Soaring steel prices, a lack of tradies diverted to storm-damage repair work and a demand for a building that would stand out forced two architects working on a $350,000 tractor shed to rework their plans completely – and create Queensland’s best piece of architecture.

After the cost of structural steel, which accounted for 20 per cent of the overall budget, soared 25 per cent in three months in early 2021, Lynn Wang and Michael Lineburg had to tear up their original design for the University of Queensland tractor shed.