Building 8 Brisbane Showgrounds

The adaptive reuse and conservation works to Building 8 were part of the larger revitalisation of the Brisbane Showgrounds in Bowen Hills. The Brisbane Exhibition Grounds, which have held the annual Queensland Exhibition for over 140 years, is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, and Building 8 (the former Sheep and Wool Pavilion) is included in this listing. The reuse and integration of heritage buildings, such as Building 8, into the greater mixed use development of Bowen Hills, allowed for the opening up of previously underutilised areas to greater community use and appreciation. The redevelopment of Building 8 was designed to provide a ‘pavilion in the park’, accessible at all times and providing a community space year-round, as well as being utilised as a hireable event space and Queensland Exhibition (EKKA) venue.

Our team undertook detailed research to appreciate the site’s history, understanding the greater area’s indigenous significance and its more recent non-indigenous development, placing Building 8 in this context and informing the interpretative elements incorporated into the project. The significant 1920s timber framed core with the distinctive gable and adjacent sawtooth roofscape was retained while intrusive later additions that were incrementally added over time, were removed. The face brick wall was retained, with all but two louvre openings enlarged and framed to act as a colonnade to the streetscape, providing increased permeability from the street to the park. The trusses and timber structure were braced with new structural steel, in a galvanised finish to not only clearly define new interventions but also be consistent with the honest materiality of the building. New building services were integrated in a considered way to minimise impacts on heritage elements.