Headline
Brisbane Succession
Brisbane Succession
Subheadline
A green mineral glaze reveals an under-sung lineage running through three of South-East Queensland's prominent architectural practices: one established, absorbed and reborn, one creatively engaged and flourishing, and one emerging and setting the pace.
A green mineral glaze reveals an under-sung lineage running through three of South-East Queensland's prominent architectural practices: one established, absorbed and reborn, one creatively engaged and flourishing, and one emerging and setting the pace.
Synopsis
There is a glaze that belongs to Brisbane, a green mineral sealer fused into the concrete itself, first at Donovan Hill's redevelopment of the State Library of Queensland and, decades later, at J.AR Office's Golden Avenue. That recurrence is the impetus for this piece. The glaze is only a thread; follow it back through the projects and their architects, and a lineage becomes clear, connecting three of South-East Queensland's defining practices across a single generation. Adrian Spence worked at Donovan Hill before co-founding Richards & Spence; Jared Webb spent years at Richards & Spence before founding J.AR Office. Each carried the work of one practice into the next. It is a lineage seldom set down in writing, yet it has shaped the way the city looks, evidence that Brisbane's best buildings are not the work of lone talents but of a craft passed carefully from one office to the next.
There is a glaze that belongs to Brisbane, a green mineral sealer fused into the concrete itself, first at Donovan Hill's redevelopment of the State Library of Queensland and, decades later, at J.AR Office's Golden Avenue. That recurrence is the impetus for this piece. The glaze is only a thread; follow it back through the projects and their architects, and a lineage becomes clear, connecting three of South-East Queensland's defining practices across a single generation. Adrian Spence worked at Donovan Hill before co-founding Richards & Spence; Jared Webb spent years at Richards & Spence before founding J.AR Office. Each carried the work of one practice into the next. It is a lineage seldom set down in writing, yet it has shaped the way the city looks, evidence that Brisbane's best buildings are not the work of lone talents but of a craft passed carefully from one office to the next.
