Brisbane 2032 – a catalyst for transformationDesigning legacy Brisbane 2032 venues with a sense of ‘place’

Q: What lessons have you learned from designing iconic stadia that Brisbane 2023 can leverage?

Two critical lessons stand out. First, persistence is key – you must believe in your design ideas and push through initial resistance. Second, you must actively listen. The best design opportunities often arise where different disciplines intersect. Whether enabling architects’ ambitions or helping builders save materials, solutions come from genuinely understanding the challenges faced by the entire team.

Q: How can we make stadia and arenas more sustainable?

Stadiums typically operate only 300 – 400 hours per year, making fan-related energy savings relatively minor. Real sustainability gains come from carefully assessing building systems early in the design to avoid unnecessary energy use between events. Most importantly, the biggest sustainability opportunity is simply to use less material. Even minor changes, such as removing a row of seats, narrowing concourses, or tightening the stadium’s footprint can eliminate thousands of square metres of concrete and steel. Ultimately, creating the most efficient stadium structure possible is essential for meaningful sustainability.

Q: How are new technologies changing the way we design stadia and arenas?

Stadium design today is intensely technology-driven. Automation tools now instantly transfer detailed room data directly into design software, precisely locating fixtures and services, streamlining what was previously a manual, time-consuming process.

Advances in simulation are also significantly improving stadium design. We can accurately model crowd movement, airflow over turf to optimise grass growth, and acoustics to enhance fan experience. For instance, new software enables precise testing of sound clarity from every seat, ensuring balanced acoustics and clear audio for music and speech.

Fan experience is paramount, so early-stage testing using these simulations ensures optimal comfort, lighting, ventilation, and viewing angles. On Docklands Stadium, technological advancements reduced airflow analysis from weeks to just days, enabling quick adjustments when Barbara Streisand concert required blackout curtains that affected ventilation.

Additionally, broadcast needs have evolved dramatically – from a dozen camera positions to multiple cameras per player. Stadiums now must be adaptable, designed to accommodate ongoing technological shifts. Structures built today will last decades, but the technologies integrated into them may become obsolete within years, so flexibility is crucial.

Q: What is the role of information versus knowledge in engineering design?

Information and knowledge are very different. Information is simply data, whereas design knowledge involves instinct, intuition, and empathy. Empathy allows designers to truly understand what people and communities need and aims to achieve more meaningful outcomes.

Many misunderstand design as purely exchanging information, but it’s really about exchanging knowledge – something only humans can do effectively. Storytelling is vital here because it transforms great ideas into reality. Stadiums, being bespoke and place-specific, are perfect examples of where empathetic, knowledgeable design can create lasting legacies.

Q: What is changing about fan experience for stadia and arena design?

One of the things in fan experience is that the venue is becoming part of the entertainment. In the past, the venue was a passive structure from which people watched entertainment. Now, if you go to a T20 match, between every over and sometimes every ball, the stadium becomes part of the entertainment, with light shows and music. It's morphing from being a venue to facilitate entertainment to being entertainment itself, and that's quite a design change.

Q: How can innovation be incorporated into the design of stadia and arenas?

Innovation never happens between a single set of ears and is almost never one person's piece of work. There must be some provocation or problem. I like to use the analogy of a pearl. You'll never get a pearl without a piece of grit inside the oyster. So, innovation never happens without a problem; innovation never happens unless the party with the piece of grit, the problem, brings that to the table and shares it.

In a stadium context, the architect doesn't want fire spray all over the giant structure, so you find ways for fire engineering to ensure that doesn’t happen. Similarly, structural and mechanical engineers work together to solve loads from a moving roof mechanism so that you can reduce the steel weight.

Q: Why is collaboration key to achieving project innovation?

Collaboration is key to achieving innovation on projects.

In a Design and Construct environment, builders need early cost certainty and aim to lock in a significant proportion of trades quickly, even if full details aren’t ready. Structural design usually drives the critical path, meaning other disciplines – like mechanical, architectural, and interior – must adapt and sequence their work accordingly. This means proactively coordinating key elements out of typical sequence to accommodate structural progress.

Collaboration also means clearly communicating and managing timing expectations with all team members. For instance, architects may not have all layout details ready immediately, so it’s crucial to collaboratively agree on what’s essential first, allowing time for later refinements rather than imposing impractical deadlines.

Furthermore, genuine collaboration requires understanding the entire business context. Stadium revenue often comes significantly from broadcasting, rather than simply ticket sales. A minor power outage can cost broadcasters millions per minute. Therefore, collaboration across teams includes addressing and mitigating such risks, reinforcing that the facility must be understood as part of a larger entertainment and commercial ecosystem.

Ultimately, engineers provide their greatest value by actively collaborating – asking questions like “What if?” or “How could we do this better?” Instead of being a constraint, the best outcomes occur when engineers, architects, builders, and clients contribute iteratively, working together toward innovative and practical solutions.

Q: How can Brisbane 2032 venues create lasting community legacy?

I think when stadia and arenas are designed well, they generally last. The stadiums and arenas that succeed are those versatile enough for both sporting and non-sporting events.

Understanding why some venues attract regular non-sporting bookings – like concerts or special events – is vital to making our venues viable and economically sustainable.

Stadiums are often controversial initially, yet beloved once built. Brisbane’s unique opportunity lies in creating venues that genuinely become accessible, inclusive community assets – not exclusive spaces. To do this effectively, we must design with a sense of place. Imagine watching a Brisbane Lions game on TV and instantly recognising the stadium as Victoria Park, a venue that is distinctly Queensland, reflecting its community and environment.

Too often, stadiums look disconnected, like flying saucers dropped randomly into cities. Our goal must be to design venues deeply rooted in Queensland’s identity. When venues authentically reflect their place, the community is far more likely to engage with and embrace them, ensuring a lasting legacy.

Q: How do Aurecon’s Design Directors bring world-leading expertise and experience to stadia and arena engineering?

The role of Design Directors at Aurecon is to bring the best of our design skills to our most important projects. That doesn't mean we are the best designers for everything. While not always directly designing every element, our role is to provide leadership, guidance, and foster collaboration at essential project stages – especially at concept formation, development, and execution.

Aurecon’s fully integrated structure means expertise flows seamlessly between projects, a networked connectivity we excel at. Regionally, we've led more major stadium and arena projects than anyone, building deep experience in large, complex public venues such as stadiums, concert halls, and airports. Our skills in managing expansive structures, accommodating large crowds, and prioritising safety are transferable across diverse project types.

Our strength lies in leveraging diverse experience – drawing inspiration not only from stadium projects but also from airports, concert halls, and other sectors. This breadth enables us to innovate uniquely, bringing fresh, insightful approaches to every bespoke project.