Brisbane could build own Gardens by the Bay to mark 2032 Olympics

A park in place of the Riverside expressway and a Singapore-style garden oasis are among the Olympic legacy projects proposed by some of Queensland’s sharpest minds.

A car-free CBD, Singapore-style garden oasis and a “South Bank 2.0” designed to bring thousands of residents back to the heart of Brisbane are among the legacy projects proposed by some of Queensland’s sharpest minds to seize our Olympic moment.

With business heavy hitters Stephen Conry and Harvey Lister leading calls for Brisbane to deliver a landmark development for the 2032 Olympics, leading urban planners have joined the chorus for the River City to take advantage of the opportunity to deliver the extraordinary.

Award-winning architect Peter Edwards, who has worked on master plans for Cross River Rail, Broadwater Parklands and the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, said Brisbane should look to the lessons of the last time the city was front and centre on the world stage.

“This opportunity is once in a city’s lifetime – it will never come to us again,” he said.

“The last time Brisbane had one of these was Expo 88 and that left us with South Bank.

“The 2032 moment needs to leave us with an Olympic Corridor of significance – South Bank 2.0.”

Architect Peter Edwards says local organisers must not waste the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented by an Olympic Games in South East Queensland. File picture.

He said potential urban renewal projects could include a huge tropical park in the same league as Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, a health and knowledge precinct and a range of new permanent accommodation to create a new postcode for 10,000 people to live in the CBD to revitalise the heart of the city.

“These ideas can aggregate around a bold vision for the city to grow into over the next 20 years, creating a plan for the city to double in size and giving room for that growth in a planned and intentional way,” he said.

“The opportunity of the Olympic moment is to completely reimagine the possibilities for a way that the city sees itself.

“A vision that will be the true legacy, a vision for a truly international city, dearly loved by us all, that can confidently hand to our children with pride.”

Urbis director Kate Meyrick said Brisbane could take greater advantage of its most famous asset – the river, by transforming the Riverside Expressway into a pedestrian-only elevated parkway, similar to New York’s High Line, which turned an abandoned train track into one of the Big Apple’s most-loved public spaces.

She said removing cars from the CBD – and introducing clean energy trams instead, could also serve as a fantastic legacy project.

Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay could be an example of what can be achieved in Brisbane. Picture: Istock

“Authentically we are a river city and our distinguishing feature is the river so I would argue that creating a really memorable riverine experience is one option,” she said.

“We want to think quite carefully about the contemporary role of these iconic elements in a cityscape, and to consider what we want them to say about us and our values as a city and a community.”

Mr Conry urged Brisbane creative minds to “think big” in developing an iconic site to make the city instantly recognised around the world, while Mr Lister proposed a sparkling high-rise which would be visible from hundreds of kilometres away and could house telecommunications towers to free up land on Mt Coot-tha.

Originally published as Brisbane could build own Gardens by the Bay to mark 2032 Olympics