Council held a National 'Ideas' competition to spark new thinking on the future of cultural and civic precinct on the Gold Coast.

Entrants were invited to respond to a design brief including an art gallery, performance theatre, multi-purpose civic concert hall, cafe-entertainment, 400-seat drama theatre, discovery centre/museum, a cinema complex, library interpretive centre and associated car parking.  Design ideas also had to address the specific attributes of the site, and in particular, the flood prone nature of the site.

The competition attracted 56 entries and the jury selected a winner, a high commendation and three commendations.

Prizes, including $90,000 for the winning entry, Island of Culture by Supercolossal, were awarded at a ceremony held on 20 October 2009 at The Arts Centre Gold Coast

GCCCPM Designer Awards from Gold Coast City Council on Vimeo.

'The competition should provoke the discussion of issues and concerns, that it should inform public debate about critical aspects of environmental and cultural issues relevant to the site and to the City’s vision and that it should inspire by revealing or suggesting opportunities that sit beyond the frame of conventional planning processes.’

You can view the winning and commended entries at the links to the above right.

The Ideas competition and associated community engagement highlighted the challenges and provided inspiration for the opportunities presented by this unique site. A summary of key issues can be viewed on the Inspired Ideas page. To view all entries, download the PDF document.