MEDIA RELEASE
12 June 2015
Institute applauds Heritage Listing for QPAC cultural precinct
The Australian Institute of Architects’ Queensland Chapter is incredibly pleased that the Heritage Council has accepted the nomination of the Queensland Art Gallery and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre to be listed on the State register as places of cultural significance.
Photo Credit QPAC
This nomination is the first time the Institute has nominated a building since inception of the legislation in 1992. In nominating the buildings, the Institute demonstrated their importance not just as significant and valuable pieces of architecture, but also the central role the precinct – as a low-rise and green space – plays in the legibility of public space within the city.
The successful listing will put in place important protection controls for the buildings and surrounding public spaces to enable the precinct to serve the community well into the future as it has done since its completion 30 years ago.
We applaud the Heritage Council for recognising that recent contemporary buildings can also be of great cultural significance and are encouraged by the establishment of this important precedent for the community. As time goes on it is these contemporary modern buildings that will be lost from our cities if we are not careful in identifying and protecting them through the Heritage Legislation.
The Queensland Art Gallery by Robin Gibson & Partners Architects is one of the finest buildings in Australia and represents a high point for the profession, the building industry and the public leadership who were collectively responsible for the complex. The quality of construction is rarely delivered these days and the exceptional concrete work some of the best in the world. It was the recipient of the Institute’s Sir Zelman Cowen Award in 1982, the nation’s highest public architecture honour.
While the listing does not prevent the buildings from being altered, it does require any amendments to be done in a careful and sensitive manner that does not devalue their integrity as exceptional and important pieces of Australian architecture.
Richard Kirk FRAIA
President Australian Institute of Architects Queensland Chapter
Adjunct Professor UQ