Queensland… simultaneously reminiscent of the section of a theatre, able to ‘bookend’ the existing building whilst opening up new opportunities, and standing for the whole state (not just the capital city) – people, politics, culture.
Queensland is a colonial construct – its name, map, governance. Its south and west boundaries are parallels and meridians, able to make full contact with the existing building. The coastline is free to wiggle – our sandy beaches outlined in Gibsonesque white sand concrete.
Sectionally the correlation is serendipitous; Cape York as fly tower, Fraser and Moreton Islands as verandahs, and where our southern boundary at the east end follows a topographic line, wonderful entrances are formed…
The map has been distorted to take in the spatial requirements of the theatre. From some perspectives it is unrecognisable. However, from Grey Street intersection and South Brisbane Station entrance it is explicit. It anticipates both high brow and commercial appeal – architecture that strikes a chord in a seriously/fun way, in the context of evolved Southbank and contemporary theatre of all kinds.
Perhaps its lasting legacy is an agenda of inclusivity: layers of building fabric that reference our various histories. The map of Indigenous Australia is equally present offering colour and language opportunities to the project. In the further development of the scheme, the language groups are intended to form the interior through the extrusion of spaces, as well as their naming and finishing, through a process of research and consultation.
In the end, because it is homegrown and idiosyncratic, it is the best kind of International Style.
