‘Unmistakably Brisbane’ digs design foundation

Image: GIICA

In just over two months the stadium design team from COX Architecture, Hassell and Azusa Sekkei has powered through an enormous amount of planning and analysis – laying the foundations for what will become one of Brisbane’s (Australia) most iconic venues.

‘GIICA’ stated that the design work on the new Brisbane Stadium is forging ahead with three big decisions now locked in including the field size, the field orientation and the location for the stadium within the Victoria Park (an inner suburb of Perth, Australia).

The Rocks (Australia)-based COX Architecture acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land and waters of Australia. The practice is built around the designers that collaborate with the clients, the stakeholders and the communities. COX seeks to do more with less tapping into the resourceful Australian culture to build value through ingenuity. They strive for quality through their beliefs in equality and opportunity. COX Architecture embed culture in their designs taking time to listen and understand the cultural context and the social impacts.

Melbourne (Australia)-based Hassell is a leading international design practice with studios in Asia, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Their purpose is to create a better future by designing the world’s best places – places people love. Hassell’s design values are shared globally across all of their studios by the talented people who work in them: The architects, the interior designers, the landscape architects, the urban designers, the planners, and the specialist consultants.

Ota (Japan)-based the award-winning Japanese architecture company Azusa Sekkei was founded in 1946 with a vision: To bring warmth to architecture with a sincere heart. In close cooperation with its customers and their 750+ professionals they value an architecture that responds to the key social needs.

Image: GIICA

 
‘GIICA’ further stated that development of the early concept design for the stadium which will host the Opening and Closing ceremonies and athletics at the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games before becoming the City’s main stadium after the Games will continue over the coming months but some key aspects have already been agreed upon including:

• The stadium’s location in Victoria Park – a central position near the Gilchrist Avenue that maximizes access to public transport and nestles the stadium in a naturally occurring amphitheater;
• The field of play size and shape – to be the equivalent of the 100,024-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne supported by the Australian Football League (AFL – the pre-eminent professional competition of Australian Rules football), Cricket Australia, the concert promotors, and Brisbane 2032; and
• Field orientation – East-West configuration after analysis of the Sun position, winds and the legacy operational needs for the AFL and cricket.

 
The 2032 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXV Olympiad and also known as Brisbane 2032, is a planned international multisport event scheduled to take place from July 23^rd-August 8^th, 2032 in Brisbane, Australia, with venues across the various regions of Queensland.

The 2032 Summer Paralympics, and also known as the 19^th Summer Paralympic Games and branded as Brisbane 2032 or the abbreviation Bris2032, is an upcoming international multisport event parasports event governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) scheduled to be held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, from August 24^th-September 5^th, 2032.

Image: GIICA

The proposed sitting of the new stadium will seamlessly connect with the existing transport infrastructure and allow it to be embedded into the existing topography. This position will also reduce congestion in the critical Northeast zone of the park where the spectator entry points converge.

The East-West orientation for the field of play was settled after the workshop discussions with the AFL and cricket and analysis of the sun position, winds and the overall stadium footprint. This orientation better suits how the stadium will work on event days and eliminates the requirement for a second media center under the combined AFL and cricket usage.

The field of play size and shape was determined after the comparison of four major oval venues across Australia – the 37,478-capacity The Gabba in Brisbane, Perth’s 75,000-capacity Optus Stadium, the MCG, and the 56,347-capacity Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. The Optus Stadium and the MCG are significantly longer than the Marvel Stadium and The Gabba, better accommodating an athletics track.

The stadium early concept design continues to build upon the winning “Queensland response” that embeds the new stadium into the Victoria Park’s topography with a verandah inspiration, floating roof form and bridge connectivity.

The design statement for the latest round of concepts states, “The concept is simple and deliberate: A stadium in the landscape. Rather than placing a 63,000-seat object on top of the Victoria Park the stadium will nestle into the parklands and allow the landform and vegetation to do the work. The stadium Bowl sits in a valley between two ridges … The spectators pass through nature and parkland rather than climb toward a monument. The park flows over and around the venue softening its edge and binding it to the park and the forest slopes. It is less a building in a park but instead a park that flows around and through a stadium. The design privileges shade, breeze, movement, and everyday access. It is active on event days, but generous and open on all other days. In legacy mode, the stadium is not an isolated venue but a catalyst for a healthier, more connected City embedding biodiversity, cultural continuity and community life at the center of Brisbane’s Olympic story.”

The Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA) head honcho Simon Crooks said as the design work progresses over the coming weeks and months on the new Brisbane Stadium we are seeing a truly Queensland-take on the traditional stadium emerge bringing the outside in and celebrating our lifestyle and natural environment.

Brisbane (Australia)-based the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA) is responsible for delivering the authority venues identified in the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Arrangements Act 2021 (the Act) in time for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in accordance with the allocated funding from the Queensland Government and in compliance with the relevant games’ agreements monitoring the delivery of the other venues identified in the Act.

Remarked Richard Coulson, COX Architecture Director and Chair, “It is an exciting time for the team here at the GIICA, and all of Queensland, as we work through the rigorous design process to bring the stadium vision to life and later this year start early works and in 2027 construction. It retains the ambition of a venue that responds to place with the inclusion of technology that the people will expect in a world-class venue.”

Added Lucy O’Driscoll, Hassell Managing Principal, “We recognize this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead the design of the Brisbane Stadium, a venue that will showcase Queensland to the world while truly serving the local community every day. Every element of our design responds to Queensland’s unique climate and lifestyle ensuring the stadium can accommodate not only the global events but also becomes an enduring part of the State’s daily life and legacy for generations to come.”

Over the coming months the concept design will continue to be refined with a focus on creating a stadium that feels unmistakably Brisbane ensuring everybody is comfortable in Australia’s climate, connected to the public transport and welcoming even on non‑event days.

With early site preparations due to begin from June 1^st, 2026 and early works expected later in 2026 the Queenslanders will start to see the project shift from plans to progress as this new major events home takes its next steps toward 2032 and beyond.

The new Brisbane Stadium is part of the $7.1 billion Games Venues Infrastructure Program jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments and will be delivered by the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA).

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