ABC Headquarters
Cross-platform media production centre consisting of radio and TV studios, post-production facilities, online services, orchestra rehearsal hall, music practice studios, open plan office space, communal staff hubs, staff training rooms, boardroom, retail tenancies, loading bay, basement car park, end of trip facilities, and associated plant and equipment rooms.
Location
South Bank, Brisbane, Australia
Client
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Status
Completed in 2012
Gross Floor Area
15,000 m²
Context
The building is located in a prime location within the South Bank cultural precinct, adjacent to Brisbane’s significant cultural institutions. The prominent and public nature of the site is reflected in the buildings internal shared spaces which are open and transparent. The building has become a new landmark destination that realises the potential of the site by reinforcing and contributing to the Queensland Government’s vision for the South Bank precinct and maximising activation and engagement with the public.
The ABC and the QSO are public institutions and the design of the new building responds to this by creating and defining open public spaces around its perimeter and by maximising transparency to and from the building, out to the surrounding streets and Parklands.
Concept
The ABC Brisbane Accommodation building achieves a stimulating and healthy work environment, able to change in line with the future demands of the national broadcaster. The importance of ensuring a degree of flexibility and future proofing for the ABC reflects the unique requirements and needs of the deadline-driven media industry.
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
The purpose-built, 600m² Media Production Studio (MPS) functions uniquely as a rehearsal space for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) and as a TV & Radio production studio for the ABC.
Virtual acoustic modelling resulted in the design of operable acoustic panelling (absorbers, and reflective and diffusing elements), fine-tuned by KIRK and acoustic engineer ARUP in an iterative process. Numerous design modes manipulate operable elements and allow the MPS to cater for a diverse range of orchestral music, as well as radio and television production.
State of the Art Facilities
The headquarter building for the ABC’s operations in Brisbane contains offices, specialist radio and television spaces with associated support spaces, a 600 m² rehearsal studio for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO), and café and retail facilities.
Reflecting their status for the ABC, and for their potential to be highly visible to the public, the ABC’s local 612 Radio Studio is located in a prominent position on the corner of Russell Street and the Parklands arbour. The studios are configured so they are highly transparent and visible from both Russell Street and the Parklands.
Sustainability
The project was awarded a 5 star Green Star by design rating and is targeting a 4.5 star NABERS as-built rating.
| ASI QLD and NT Steel Excellence Awards | 2014 | Steel Excellence in Steel Clad Structures |
| RAIA Regional Commendation | 2013 |
| Landscape Architect | Gamble McKinnon Green |
| Structural & Civil Engineers | Cardno |
| Electrical Engineer | Aurecon |
| Fire Engineer | AECOM |
| Hydraulic & Mechanical Engineers | WSP Group |
| ESD Consultants | Cundall |
| Acoustic Consultants | ARUP |
| Access Consultant | Access All Ways |
| Building Certifier | Certis |
| Contractor | Leighton |
| Photographer | Christopher Frederick Jones & Scott Burrows |
| URO Media | 2015 | 'From the Ground Up: 20 Stories of a Life in Architecture' | Download PDF |
| University of Queensland | 2014, p.1 | 'UQ Architecture Course Brochure' | Download PDF |
| BlueScope Steel (website) | Nov, 2013 | 'ABC Brisbane Accommodation Project' | Download PDF |
| Steel Profile | Nov, 2013, pp. 34-41 | 'Good Vibrations', Fraser, M. | Download PDF |
| Architecture Australia | Vol. 102, No. 3, pp. 78-86 | 'ABC Brisbane', Keniger, M. | Download PDF |
| Courier Mail | May 2012, p.63 | 'Architects raise the roof' | Download PDF |
| Brisbane News | February-March 2012, p12 | 'Aunty's Home' | Download PDF |