Brisbane City Hall ::

Project Description::

Tonkin Zulaikha Greer are working under HBO+EMTB in Brisbane to design and document the $150m refurbishment of the historic Brisbane City Hall. The original 1930s building is the largest town hall in Australia, and its lavish neo-Classical interiors have been the backdrop to many of the city’s most important civic events.

The project, now under construction, aims, to give the centrepiece of the city an active relevant new life after 80 years. The building will house major performance, event and meeting facilities, the offices of the Council and Lord Mayor and a new and enlarged Museum of Brisbane. An extensive new kitchen will be excavated into the basement to serve state-of-the-art conference and event facilities including the 1500-seat Grand Auditorium with its conserved organ.

A significant aspect is the upgrading of the structure and services to meet contemporary safety and operational standards. The exterior will be enhanced by the reconstructions of decades of additions on the roof, whilst the significant heritage interiors will be conserved and enhanced. Access and circulation will be improved throughout the building, as will the acoustic performance of the major spaces.

The entire project is being designed to achieve 5 Star Greenstar rating with a pilot Public Buildings rating tool developed specially for the project.