From powering the largest tram network in the Southern Hemisphere in the Twenties to energising Brisbane’s arts scene in the Noughties, Brisbane Powerhouse is now the home of an innovative and progressive program of contemporary arts. An ever-evolving, dynamic and challenging cultural asset, Brisbane Powerhouse is a unique inner-city space with a fascinating history.
Power station
A fine example of early 20th century industrial design, Brisbane Powerhouse – originally called the New Farm Powerhouse – was designed by the architect for the Brisbane City Council Tramway Department, Roy Rusden Ogg.
Constructed in stages between 1926 and 1940, the Powerhouse supplied electricity to the entire tramway system of Brisbane as well as power and lighting loads for the suburbs of Ithaca, Toowong and Yeerongpilly. During the postwar years the Powerhouse began to operate at peak capacity, increasing the supply of electricity to further suburban areas.
Brisbane City Council sold the New Farm Powerhouse in 1963 to the State Electricity body. Declining workloads, output and upkeep took their toll, and the grand industrial giant gradually disappeared off the Brisbane landscape until finally being decommissioned in 1971. The South East Queensland Electricity Board continued to occupy the site until 1989 when a land exchange restored ownership to Brisbane City Council.
Derelict building
From the late 1970s to the 1990s the Turbine Building stood commercially barren. The building gradually deteriorated and appeared derelict to the naked eye.
Homeless people sheltered in empty rooms, filmmakers used the walls and floors as a canvas for creating alternative film, and street kids found refuge in the cavernous ruins. The Army used the site for “target practice” and various army exercises have been undertaken on site.
Entwined, the urban legacy of the homeless, the artists and filmmakers, and the street kids is to be found as graffiti and textures on the walls of the Powerhouse building and surrounding structures, each with a unique and individual tale to tell.
In 1989 Brisbane City Council re-acquired the building through a land exchange. Within three years, the council had identified the Powerhouse as being culturally significant and the raw concept of the Brisbane Powerhouse as a centre for the arts was born.
Arts centre
The redeveloped Brisbane Powerhouse was opened on May 10, 2000 by Lord Mayor of the day Cr Jim Soorley.
Its design combines bold industrial structures, raw textures and graffiti walls with contemporary performance spaces, meeting and rehearsal rooms, outdoor performance areas, and an enviable riverside location adjacent to the open spaces of New Farm.
Brisbane Powerhouse now boasts two state-of-the-art theatres – the 425-seat Powerhouse Theatre and the 200-seat Visy Theatre. The program showcases outstanding performances from local, national, and international artists spanning all genres of music, theatre, dance, comedy, children’s programming, community-based arts and visual art exhibitions.
More than a performance space, Brisbane Powerhouse is a multipurpose centre which includes the dramatic apex of the Turbine Hall, myriad gallery walls, an expansive outdoor plaza with green spaces – host of Jan Power’s Farmers Markets – the riverfront restaurant Watt Modern Dining, the popular Bar Alto, a mass of local cultural tenants housed in the Stores Building, the highly sought after Rooftop Terrace, and several smaller function and special event rooms.
Design philosophy
The design philosophy aims to preserve the twin histories of the old powerhouse – as an industrial site generating coal-powered electricity and, from 1971, as a derelict building where people found refuge, staged parties and left their marks.
Under strict community and industry guidelines, Architect Peter Roy maintained existing fixtures, ensuring each period of the site’s history was documented and acknowledged physically in the walls, the floors and the three-hectare environs of the New Farm precinct.
Where extensions or major repair was required Roy, without any attempt to blend the structural designs, created a new work, fusing past and present architectural philosophies. This is evident throughout the four sections of the Powerhouse, the Turbine Building; the Switch Room, the Stores Building and the Boiler House ruins. The buildings were in reasonable condition although the internal fabric and roofing had deteriorated significantly.
Most of the original equipment had been removed when the plant was decommissioned in 1971 with only two of the original pieces remaining. The first is a switch, which is situated near the Spark Bar. The second is a gantry crane positioned high above the Turbine Platform. Once used to remove turbines when they needed to be repaired or replaced, the crane can still be winched by hand today.
