Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC) new Glasshouse Theatre in South Bank is a sight to behold, defined by its rippling glass façade and its ambition to reframe how a major cultural building engages with the city.

Designed by Blight Rayner Architecture in partnership with Snøhetta, the 1,500 seat venue makes QPAC the largest performing arts centre under one roof in the country and capable of presenting world-class ballet, dance, symphony, opera, theatre and musicals to the same standard.

Blight Rayner and Snøhetta won an international design competition for the project in May 2019. The brief had allowed for the building to cantilever some six metres out on its two street frontages in order to fit the required size on to the site, over the preexisting Playhouse Green.

The architects’ idea was to create a highly transparent edge to the cantilever to minimise its visual impact. Seen through it, the theatre ‘block’ aligns with the existing building design as one part of the strategy to respect the heritage status of QPAC and Queensland Cultural Precinct architect Robin Gibson AO.

The idea of undulating the glass façade emanated from a prose-poem written by Aboriginal Elder and artist Lilla Watson which referred to ripples of the Brisbane River and fish swimming underneath the surface,” says Blight Rayner Director, Michael Rayner.

“We thought to make the transparent façade a setting for a kind of public theatre where people in the foyers would be seen variously clear and blurred from the street. And we wanted to embed the beginnings of First Nations narratives related to the context into the design."

One of these narratives concerns seven skylights in the roof representing the seven watersheds of Queensland, based upon research by First Nations Elder Aunty Colleen Wall. This is complemented by the sculpture Floriate by Torres Strait Islander artist Brian Robinson that features seven emblematic flowering plants that grow in abundance across Queensland.

“We’ve tried through the design to maximise engagement between the public life of the city and the performing arts, and make the arts feel more accessible,” says Blight Rayner Director Jayson Blight.

The wavy glass walls give dramatic character to the foyers. They are highly engineered for thermal performance, fabricated in four layers with an intervening air gap. The facets that receive direct sunlight are embedded with a black ceramic inlay that acts as an integrated louvre to block solar penetration, optimising the building’s energy performance and minimising glare.

The lightness and airiness of the foyers contrast dramatically with the theatre interior, conceived like a cocoon of dark grey ironbark walls and rainforest green carpet.

“The auditorium was conceived as a highly adaptable performance environment capable of hosting a wide spectrum of artforms. The theatre was designed to operate like a finely tuned musical instrument – adjustable to support world-class opera, ballet, dance, symphony, theatre and musical productions,” says Gumji Kang, Managing Director of Snøhetta Australasia.

“Inspired by the qualities of stringed instruments, we have combined technical precision with atmospheric intimacy, enriched by layered timber ribbons that feel quintessentially Queensland.”

The distance from the stage to the furthest seat in the theatre is only 28 metres, only three metres longer than a half-Olympic pool. Together with wrap-around balconies, the atmosphere is incredibly intimate for both patrons and performers.

“Our Blight Rayner / Snøhetta team spent a huge effort perfecting the theatre along with our key consultants Schuler Shook and Acoustic Studios. We equally hope that the Glasshouse Theatre becomes recognised for the contribution it makes to the city, in a civic sense as well as culturally,” says Blight.

The orchestra pit has three floor sections that can be raised or lowered independently to accommodate orchestras of different sizes, and there are four different pit configurations, two more than the convention. The fly system is fully automated, with the fly tower being 24 metres high and fly lines extending out for objects and performers to reach far out over the audience.

Rachel Healy, Chief Executive, QPAC, says the Glasshouse Theatre was a landmark that fortified Queensland’s reputation as a cultural tourism destination.

“The appetite for the performing arts in Queensland is insatiable and the need for a new theatre was flagged more than a decade ago. With the Glasshouse Theatre now open alongside our four other theatres, we expect to welcome an extra 300,000 people to increase our visitation to 1.6million visitors per year,” she says.

“This 1,500-seat theatre also gives us greater capacity to attract world-class talent and Australian exclusives to Queensland – such as global music icon Sting in The Last Ship – and will see the Queensland Cultural Precinct become one of Australia's biggest and busiest cultural precincts as we move towards the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

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