2000 Biennale - Exhibition Finalist - James Davidson
 James DavidsonThe University of Queensland Queensland College of Art |
Summary Statement The Queensland College of Art (QCA) joined Griffith University from the TAFE sector in 1991. The proposal to relocate the College to Southbank in Brisbane's CBD will place the QCA in close proximity to the University's existing inner-city campus, the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. The College program encompasses such diverse functions as Photography, Design, Art Theory, Fine Art, Contemporary Australian Indigenous Art, Film and Television, Animation, Gallery and Library. This proposal for the QCA responds to fundamental issues like the relevance of urban buildings in a landscape setting, and the development of a teaching facility in the vicinity of the Brisbane CBD. The QCA design encompasses a large translucent roof that floats above a campus community. The composition of the College is one of creating private teaching courts within the public realm of Brisbane's Southbank. All student services in the college have been placed within one level (up or down) of ground level, serves to foster a student community in contact within the wider public environment of the area. This was achieved by creating a series of private and public courts which step down the site, with the most public (entrance area) being located at the higher end and the most private (loading bays) being found on the lowest levels. All publicly accessible areas like the Library, Theatrette, QCA Gallery, Student Gallery and Administration can be accessed after office hours for public engagements, while students of the QCA only access all other areas within the building. |
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Jury Comments This project is one of two finalist designs for the Queensland College of Art. In this case James Davidson has developed a powerful, over-arching roof form floating across all of the college accommodation. The Jury, whilst interested in this approach, felt that there were areas left unresolved or overlooked. For example, although the large roof relates to the distant city view, there is no depiction or consideration of the immediate context which design of the big roof approach would imply. To balance this the plan offers a number of interesting spaces which attracted the jury's interest, and led to further discussion. |
