The Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) has significantly expanded its capacity with the opening of the Glasshouse Theatre in South Bank. This 1,500-seat venue establishes QPAC as the largest integrated performing arts centre in Australia. The project was led by Blight Rayner Architecture and Snøhetta following an international design competition held in 2019. To accommodate the necessary footprint on the Playhouse Green site, the structure cantilevers six metres over the street frontages.

The building is defined by a transparent, rippling glass façade that draws inspiration from a prose-poem by Aboriginal Elder Lilla Watson. Michael Rayner, Director at Blight Rayner Architecture, said: “We thought to make the transparent façade a setting for a kind of public theatre where people in the foyers would be seen variously clear and blurred from the street. And we wanted to embed the beginnings of First Nations narratives related to the context into the design.” These narratives include seven roof skylights representing Queensland’s watersheds and a sculpture by Brian Robinson featuring native flowering plants.

Engineered for high thermal performance, the glass walls use a black ceramic inlay to manage solar heat and glare. Inside, the auditorium offers a stark contrast with dark ironbark walls and rainforest green carpeting. Gumji Kang, Managing Director of Snøhetta Australasia, stated: “The auditorium was conceived as a highly adaptable performance environment capable of hosting a wide spectrum of artforms. 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.”

The theatre maintains an intimate atmosphere, with the furthest seat located only 28 metres from the stage. Technical features include a 24-metre fly tower and an automated system with 107 hoists. The orchestra pit is also fully flexible with three independent sections. Rachel Healy, Chief Executive of QPAC, noted that the venue will help attract global talent and Australian exclusives. She said: “The appetite for the performing arts in Queensland is insatiable and the need for a new theatre was flagged more than a decade ago. With the Glasshouse Theatre now open alongside our four other theatres, we expect to welcome an extra 300,000 people to increase our visitation to 1.6million visitors per year.”