In January 2011, devastating floods severely damaged or destroyed seven of Brisbane’s ferry terminals. To protect against the paralysing effect of future floods, Brisbane City Council undertook a significant upgrade programme for the Brisbane ferry terminal network.

Aurecon and Cox Architecture won an open design competition, which attracted 65 submissions from around the world, to design new ferry terminals that would be resilient to future flood events and accessible to all.

Video Transcript: Brisbane Flood Resilient and Accessible Ferry Terminals Design

Critical transport infrastructure in Brisbane was devastated when the river flooded in January 2011. The Aurecon and Cox Architecture team was passionate about finding a better way to make this critical ferry infrastructure more flood resilient, accessible and for travellers to enjoy and celebrate the river.

These new generation ferry terminals stretch conventional boundaries. They incorporate world leading flood resilient technology which means the terminal can be returned to operation shortly after a flood event. A single sculpted pier allows commuters to enjoy panoramic views of the Brisbane River. It deflects debris away from the pontoon while also providing primary restraint of the pontoon. And upstream fender absorbs flood impact and deflects objects to prevent damage.

During a flood, the gangway uses the floodwaters to become buoyant and automatically detach from the shore; swinging behind the pontoon and out of the way of debris. The mooring point changes function to provide a supplementary lateral restraint to the pontoon. The downstream arm pivots below the water line. A chain connected to an underwater pile secures the downstream arm. The pontoon’s boat shaped hull makes it more resilient by minimising flood drag force. Believed to be a world first for compliant disabled access, the unique gangway mechanics maintain level intermediate landings throughout the tidal range. An innovative hanging floor within the gangway structure uses pinned parallelogram frames which can rotate and are connected to fixed triangular frames that maintain their installed level regardless of how the internal structure moves.

Now everyone is able to enjoy the iconic Brisbane Ferry Terminals and commuters and the city will benefit from resilient terminals that can quickly return to use after a flood.

Flood resilient, accessible, elegant

Design objectives were to:

improve flood resilience
achieve wheelchair and mobility aid accessibility
deliver a modern, ambitious and elegant architectural design in the maritime environment that eliminated the traditional array of pontoon guide piles

The challenge of integrating these competing design objectives required deep collaboration between the maritime, industrial mechanical and architectural disciplines. The depth of this collaboration is at the core of the project’s many innovations.

Learn more about how Aurecon and Cox Architecture used digital engineering tools to marry the engineering and architectural intent of the new generation ferry terminals through the case study below.

Case Study: Brisbane Ferry Terminals ›

Case Study: Brisbane Ferry Terminals ›

The Engineering Challenge

The Brisbane Ferry Terminals project has delivered a shining example of ferry terminal ingenuity, driving flood resilient structures which are accessible to all. It is believed to be the world’s first example of a solution to providing level landings to achieve compliant disability access in public ferry infrastructure.

As part of the engineering requirements, all visible piles needed to be removed from the river. A single sculpted pier and gangway acting as a radial arm now provides all lateral support to the pontoon. An upstream fender absorbs the energy of and deflects heavy objects away during a flood event to prevent damage to the terminal.

A boat-hull shape inspired pontoon reduces negative lift on leading edge and drag force during floods.

The terminal’s gangway utilises buoyancy to automatically detach from the shore during flood events, swinging behind the broad downstream end of the pontoon and out of the way of debris; simultaneously the pontoon’s downstream mooring point changes function to provide lateral restraint to the pontoon in a flood or post-flood situation.

Unique gangway floor mechanics maintain level intermediate landings throughout the tidal range provide what is believed to be a world-first solution for achieving compliant disabled access.

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