Place Design Group has been appointed as the Landscape Architect for Brisbane’s new National Aquatic Centre, joining a multidisciplinary design consortium led by ARM Architecture, NH Architecture and Arkhefield to deliver one of Australia’s most significant civic and sporting projects.
Appointed by the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority, the consortium will design the National Aquatic Centre as the centrepiece of aquatic competition for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and a lasting national legacy for Australian sport and the community.
Located at the heritage-listed Centenary Pool precinct in Victoria Park, Spring Hill, the National Aquatic Centre is slated to host swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming during Brisbane 2032 before becoming the long-term home of Australian aquatic sport. The proposed design includes three new covered pools, high-performance training facilities, a gymnasium and administration spaces integrated with the existing Centenary Pools complex beneath a distinctive floating roof inspired by the movement of water.
Place Design Group will shape the public realm surrounding the venue, creating a subtropical landscape that strengthens the connection between architecture, parkland and people while respecting the heritage significance of one of Brisbane’s most celebrated examples of modernist architecture.
A legacy shaped through design
For more than six decades, the Centenary Pools Complex has been woven into Brisbane’s identity, a place where elite athletes have trained, generations of Queenslanders have learned to swim and where it stands as one of Australia’s finest examples of subtropical modernist architecture.
The National Aquatic Centre represents an opportunity to honour and extend that legacy while creating an internationally significant destination that will inspire future generations long after the Brisbane 2032 Games.
The appointment carries particular significance for Place Design Group Director James Birrell, whose late father, renowned Brisbane City Architect Jim Birrell, designed the original Centenary Pool complex, completed in 1959 to celebrate Brisbane’s centenary.
“This project is about more than delivering a world-class sporting venue. It is about respecting the extraordinary legacy of Centenary Pool while helping shape the next chapter of one of Australia’s most important sporting and civic places,” Mr Birrell said.
“To contribute to the evolution of a place my father designed is an incredible privilege. Our role is to ensure the landscape connects the site’s architectural heritage with a contemporary public realm on show to the world and will welcome athletes, visitors and the local community for generations to come.”
Place Design Group’s involvement extends beyond its design appointment through its support of the Centenary Pools Project, an important community-focused initiative celebrating the stories, history and cultural significance of Centenary Pool. Together, these endeavours reflect the practice’s commitment to preserving the legacy of this remarkable architectural and cultural icon, while helping shape its next chapter as part of the National Aquatic Centre.
