Creative Industries Precinct 2, QUT

The project required a new master plan of the Gona Parade precinct of the QUT Kelvin Grove Campus, to provide for the new 10,000m2 Creative Industries building along with two commercial developments of 35,000m2. The project had the opportunity to increase human activity on the ground plane which encourages a sense of place and arrival in this part of the campus. The context for the site is extremely dynamic; the master plan needs to respond to this shifting landscape of internal needs with those of external opportunities. The key influences are; education; heritage (which will impact on the site utilisation); and interaction with the public realm. The strategic placement of the Creative Industries building is the critical element of the master plan.

Our vision for CIP2 was to create a place that anchors the creative industries into a cohesive village environment offering a rich and diverse sequence of spatial experiences to stimulate learning and social interaction. A key part of the concept was the placement of primary circulation paths, meeting areas, cafe and common areas to the precincts building edges with the lot 2 building incorporating a highly visible student ‘street’ to which studio spaces are addressed. The street is the place that student groups congregate between studio sessions to give a real sense of vitality and movement. It is intended for this 3-storey high space to be interactive with the outdoor environment and include a series of cascading stairs and staggered voids to enable visual links to the upper levels.

KIRK’s extensive experience with acoustic separation and structural isolation detailing is leveraged to stack the double height studio volumes vertically, maximising ground floor public and exhibition areas and provide transparency (through extensive glazing) into the dynamic dance, movement and music studios. This led to a unique building form through the desire for degrees of transparency not normally associated with acoustically driven spaces. The openness of the building, for a range of diverse functions, yielded variable facade edge conditions that allow light and ventilation to penetrate deep into the plan.

CIP2 is a world class innovative creative industries facility, with twelve dedicated and inter-disciplinary studios for Dance, Music, Drama and Visual Arts. The building’s key function as the new home for the creative disciplines was an opportunity to make a landmark facility for both University and community. The co-location of diverse creative disciplines provided an opportunity for the building to have a rich expression.

The site is comprised of 3 lots with two encumbered by heritage structures dating from 1914. Re-purposed Heritage Listed buildings have been carefully restored and adjacent new works have been sensitively designed & sited. The former military training ground now locates and marshals the principal facilities housing the university’s burgeoning creative industries disciplines