{"id":818649,"date":"2026-07-23T12:03:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T12:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/818649\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T12:03:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T12:03:21","slug":"national-aquatic-centre-concept-design-unveiled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/818649\/","title":{"rendered":"National Aquatic Centre concept design unveiled"},"content":{"rendered":"

The architects for Brisbane\u2019s National Aquatic Centre have been newly revealed \u2013 along with concept imagery of their design \u2013 by the Queensland government and the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA).<\/p>\n

GIICA has appointed national firms ARM Architecture and NH Architecture, in partnership with local practice Arkhefield, as principal architects of the proposed Olympic aquatic venue, following what they described as \u201ca rigorous six-month selection process led by an expert panel.\u201d The design team also includes aquatic architecture specialists Liquid Blu.<\/p>\n

GIICA chairman Stephen Conry AM, chair of the design evaluation panel, said \u201cThe opportunity to create an iconic design that showcased Australia\u2019s obsession with swimming and aquatic sports really captured the imagination of some of the country\u2019s most talented architecture teams, and the quality of the design concepts submitted was truly impressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, it was ARM Architecture, NH Architecture and Arkhefield\u2019s design for a centre inspired by the movement of water, cleverly positioned into the landscape, that we felt best reflected the natural beauty of Brisbane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

View gallery<\/p>\n

Located at the site of the city\u2019s heritage-listed Centenary Pool in Spring Hill, the team\u2019s multi-storey National Aquatic Centre design is sunken into the sloping landscape and tiered down its southern face \u201cto preserve surrounding parkland while opening the building to light, breeze and greenery,\u201d GIICA\u2019s media release notes.<\/p>\n

Above the rippled podium form, a \u201cfloating\u201d roof is designed to reflect the circulation of wind and water, and allow ventilation and natural light to enter the building.<\/p>\n

ARM Architecture director Andrew Hayne commented, \u201cthe design is ultimately about place. It\u2019s architecture shaped by Brisbane\u2019s landscape, subtropical climate and natural environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the building was designed to feel welcome and inspiring from the moment visitors arrive, regardless of \u201cwhether [they\u2019re] chasing Olympic gold or teaching [their] kids to swim.\u201d<\/p>\n

The venue is slated to host swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming events during the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, while serving everyday community use in the long-term. The design features three new covered competition pools \u2013 two of which will be housed in separate arenas \u2013 alongside a gym, high-performance rooms and administration spaces, adding to the site\u2019s three existing outdoor pools and facilities.<\/p>\n

\"GIICA<\/p>\n

View gallery<\/p>\n

Conry said the scheme would include \u201ca restored Centenary Pool \u2026 ensur[ing] the heritage-listed design is a centrepiece of the complex,\u201d with NH Architecture director Emily Kilvington commenting that the team\u2019s design for the state-of-the-art facilities shows \u201creal respect for the site\u2019s history while positioning Queensland at the forefront of aquatic sport infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new national venue will belong to Brisbane, and Centenary Pool will be better than ever because of it,\u201d added Arkhefield founding director Andrew Gutteridge.<\/p>\n

GIICA will take possession of Centenary Pool and the surrounding site from 1 September in preparation for early works, which are expected to begin later this year.<\/p>\n

According to the Queensland government, a procurement process to select the centre\u2019s builder is currently ongoing, with four contractors shortlisted to submit offers by the end of July. Following their submissions, two of the four contractors will be selected to progress, with the final builder appointed early 2027.<\/p>\n

Construction is also planned to commence in 2027, alongside development of the design.<\/p>\n

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the appointed \u201cdesign trio will develop an iconic new home for high performance aquatic athletes, as well as a legacy for community sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just a venue for a few weeks in 2032, it\u2019s a lasting investment in Queensland\u2019s future that will support community sport, high-performance athletes and keeping us cool for generations to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The architects for Brisbane\u2019s National Aquatic Centre have been newly revealed \u2013 along with concept imagery of their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-818649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}