Queensland Cultural Centre

The Queensland Cultural Centre is a heritage listed cultural center on Grey Street, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of the South Bank precinct on the Brisbane River and was built from 1976. The centre comprises the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), the Queensland Museum, the State Library of Queensland (SLQ), the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). The original part was designed by Brisbane architects Robin Gibson and Partners and opened in 1985. The centre is surrounded by subtropical gardens and features cafes, restaurants, bookstores, and other public facilities. The southwestern portion of the centre was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on June 12, 2015. The Heritage Register includes the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Queensland Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery, but does not include the newer Queensland Gallery of Modern Art or the renovated State Library of Queensland. 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 honour. 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. 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.

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 realised , the art gallery built as part of the cultural centre 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. 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). 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. The centre re opened in 2009. 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. The gallery offers 4,700 square feet of exhibition space and includes a water mall, fountains, water sculptures, an outdoor area and gardens.

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. The instrument is now being used regularly for the presentation of silent movies and for recitals.

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.

In 2010, Robin Gibson and Partners were granted a "25 Year Award for Enduring Architecture" by the Queensland Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA). directors of the Australasian firm Architectus, was added to the complex in 2006. In 2007, the building received three awards: a Brisbane Commendation and a Public Architecture Award from the Queensland Chapter of AIA, and a National Award for Public Architecture, also from AIA. Then in 2010, the Clares received the AIA's Gold Medal for their work. In the same year, an extension of the SLQ building designed by the Brisbane architects Donovan Hill and Peddle Thorp was opened. For their design, the architects were awarded the prestigious Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture by AIA in 2007.

Queensland Cultural Centre was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 12 June 2015 having satisfied the following criteria. Since its opening, the QCC facilities have played a dominant role in promoting and enabling cultural and artistic activities in Queensland through performances, exhibitions, collections and events. The complex's purpose built facilities have enabled Queensland to host national and international performances, events and exhibitions, and to expand and display collections in ways not previously possible. In addition to the QCC's artistic endeavors, the Queensland Museum's role in scientific disciplines is also an important activity. The QCC (as part of the larger Cultural Precinct) is a major visitor destination in Brisbane; millions of people from Queensland and elsewhere have visited. The successful development of the Cultural Centre was the catalyst for the broader renewal of South Brisbane along the Brisbane River. In 1983 Queensland won the right to hold the 1988 World Expo (Expo 88). The site for Expo 88 was directly adjacent to the Cultural Centre and underwent a major transformation to host the event. Robin Gibson designed the Queensland Pavilion. Expo 88 was a highly successful for Brisbane and Queensland. After Expo, the site was again comprehensively redeveloped, opening in 1992 as the South Bank Parklands, now a major public space in Brisbane. In the immediate South Bank area there are restaurants, bars, parklands, walking paths, and swimming pools, the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's new radio and television headquarters which also house the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. With South Brisbane Railway Station directly opposite QPAC, many major bus routes running past the centre, and water transport available along the Brisbane River, the public has ready access to the precinct. More widely, the Cultural Centre's direct relationship with the Brisbane River influenced the way the city has come to engage with its dominant natural feature along its edges. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The Queensland Cultural Centre is of outstanding importance to the cultural and social development of Queensland in the late 20th century. It was originally built in stages from 1976 to 1988. The consolidation of the state's major cultural institutions into one complex was an important milestone in the development of Queensland's history. In its form, function, and use, the Cultural Centre demonstrates that the government has supported the development of the arts on a scale and at a level unprecedented in Queensland's history. The Cultural Centre is important in illustrating the development of architecture in Queensland. Designed by Robin Gibson OAM (1930 2014), an important Australian architect of his time, it is an exceptional example of late 20th century international style. Century. By integrating building and landscape, the Cultural Centre illustrates the evolution of landscape design in Queensland. The Cultural Centre is an important example in Queensland of a major urban renewal project of the late 20th century. The development and completion of the Cultural Centre dramatically altered the existing built environment of South Brisbane and was a catalyst for the consolidated regeneration of the entire area, particularly through the revitalization of the adjacent Expo '88 site, later redeveloped as South Bank. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. The Queensland Cultural Centre is unique in that it is the first and only place built specifically to house Queensland's major cultural institutions in one complex. Retaining a high degree of integrity and integrity, the Cultural Centre is an architecturally unique complex in Queensland, distinguished by its distinctive and ubiquitous design features, its size and scale, and its relationship to the Brisbane River. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The purpose built Queensland Cultural Centre is an important example of the key features of a cultural complex. Easily accessible from the central business district, the Cultural Centre is located in a prominent location adjacent to and connected with the river. The centre combines an art gallery, a museum, a performing arts complex and related ancillary facilities on a site connected by plazas and boulevards, and stands out for its functionality, planning and execution. The Cultural Centre is an architectural landmark that, by its prominent position in the capital, emphasizes its function as the most important cultural complex in the country. The monumental size and form of the centre underscores the importance of its cultural, educational and social role as a venue for high profile cultural events in Queensland. The Cultural Centre is an exceptional, intact example of Robin Gibson's work and an important example of the key features of his work. Chief among these are: the integration of the building and its surroundings, coherent, simple, low and horizontal forms, clean lines, and a limited palette of materials (high quality concrete, tinted glass, and bronze metalwork). The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. The Queensland Cultural Centre is of outstanding esthetic significance to the state because of its distinctive architectural qualities, monumental size, prominent location, and numerous public art installations. These qualities make it a popular tourist destination and an inspiration for photographers and artists. This is a large, cohesive complex of buildings and spaces unified by its cubic forms, structural details, and high quality finishes, fixtures, and furnishings. The restrained and sustained use of white, sandblasted concrete throughout the complex, both interior and exterior, is a striking and unifying element and is of a scale unique to Queensland. The juxtaposition of intimate spaces and large volumes and the many contemplative and restful indoor and outdoor spaces, especially the waterfront promenade extending through the art gallery, and the harmonization of the limited landscaping with the architectural design, contribute significantly to the esthetic value of the centre. The Cultural Centre is a landmark in the capital city and is set against the backdrop of the Taylor Range, which surrounds outer Brisbane. The open spaces between the river and the cultural facilities, the forecourt, and the plazas contribute to the landmark quality of the complex and provide views to and from the river, the Victoria Bridge, the central business district, and the surrounding streets in South Brisbane. The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period. The Queensland Cultural Centre is an outstanding, distinctive and multi award winning example of architectural excellence in the international style and is a testament to a high level of creative achievement in the late 20th century. Ambitious in scale and sophisticated in design, the site is a successfully realised architectural vision to create a unified landmark complex for Queensland's major cultural institutions. Unique to Queensland was the integration of building and landscape, consisting of vegetation and water elements used both internally and externally to balance and soften the rectilinear geometry of the buildings. The Cultural Centre has maintained a high degree of integrity and intactness. The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. The Queensland Cultural Centre has outstanding social value to the Queensland community as the seat and physical embodiment of its principal cultural institutions. Built for the people of Queensland and visited by millions annually, its continued use as a cultural centre is a key aspect of its significance. The strong connection between the Queensland community and the institutions of the Cultural Centre, both individually and collectively, comes through the experience of the site, its environment, the interconnected buildings, the internal and external spaces and venues, and the events, exhibitions, performances and activities offered in the complex. An important element is the use of the cultural centre as a popular social space and meeting place, as well as the use of the outdoor spaces for public engagement. As the state's premier arts complex and a major venue for events, exhibitions, performances, activities and collections, the Cultural Centre is uniquely connected to the Queensland arts community. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organization of importance in Queensland's history. The Queensland Cultural Centre is particularly associated with the life and work of architect Robin Gibson OAM (1930 2014), who made an outstanding and influential contribution to the development of Queensland's built environment in the late 20th century. Gibson's achievements have been recognised by numerous awards, including: Queenslander of the Year (1982); Sir Zelman Cowen Award (for Public Buildings) for the Queensland Art Gallery (1982); Royal Australian Institute of Architecture (RAIA) Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement and Contribution (1989); and the 25 year Enduring Architecture award (2010). The Centre is considered Gibson's most important project and embodies the crucial modernist architectural principles he developed and applied throughout his architectural career. The Queensland Cultural Centre has a special relationship with the Queensland Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and the State Library of Queensland, institutions that have made and continue to make an important contribution to the cultural development of Queensland.