HASSELL was invited to participate in a limited design competition for the new Supreme and District Courts, Queensland Place, Brisbane.

Our design responds to the urban conditions, building on these as a way of integrating a new element of civic infrastructure into the City of Brisbane. The plaza unifies context and adjacent buildings, establishing public presence. It respects the importance of surrounding streets, ensuring an unambiguous address for three primary court elements: the Supreme, the District, and the Magistrates.

The design is informed by site, context, climate, workings of the court and the opportunity to express its public life. Openness, daylight, transparency, view, approachability, comfort and safety assurance are paramount. The building plan and façade effectively control solar heat gain. Public concourses behave as large ventilated verandas for much of the year and give the building its horizontal expression which subtly transforms across the façades in response to effects of the sun throughout the day.