Cairns Convention Centre secures top architecture award

The expanded Cairns Convention Centre has been revealed as a winner at the Far North Queensland Architecture Awards on 17th.

The Convention Centre’s expansion, designed by Cox Architects and CA Architects, took out the top building of the year prize.

Sandy Cavill, award juror and architect noted “It is a really welcomed update and refresh to a convention centre which was some decades old.

“The project is really successful in the way that it reorientates the original convention centre, which was quite an inward focused facility, and it provides an orientation both to the public realm of the city, but also beyond to the views of the river and spectacular rainforest beyond the project.”

The Convention Centre’s design was also commended for its potential to attract larger events and generate valuable tourism dollars for the city and wider region.

Cavill said the expansion was functional as well as aesthetically pleasing and added “the expansion integrates a series of really flexible and functional spaces which enable the centre now to host event types and sizes which perhaps the centre didn’t previously have the capacity or the facility to facilitate.

“So it’s really broad kind of a new dimension to the centre offering in the way that it can host events.”

Janet Hamilton, General Manager Cairns Convention Centre said clients are also very complimentary of the Centre’s design and shared “The design of the Centre’s expansion enables us to host multiple events at once or host a larger conference, increasing the economic benefit of the venue for the local region. The new expansion is unique in its design for a convention centre, by bringing the natural assets of the region into the spaces. We have large windows with incredible natural light, creating a seamless flow to the views outside. The spaces give event organisers enormous creative license to develop unique events for their guests, creating memorable experiences for everyone.”

The Convention Centre has now been short-listed for the Queensland Architecture Awards, due to take place in June.