Glasshouse Theatre in Queensland operates like a finely tuned musical instrument
An undulating glass facade encloses the cantilevered first floor of the Glasshouse Theatre in Queensland, designed by Australian studio Blight Rayner Architecture with international firm Snøhetta.
Created as an extension of the brutalist Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane, the 1,500-seat venue has a flexible auditorium designed to accommodate everything from dance performances to symphony orchestras.
Its defining feature is its overhanging first floor, which Blight Rayner Architecture and Snøhetta wrapped in a rippling glass facade that allows views in and out of the foyer behind it.
The six-metre cantilever spans two street frontages, maximising the usable space on its inner-city site.
According to the studio, the facade is a nod to a prose poem by Murri artist and Gangulu woman Lilla Watson, which refers to the rippling water of the Brisbane River and fish swimming beneath its surface.
Its design was also intended to minimise the theatre's visual mass while maximising light and character in the foyer.
Manufactured by Austrian company Seele – the same company behind the iconic 5th Avenue Apple retail store in New York – it comprises two tiers of unique seven-metre-high glass panels. Some of these have black ceramic inlays to help minimise solar glare and heat gain.
"We thought to make the transparent facade a setting for a kind of public theatre where people in the foyers would be seen variously clear and blurred from the street," said Blight Rayner Architecture director Michael Rayner.
"And we wanted to embed the beginnings of First Nations narratives related to the context into the design."
Blight Rayner Architecture and Snøhetta won the international competition for the project in 2019. According to the team, it makes QPAC "the largest performing arts centre under one roof" in Australia.
Inside, its auditorium comprises two stalls with 1,000 seats, and a balcony level with a further 500 seats. The distance from the stage to the furthest seat in the theatre is 28 metres, ensuring "the atmosphere is incredibly intimate for both patrons and performers".
Glasshouse Theatre's auditorium has a dark interior, finished with grey ironbark walls and deep green carpet, which is a deliberate contrast to the bright and airy foyer.
It is highly adaptable, ensuring it can easily accommodate a wide range of performances. A key feature is an orchestra pit with three floor sections that can be raised or lowered independently.
"The theatre was designed to operate like a finely tuned musical instrument – adjustable to support world-class opera, ballet, dance, symphony, theatre and musical productions," said Snøhetta's Australasia managing director Gumji Kang.
"Inspired by the qualities of stringed instruments, we have combined technical precision with atmospheric intimacy, enriched by layered timber ribbons that feel quintessentially Queensland."
Overhead are 100 fully-automated fly bars in the fly tower – the hollow structure directly above a theatre stage, from which theatre scenery, lighting rails, battens and curtains are controlled.
Another feature of the building is seven skylights, which are a homage to Queensland's First Nations cultural heritage.
Specifically, these skylights represent Queensland's seven watersheds – areas of land that separate waters flowing to different rivers – based on water‑related heritage research by First Nations Elder Colleen Wall of the Dauwa Kau'bvai Nation.
Other recently completed theatre projects include The Old Vic extension by Haworth Tompkins, which is clad in recycled spotlights, and Snøhetta's arched addition to St Louis' Powell Hall.
Elsehwrre, Snøhetta is currently developing Skamarken – a riverside park in Drammen, Norway, with a mound-like theatre.
The photography is by Christopher Frederick Jones.
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