City an open house

NEWS

An event that will open the secret doors of some of Brisbane’s most intriguing public and private spaces begins next month. Brisbane Open House, an initiative of the Queensland Government Architect and the Brisbane Development Association, will become an annual event on Brisbane’s calendar, with the first being held on Saturday 2 October.

The symbols and ceremony of The Grand Hall at The Masonic Temple in the city centre (see below); the 180-year old excavations by convict gangs that underpin one of Brisbane's oldest buildings, the Commissariat Stores; the 1100 pipes of the old Wurlitzer organ from the city’s Regent Theatre, from the tiniest metal tubes to 10 metre wooden funnels, locked away under the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) – these are some of Brisbane’s historic and architectural gems that will be unlocked for Brisbane Open House.
It will open the secret doors of at least 15 buildings – behind the scenes at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Queensland State Library; the spectacular new view of the Brisbane River from the Tri Generation Plant high up in the new Santos Place; the story behind the structure of the Kurilpa Bridge, and more.
Visitors to these buildings and spaces will be given detailed insights from the architects, engineers, planners and users on how they work and what they mean.
Brisbane Development Association executive director John Pettit says the initiative aims to enrich understanding of the city through encouraging residents and visitors to explore, re-examine and engage with Brisbane’s built environment. “We all love our city but don't always get the chance to explore its history and see inside some of our most iconic developments,” Mr Pettit said.
“Visitors will be granted the rare opportunity to explore these developments, in some cases for the first time.
“The mix of historic and modern architecture and engineering is truly fascinating. Simply seeing these buildings from the street makes it difficult to grasp the complexity of design on the inside.
“We hope that Brisbane Open House will open our residents’ eyes to these curious spaces and develop a new appreciation of the wealth of architecture and engineering nestled around our city.”

Masonic Temple the first to open its doors

One hundred and fifty years of Freemason history and architectural intrigue will be unlocked on Saturday 2 October when the lead doors to the Masonic Memorial Temple will swing open for the public to take guided tours of one of the oldest buildings in the state.

Locked behind its giant corinthian columns in Ann Street, the Masonic Memorial Temple is a trove of Freemason history as old as Queensland. The 1930s heritage-listed building is still the centre of Freemason activity in Queensland today, yet its history and architectural intrigue remain a mystery to many. Built as a shrine and monument to accommodate large Masonic events, the grandeur of the Temple’s ceremonial spaces, particularly the Grand Hall and the Court of Remembrance around the Memorial Urn, is stunning.
Designed by Lange Powell, himself a Freemason, during 1928-1930, the Temple was built solely from Queensland materials – sandstone from Helidon and marble from Chillagoe in north Queensland, while its furniture was built on-site during construction using local cedar, maple and silky-oak timber.
It originally cost $260,000 to build and is today heritage listed with a value of more than $14,000,000.
The United Grand Lodge of Queensland’s Deputy Grand Secretary Graham Schulz said the lodge was thrilled to be part of the Brisbane Open House. “We are very proud to be part of Brisbane’s living history network, having celebrated our 150 years last year. We are as old as Queensland itself.”