaces, events and exhibitions. The sunken restaurant floor was filled in and new elevators were installed. Extensive changes were made to the interior design and finishes. The auditorium floor was replaced and new openings were created on the rear and side facades. The exterior structure was altered on the first floor with changes to the entrance and loading dock, which was made obsolete by changes to the entrance to the SLQ parking lot. The largest change to the exterior façade was cosmetic and included the enclosure of the open porch with prefabricated steel windows to create work and meeting spaces adjacent to the river.

In 2014, the Australian Institute of Architects applied to give the Queensland Cultural Centre heritage status to protect it from proposals by the Newman government to add high-rise buildings to the site. The application attracted 1254 public submissions (a record for the heritage register).[6][7] On June 12, 2015, the Queensland Cultural Centre was awarded heritage status. However, the Queensland Heritage Register listing only includes the 1980s buildings; the converted State Library of Queensland building and the newer Gallery of Modern Art are specifically excluded from heritage listing.[1]

Queensland Performing Arts Centre viewed from Victoria Bridge

The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), which is also located at South Bank, and is also part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, was opened in 1985. QPAC contains some of Brisbane's main theatres (Lyric Theatre, Concert Hall, Cremorne Theatre, and the Playhouse), and the Tony Gould Gallery which is operated by the Queensland Museum and displays historical material related to theatre in Queensland. In 2008, the Queensland Government closed QPAC and allocated A$34.7 million for the complete refurbishment of the building under the direction of Cox Rayner Architects.[8] The centre re-opened in 2009.[9]

The stage and the stalls seen from the main balcony, Lyric Theatre

The largest single component of the complex is QPAC, located on the south side of Melbourne Street. QPAC includes four venues: the Concert Hall, Lyric Theatre, Cremorne Theatre and Playhouse.[1]

Two courtyards provide a setback from Melbourne Street, one accommodates the large, semi-circular Cascade Court Fountain, the other is landscaped and grassed.[1]

The main entrance is on Melbourne Street and provides access to the Lyric Theatre and Concert Hall; a second entrance on Russell Street leads to the Playhouse; and an entrance in the front courtyard of the Cultural Centre Forecourt provides access to the Cremorne Theatre. The building is designed so that the four venues share a common, central backstage area that is accessed from Gray Street. The "black box" volumes of the venues are enclosed by main foyers facing Melbourne Street and secondary foyers on the sides facing the river and Gray Street.[1]

The multi-story foyers consist of a series of wide stairs leading through a variety of spaces. The large expanses of glass are shaded by vertical concrete ribs supporting horizontal stainless steel grids. These elements cast a bold, graphic pattern of light and shadow into the foyer, enhancing the visual drama during the day. At night, the brightly lit foyers are impressively highlighted by the tall concrete frames and are visible from the surrounding area. A large wall in the grand staircase between the two largest venues prominently displays the Lawrence Daws mural Pacific Nexus. The bars are clad in colorful marble, and the foyers offer attractive views of the river and city, as well as other parts of the QCC.[1]

Entrance to the Cremorne Theatre, 2016

The Concert Hall, an auditorium with a capacity of 1,6000 to 1,800 seats, is a long "shoe-box" space accommodating a stage, orchestra pit, upholstered stalls seating, a single rear balcony and long side galleries. The auditorium is designed for a long reverberation time, ideal for a big orchestral sound. The space is able to be varied acoustically to give appropriate acoustic definition to other modes of performance. Interior finishes include Johnstone River hardwood flooring and tiers, sand-blasted white concrete and veneered-plywood walls. A white plasterboard coffered ceiling incorporates theatrical lighting pods. The Concert Hall accommodates the Klais Grand Organ with its 6500 pipes arranged symmetrically as a central focus on the rear stage wall.[1]

The Lyric Theatre, an auditorium with a proscenium stage and a seating capacity of 2,000, has an orchestra pit, a stalls and two upper balconies with seating. The space was designed for a medium reverberation time, ideal for opera, but can be acoustically modified for light opera, musicals and dramas through the use of absorber panels in the ceiling. Interior finishes include a color-graded velour curtain, carpeted floors and tiers, stained veneered plywood wall panels, a lower ceiling of aluminum tubing and an upper ceiling of gypsum board, and upholstered theater seats.[1]

Playhouse Theatre, 2015

The Cremorne Theatre, a flexible space with six configurations and a seating capacity of 200-300, is a apartment-floor auditorium with movable folding rows of seats, movable modular stage elements, an upper wraparound balcony with removable balustrade, lighting bridges, overhead props and lighting grids, and control rooms. The interior design reflects the basic functional aspect of the space: wood flooring, white plasterboard walls and ceilings, padded seating, and dark acoustic curtains on the walls.[1]

The Playhouse, a proscenium theater with a seating capacity of 850, has a stalls, a center parquet, a balcony and balcony boxes for audience seating. The foyers face Russell Street and are connected at corners to Stanley Street. There are grand staircases and elevators at both ends and outdoor balconies on both foyer levels.[1]

Ancillary rooms provide front and back of house facilities, restaurants, bars, ticket office, green room, dressing room, rehearsals, administration and storage. The entire building features original furniture and furnishings designed by Robin Gibson and Partners.[1]

Queensland Art Gallery, as seen from the riverside plaza, 2014

The Queensland Art Gallery (formerly Queensland National Art Gallery), was established in 1895. The gallery had many locations and moved to its present location at the Queensland Cultural Centre in South Bank in 1982.[10] The gallery offers 4,700 square feet of exhibition space and includes a water mall, fountains, water sculptures, an outdoor area and gardens.[10]

The Queensland Art Gallery, a three-story building with extensive landscaped plazas and gardens, stands on the north side of Melbourne Street and northeast of the Whale Mall pedestrian mall. Over two levels of parking (Levels 1 and 2), the building houses two floors of public exhibition galleries and associated administrative offices (Levels 3 and 4) and one floor of administrative offices, art conservation workshops, and collections storage (Level 5).[1]

The building and its plazas/gardens are integrated: large internal galleries are visibly connected to the external sculpture gardens, and planter boxes are integrated into the structure internally and externally. On the river side of the QAG is a large landscaped plaza with apartment lawns, raised concrete beds, and rectangular concrete slabs that slope down to the river in a steep landscaped embankment. The plazas/gardens include sculptures and fountains by major Australian artists such as Approaching Equilibrium (Anthony Pryoro), Pelicans (Leonard and Kathleen Shillam), Sisters (Ante Dabro), Leviathan Play (Rob Robertson-Swann), and Offshoot (Clement Meadmore).[1]

Water mall, Queensland Art Gallery, 2019

The original main entrance to the gallery is on the waterfront. An entrance on the southeast corner is the main access for pedestrians coming from the city across the Victoria Bridge. The "Robin Gibson Entry," a curved glass structure that opens from SLQ/GOMA Plaza, is now the main entrance. Upon entering the building, visitors are drawn to the central orientation area, the Watermall.[1]

The color and material palette of the gallery is restrained and consists mainly of white-painted concrete coffered ceilings and plasterboard walls, large-scale sand-colored concrete walls and travertine floors. The different floor coverings are important to the function of the galleries: large areas in the general access areas are covered with large travertine slabs; travertine also runs in narrow bands along the walls to prevent the paintings from touching; there is a lot of wood flooring. The building has original furniture designed by Robin Gibson and Partners.[1]

Queensland Museum and Sciencentre main entrance with pedestrian bridge (right)

The Queensland Museum was established in 1862, and has had many homes, including The Old Windmill (1862–1869) – Parliament House (1869–1873) – General Post Office (1873–1879) – followed by being based at a building on William Street, which was later home to John Oxley Library (1879–1899) – the Exhibition Hall, now called the Old Museum Building (1899–1986). The Queensland Museum moved to the Queensland Cultural Centre on the South Bank in 1986 and has an area of 6,500 square meters (70,000 sq ft).[10] In addition to the main museum area, the building also houses the Queensland Sciencentre, a permanent interactive science exhibition suitable for people of all ages. It plays an important role in educating people about new developments in science.

The Queensland Museum stands on the north side of Melbourne Street and southwest of the pedestrian Whale Mall. It is a seven-story building that houses four levels of public exhibition space, administrative and research offices, a library, and collections storage.[1]

Queensland Museum garden, during the 2011 Brisbane floods

The monolithic square building is a closed box that provides a controlled climate for the exhibits. A large, deep opening is cut into the solid concrete wall on Gray Street and houses a dramatic, three-story garden. The other facades are generally massive. A forecourt facing Melbourne Street with a wide concrete stair forms the main entrance to the building. A prominent, glazed, double-height escalator hall projects from the façade and leads up to the large main foyer on Level 2.[1]

The floor plan consists of large open floor plates on either side of a wide central spine of vertical circulation, interstitial spaces and service areas. The exhibition levels are stepped halfway up each other on either side of the spine, allowing visitors to orient themselves and experience the exhibits in sequence. The exhibit spaces vary in size to accommodate a range of exhibit sizes. Offices on Levels 5 and 6 have access to generous garden balconies on the northeast side overlooking the lower QAG and Brisbane River.[1]

Accessed from Grey Street is an open-air loading dock, shared with QAG.[1]

Adjacent to QM is a tall, freestanding outbuilding that houses a service facility that provides common mechanical services for the entire QCC.[1]

Cultural forecourt, as seen from Victoria Bridge, 2015

The Cultural Centre forecourt is a apartment, open, landscaped plaza along the riverfront on the southeast side of the QPAC. The forecourt provides access to the Cremorne Theatre and other functions of the QPAC, as well as to the underground parking garage below; the adjacent street leads to the underground parking garage below the QAG.

A wide, concrete pedestrian plaza extends from the Melbourne Street entrance of the QPAC, bridges Melbourne Street, runs between QM and QAG, and opens into the common plaza of SLQ and GOMA. Between QM and QAG, it forms a large axial spine known as Whale Mall, encompassing a large-volume space lit by barrel-vaulted skylights, housing slot windows to QAG and secondary entrances to QM.[1]

Entrance to The Edge, 2017

The former Fountain Room, which became known as The Edge in 2015, is a three-story rectangular building measuring approximately 30 by 15 meters that sits directly on the river. Pedestrian walkways connect the building to the shared plaza with the SLQ to the northwest and the riverfront QAG plaza to the south, providing access to the middle and upper levels of The Edge; the upper walkway is lit by square openings to the sky. The interior of the building retains traces of the original interior. The middle level houses a large, double-height auditorium; a smaller auditorium on the upper level opens to an exterior gathering space. The gathering space consists of a apartment lawn surrounded by a concrete planting bed with balustrades and rectangular concrete slabs.[1]

State Library of Queensland, 2008

Established in 1896 and originally called the Public Library of Queensland, it was renamed the State Library of Queensland in 1902 was established in 1896. It has been housed in many locations throughout its history, including a long time in a building on William Street (1899-1988). It then moved to its current location near the Queensland Museum and Queensland Art Gallery, as part of the Queensland Cultural Centre. In 2006, the State Library underwent major renovations at its South Bank address and reopened in December of that year. Along with the usual facilities of a library, the building contains an historical archive called the John Oxley Library, several galleries in which exhibitions are held throughout the year, lecture rooms and an Indigenous Knowledge Centre called kuril dhagun. A kuril is a native marsupial and dhagun means "meeting place". Therefore, the literal meaning is "kuril's place". This kuril dhagun is part of a Queensland-wide network of research facilities serving the needs of Indigenous Australians (the Aboriginal Australians and the Torres Strait Islanders).[11]

Queensland Gallery of Modern Art main entrance

The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, which operates in association with the Queensland Art Gallery, was built at Kurilpa Point, upstream from the rest of the centre and near the William Jolly Bridge. It opened in December 2006. In addition to the display areas, it contains the Australian Cinémathèque which has two cinemas and the Children's Art Centre in which children are able to interact with the galleries collection. In 2007 a three manual 15 rank Wurlitzer Style 260 theatre organ, Opus 2040, originally installed in the Brisbane's Regent Theatre was restored by the Queensland Art Gallery with financial assistance from the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation and installed in the Cinémathèque Cinema 2.[12] The instrument is now being used regularly for the presentation of silent movies and for recitals.[13]

Pedestrian bridge over Melbourne Street and the Cultural Centre busway

The buildings of the Queensland Cultural Centre are connected by a pedestrian bridge over the Cultural Centre busway station. This bridge connects the Queensland Performing Arts Centre across Melbourne Street to the building housing both the Queensland Museum and the Queensland Art Gallery, and provides easy access to busses at the Cultural Centre Busway Station.

This Wikipedia article contains material from Queensland Cultural Centre, an entry in the Queensland Heritage Register published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 4.0 AU licence, accessed on 19 February 2018.

• ARCHAEO Cultural Heritage Services, Queensland Cultural Centre Cultural Heritage Assessment, Brisbane, 2001.
• Architecture Australia, The Sir Zelman Cowen Award 1982: Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Citation: Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Canberra Medallion: Belconnen Public Library, Volume 71, Number 6, December 1982.
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