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Purpose built

Three people exploring the Purpose Built exhibition.

FREE EXHIBITION

Purpose built

Architecture for a better tomorrow

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Purpose built

Free exhibition
Until 14 April 2024

slq Gallery, level 2
#slqPurposeBuilt #uqArchitecture

About the exhibition

Experience the transformative potential of architectural design and its pivotal role in shaping communities and shifting perspectives of housing today.

From digitisation and material innovations to water sensitive design, new approaches to housing typologies, and the vital role of community involvement in design and planning conversations, this exhibition proposes a future with a purposeful approach to the built environment.

Purpose built is an immersive exhibition consisting of large-scale installations developed with research groups from The University of Queensland’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning.

This exhibition is a joint initiative of The University of Queensland and State Library of Queensland.

Virtual tour

Conversations

Rethinking Gununa housing – What would Indigenous led design look like?
1 February 2024, State Library of Queensland

Building tomorrow: a panel discussion on the future of architecture
15 February 2024, State Library of Queensland

Exhibition research

Purpose built combines research-driven insights into the future of the built environment with State Library collections. Discover the 5 research projects from the University of Queensland's School of Architecture, Design, and Planning.

Interviews

Projects

Point cloud image of Jocks Rd with the AEB on the left

Digital Twin of UQ St Lucia Campus

This project demonstrates what the future of built environment management can look like.

Researchers onsite at the Hervey Bay forest

Forest to Fibre to Building

Learn about transforming timber thinnings with parametric design, fostering sustainability and innovation in construction.

Architectural rendering of high density mixed-use space.

Future-Proofing Brisbane's Middle-Ring Suburbs

Explore projects mapping Brisbane's middle-ring suburbs, modeling outcomes, and creating climate-sensitive housing alternatives for a sustainable future.

View of Mornington Island

The Future of Housing and Urban Design on Gununa

Gununa, Mornington Island, like many remote Indigenous communities, grapples with unfit housing, inadequate community housing, and energy security disparities.

3D printed bricks on a table.

Remote Robotic Additive Manufacturing

This project investigated 3D printing of clay-based bio-materials to produce blocks with improved structural and environmental performance.

Resources for teachers

Empower your students for the future with our free Design and Technologies curriculum teaching resources.

Students adding colourful notes to a whiteboard

Shop the exhibition

Book cover of First Knowledges Design: Building on Country

First Knowledges Design: Building on Country
By Alison Page and Paul Memmott

Book cover of The Aboriginal Architecture of Australia

Gunyah Goondie + Wurley: The Aboriginal Architecture of Australia
Book by Paul Memmott

Book cover of The New Queensland House

The New Queensland House
By Cameron Bruhn

Cover of MMXX: Two Decades of Architecture in Australia

MMXX: Two Decades of Architecture in Australia
By Cameron Bruhn

From the blog

Water roof

Water sensitive urban design technologies

Discover how Water Sensitive Urban Design is revolutionising urban planning by harmoniously weaving water management strategies into development, resulting in cities that are both sustainable and resilient.

A white house and garden with colourful flowers

Architectural features

Want to know more about the architecture of your house or others in your street? Read our blog to get to know some of the architectural styles of Queensland homes across the decades.

Advertisement for the "Linray" model suburb - sketch of three houses and three house plans.

The challenge of a Brisbane ‘model suburb’ in Newmarket 1933-1935

During the Depression Andrew Lind and William Abel Gray proposed the building of a model suburb in Newmarket. Linray homes were designed to be economical quality homes. Learn about the fate of the model suburb and see photos of some of the homes.

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