A swim at lunch? Bold plan to keep Olympic venue in city’s heart

Brisbane Arena is slated to host a drop-in pool for the Olympic and Paralympic Games before it turns into an entertainment venue post event.

A striking Brisbane Arena bordered by greenery and a legacy swimming venue should be considered as permanent reminder of a successful 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, leading architects say.

HKS director Andrew Colling, whose group is part of a consortium of architects calling for the Palaszczuk government to think big when building Olympic Games infrastructure, called for a rethink on the future of the temporary Brisbane Arena swimming venue.

The arena is slated to host a drop-in pool for the Olympic and Paralympic Games before it turns into an entertainment venue post event.

Proposed Brisbane Arena render for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games Picture HKS

“Swimming is our strongest Olympic sport so it’s a shame it doesn’t have a legacy item,” Mr Colling said.

“Half our work is designing a great building for the event and the show, but the other half of our time is working out how these venues are used on a non-event day.

“Having a 50m pool on the edge of King George Square where people could have a swim at lunch or before work, is a good thing.”

Two pools will be built for the Olympic Games, a competition and warm-up pool.

Mr Colling, whose plans for a timber Gabba with a rooftop parkland observation deck prompted widespread debate, said Brisbane Arena could be a similar, striking venue.

“We want it to be a southeast Queensland response and a representation of our lifestyle,” he said.

“I treasure the fact we have this big country town tag for Brisbane and I hope we never lose that.

“If we can capture that in a building for the Olympics that would be a great outcome.”

The state government is undertaking market sounding activities as part of the project validation report process.

Project validation reports are being developed on the majority of Brisbane 2032 master plan venues, the government said.