Cox Architecture has been selected as the winners of an invited competition for the new North Queensland Stadium in Townsville, Australia, beating out finalist proposals from BVN Architecture, Hassell and Populous. With a roof design inspired by the native Pandanus tree, the new stadium will provide seating for 25,000 spectators as the new home to the National Rugby League’s North Queensland Cowboys.
“Our team is excited to have been selected to deliver this transformative project for the North Queensland region,” commented Project Director Richard Coulson. “The stadium design is an expression of tropical Queensland and North Queensland in particular. It combines structural, functional and operational aspects of international modern stadiums with engagement of the environment that is quintessentially Queensland.”
“The stadium provides an identity for the region and an important contribution to the city. Through the development of a ‘fan first’ approach to the design of the stadium and its use to create a sense of place and belonging, we have forged a unique architectural and engineering response that can only be ‘of this place’.”
The evaluation panel for the competition were impressed by Cox’s “elegant design, innovative facility planning and strong local collaboration, including their genuine local input and partnership.”
The $250 million dollar stadium will be integrated into the urban fabric with generous arrival plazas and landscaped greens, as well as an open grassed terrace on the northern edge that will provide views to the downtown and Magnetic Island.
Inside the complex, corporate facilities, amenities, permanent concessions and state-of-the-art IT will create a fan-centric atmosphere. The stadium’s Pandanus-inspired roof will cover 80 percent of the seating, and has been designed to resist cyclonic wind conditions. The stadium has also been designed to accommodate a future expansion to 30,000 seats.
A contractor for the project is expected to be selected in mid 2017, with site work starting later that year. The stadium is hoped to be completed in time for the start of the NRL season in early 2020.
Credits
Local Architect: 9point9 Architects
Mechanical and Electrical: Ashburner Francis
Structural, Civil, Traffic and Transport, Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) specialists, Acoustics: Arup
Hydraulics: Parker Hydraulics
Landscaping and Surveying: RPS
Geotechnical: Douglas Partners
Specialist Wind Engineering: Cyclone Testing Station at James Cook University
Learn more about the project, here.
News via Cox Architecture, Queensland Department of State Development.
