Rendering of the new OPAQ Theater in Brisbane at night with a transparent, corrugated all-glass façade by seele made of individual panes of insulating glass that provide a view of the interior and visitors to the OPAQ

transparency in waves for qpac

new performing arts venue with curved all-glass façade

In a poem, Indigenous artist Aunty Lilla Watson describes the flowing beauty of the trees and water, inspiring the architects’ design for expanding the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC): The new building impresses with a wavy, 3D-engineered structural glass façade made by seele. Flat, concave and convex curved insulating glass elements with radii of 1 and 1.5 m give the building envelope a flowing dynamic. 

Façade type
Structural glass
Client
Queensland Government; Queensland Performing Arts Centre
Contractor
Lendlease
Architect
Blight Rayner / Snøhetta
Awards

Global Architecture and Design Award – Best Cultural Building 2023
Brisbane Regional Architecture Award – Public Architecture 2022
International Architecture Award – Cultural Buildings 2022
Queensland State Architecture Award 2022

new qpac: transparent lightness

The suspended façade with a steel framework emphasises the architectural intention of connecting the venue, which hosts musicals, operas and ballet performances, with the public space. The vertical loads of the all-glass façade are carried by tension rods and fins, while the horizontal wind loads are taken up by structural silicone glazing.

demanding installation on qpac

To install the curved glass elements for the QPAC, which are up to 7 m high, seele developed a customised lifting solution with a special glass suction unit that meets the highest safety requirements.

#madebyseele

Design, manufacturing and installation of an all-glass façade consisting of 62 convex and concave curved insulating glass panes, 144 flat insulating glass panes and 100 t of steel

2,300 sqm
curved insulating glass panes
7.2 m
height of the curved panes
144
flat insulating glass panes
100 t
steel work
further projects
Rendering of LACMA's new David Geffen Gallery with two floors and a continuous window front on the upper floor above a busy street, with people in front of the building and a striped skyscraper in the background

los angeles county museum of art

los angeles, usa
Museum at the Gateway Arch with a detail of the round roof with steel cantilevers and individual panes of glass

museum at the gateway arch

st. louis, usa