The Cairns Performing Arts Centre (CPAC) and associated parklands is an important addition to the civic fabric in the culturally-rich city of Cairns in Far North Queensland, Australia.
Due to its tropical monsoon climate, Cairns has hot, humid summers and warm winters.
And it rains a lot.
Cairns’ mean annual rainfall is just under 2,000 millimetres (79 in). Babinda, a town to the south of the city, is Australia’s wettest town, recording an annual rainfall of over 4,200 mm (170 in).
So project architects COX Architecture ensured their design responded to the city’s dramatic tropical setting.
The Cairns Performing Arts Centre is part of a Cultural Precinct with Munro Martin Parklands.
That combination delivers a main Proscenium Arch theatre of 950 seats, a 400 seat Flexible Studio, and an external Performance Amphitheatre with capacity for 3,000.
The project reflects a commitment to both residents and the broader region with links to the Torres Strait and the Islands of the Pacific Rim.
Integrated indigenous Art was commissioned from distant Erub Island in the Torres Strait with the unique recycling of found nylon fishing nets.
Performance is integral to indigenous cultures in North Queensland and the Cairns Performing Arts Centre provides a support network for emerging talent, vocations in drama and for touring performances.
The building is a form ‘in the round’ with sculptural massing that accommodates a tall flytower within a cohesive form.
The tropical response is distilled in the foyer’s solar screen that faces north-west to the adjacent Parklands. Landscape colours and the traditions of weaving contribute to the complexity of a screen that changes expression through night and day providing diffuse light to the foyer.
The arrangement of the bar to work both internally and externally responds to both setting and a relaxed Cairns lifestyle.
Interiors further explore a rainforest sensibility with a dramatic timber battened space that achieves acoustic tasks and contributes to the drama of performance.
Bob Manning, Cairns Mayor said, “CPAC has significantly expanded the city’s capacity to host a wide range of performances and will offer a better venue for local artists. This building is a milestone in achieving our vision for Cairns to be recognised as the arts and cultural capital of Northern Australia. This strategy will change the soul and the character of our city and is a key step in advancing the evolution and progress of our city.”
The Cairns Performing Arts Centre was a finalist in the category of Culture – Completed Buildings at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2019.
Project Details
Completion date – 2018
Project Team
Architecture
COX Architecture
COX is a design-focused contemporary architectural practice with studios located in every major Australian city and a history spanning 60 years. Key to their ethos is supporting the public life of our cities. COX does this by ensuring each project makes positive contributions to its public realm – giving more than it takes.
CA Architects
Established in 1993, CA Architects is an accomplished, quality assured, award winning architectural practice with experience in a wide range of building projects.
Many of these projects have been unique. And it has been CA Architects’ ability to handle them as ‘special projects’ which has set them apart from other architectural practices.
Photography
Andrew Watson
Andrew has a reputation for capturing outstanding commercial, editorial, and corporate photography in Cairns and throughout North Queensland.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2020 COX Architecture. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2020 Andrew Watson. All Rights Reserved.
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