Brisbane Ferry Terminals

Derlot and collaborators, Cox Rayner Architects and Aurecon were awarded the Brisbane Ferry Terminal Redevelopment project. In the proposal, the terminals are landmarks on the river integrating technical innovation, flood resilience and elegance. A single pontoon structure is tethered to a single up-stream pier that deflects debris away from the pontoon. A detachable gangway connects the pontoon to the river bank. This gangway can be rotated and secured parallel to the pontoon in the event of a flood.

The proposed ferry terminal creates a public space directly on the river, giving passengers a more direct experience of the river and its landscape. The design is adaptable for the different terminal locations, and incorporates a number of green design strategies. This announcement follows an invitation by the Queensland Government, in May 2011, for expressions of interest for the rebuilding of several Brisbane ferry terminals damaged during the 2011 floods. Former Queensland architect Professor Phillip Follett chaired the panel of experts, including representatives from the Australian Institute of Architects and Urban Futures, that assessed the entries.

As the winning consortium, Cox Rayner, Derlot and Aurecon will be given a contract as consultants to the terminal rebuilding program, and will work with Brisbane City Council throughout the construction process.

Brisbane Ferry Terminals Post-Flood Recovery, Australia, designed by Cox Rayner Architects, has won the ‘World’s Best Future Projects Infrastructure’ award at the prestigious World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2013.

The judging of the WAF Awards is taking place during the largest global celebration of architecture - the World Architecture Festival, which is being held at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore this week.

The Brisbane Ferry Terminals Post-Flood Recovery resulted from a design competition to conceive a new ferry terminal suite in the wake of the devastating 2011 Brisbane floods. The aim of the project was to see if it were possible to design a flood-resilient ferry terminal to replace the 20 destroyed during the floods.

The building was selected by a jury of some of the world's most dynamic architectural and urban designers. It overcame competition from a shortlist of six entries.

The jury commended the project, saying “The Brisbane Ferry Terminals Post-Flood Recovery is a simple and elegant solution to address the destruction caused by the floods. It captures the quintessential elements of Queensland, Australian architecture – openness, light-weight structures, and providing shade and shadow.”

This is the 6th year the World Architecture Festival Awards have been presented, and by the end of the festival 32 WAF Awards will have been announced across the three main sections of Completed Buildings, Landscape and Future Projects.

Projects entered this year, against a challenging economic climate, reflect the festival’s theme of ‘Value and Values’ demonstrating the core factors that inform the relationship between perceptions of financial value and the values that architects typically hold regarding their work. The awards programme will culminate with the announcement of the coveted World Building of the Year Award, which will be selected by the festival’s super-jury. It will be chaired by Ken Tadashi Oshima of The University of Washington. The highly esteemed international judging panel also includes Ken Yeang - Llewelyn Davies Yeang; Patrick Bellew - Atelier Ten; Jeanne Gang - Studio Gang Architects and Dietmar Eberle - Baumschlager Eberle.

Paul Finch, WAF Programme Director, said: ‘This year’s festival is already proving to be the largest, most well-attended and most exciting event to date. The strength of the entries in this year’s awards has even surpassed the very high standards set in previous years, ensuring that each category is extremely competitive. Today’s category winners will now compete for the festival’s ultimate prize, The World Building of the Year award, and our super-jury will certainly face some tough decisions given the calibre of today’s winning projects.”

Previous winners of the World Building of the Year Award include Luigi Bocconi University, Milan, designed by Irish practice Grafton Architects (2008); Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in South Africa, designed by Peter Rich Architects of Johannesburg (2009); MAXXI (National Museum of the 21st Century Arts) in Rome, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (2010); Media TIC, designed by Cloud 9 Architects (2011); Gardens By The Bay, designed by Wilkinson Eyre, Grant Associates, Atelier One and Atelier Ten (2012).