Central Queensland Regional Architecture Award 2023 winners

Projects across Central Queensland have been commended for their designs and cultural connections. SEE THE LIST OF WINNERS.

Australian Institute of Architects Central Queensland Regional Architecture Awards 2023.

A crowd gathered at The Boathouse on Rockhampton’s riverbank on Friday to learn the winners of the 2023 Australian Institute of Architects’ Central Queensland Regional Architecture Awards.

The winners will now compete in the state awards on June 22.

ROCKHAMPTON MUSEUM OF ART

Inside Rockhampton Museum of Art, looking at Customs House. Credit: John Gollings.

Rockhampton Museum of Art. Credit: John Gollings.

J W Wilson Award for Building of the Year

Regional Commendation for Public Architecture

Awarded to Conrad Gargett, Clare Design and Brian Hooper Architects

The striking building is home to one of the most significant regional collections of modern Australian art and was described by the jury as “exemplary of the commitment of a community and its administrators to deliver significant public architecture to the city’s cultural heart”.

“The architecture democratically fosters a relationship between people and art whilst delivering a beautifully detailed and technically literate large-format art gallery,” the jury cited.

“The outward-facing large glass and sandstone facade leans into the urban fabric of the city, extending the gallery exhibition space into laneway connections between the inner city, the riverfront, and the greater landscape beyond.

“[RMOA is] a truly inspiring space to be in or pass through; a place to gather, enjoy, and connect art and its context.”

FIG TREE GALLERIES, YEPPOON

Fig Tree Galleries. Credit: Cam Murchison.

Regional Project of the Year

Regional Commendation for Small Architecture

Awarded to Design+Architecture (Rockhampton company)

The jury panel commended the “project’s civic presence, its clever integration of historical references and sense of playfulness”

“With its simple, offset gable form, this modest new gallery is expanded through its connections to the adjacent historic post office and the footpath zone, which is defined by the significant streetside fig trees and its considered skylights, and shopfront display box windows,” the jury cited.

“Small in size, this project establishes a civic presence while meeting the functional requirements of the local artistic community.”

DYNAMIC DESTINATION, AUSTRALIAN AGE OF THE DINOSAURS FACILITY, WINTON (THIRD STAGE)

The Winton Dynamic Destination. Credit: Casey Vallance.

Dynamic Destination. Credit: Casey Vallance.

Regional Commendation in Public Architecture

Awarded to Cox Architecture and CultivAR Architecture

The third stage of the project included the ‘March of the Titanosaurs’ pavilion with a 60m-long fossilised dinosaur footprint trackway, and ‘Gondwana Stars Observatory’, a signature enclosure hosting deep-time astronomy sessions.

Both attractions are now the museum’s biggest income generators and attracted more than 60,000 people in its first year of operation.

THE GLOBE LOOKOUT, BARCALDINE

The Globe Lookout. Credit: Christopher Frederick Jones.

Regional Commendation in Small Project Architecture

Awarded to Brian Hooper architect (Yeppoon-based) and m3architecture

The lace-clad tower rises above the rooflines as a beacon, representing a water tower.

The project was able to be delivered under difficult Covid construction constraints.