In 2013, the City of Gold Coast in Queensland launched an international design competition to masterplan a new 17-hectare cultural precinct at Evandale, near the famed Surfers Paradise.
Seventy-five firms entered the competition.
ARM Architecture, with German landscape architects TOPOTEK 1, was one of three shortlisted teams invited to further develop a concept.
They ultimately won the competition and subsequently designed the master plan for what is now known as HOTA (Home of the Arts).
The ARM master plan converted aging cultural infrastructure and redundant commercial buildings into an arts and recreation precinct for Australia’s fastest-growing city.
HOTA Outdoor Stage
Stage 1 of the scheme, the HOTA Outdoor Stage, was completed in November 2017.
It’s a versatile double-sided venue: a black-box theatre with a riverside entrance and a back wall that folds away completely, opening the box out onto an amphitheater with seating and lawn space for 5,000 people.
The whole venue is nestled underneath a landscaped mound.
There is a commercial kitchen to cater to public and private functions, plus dressing rooms, and backstage amenities.
The venue is equipped with the latest digital technologies.
HOTA Bridge
The second completed stage is the 130-metre green bridge (which is coloured bright blue), which was designed and delivered by ARM, Archipelago, and CUSP.
Cusp was engaged to collaborate with Topotek1 and ARM and develop a landscape design suitable for the climate and context, a coordinated external works package, and construction supervision of the delivery.
Spanning the Nerang River, the bridge is for pedestrians and bikes, and connects HOTA to Surfers Paradise via Chevron Island.
The landing at the HOTA end curves out over Evandale Lake.
It’s wrapped with a striking three-dimensional façade—an artwork called 40 Million Mornings, created by artists Warren Langley and Jess Austin and curated by ARM’s partners at Archipelago.
The folded form and golden hue represent the sun on the Nerang River over the past 40 million mornings, using the themes of water and open hands to illustrate the notion of past, present, and future.
HOTA Gallery
Opened to an appreciative and enthusiastic public on 8 May 2021, the HOTA Gallery has made a bold and unapologetic inclusion to the Gold Coast skyline.
At 5,500 m2, the HOTA Gallery is one of the largest regional galleries in Australia and houses the City of Gold Coast’s extensive collection of art and cultural artifacts, plus local and international temporary and touring exhibitions.
The building is the third realized element of the HOTA (Home of the Arts) master plan, designed by ARM Architecture.
The HOTA precinct is unified visually by the dynamic, organic cellular structure of the Voronoi.
A Voronoi diagram is a network of cells that occurs naturally in many plants and animals; even honeycombs and bubbles.
Voronoi shapes in nature adapt and shift in response to external change.
So this was deemed to be a perfect structure for a cultural precinct that reflects the furious and youthful energy of Australia’s sixth biggest and fastest-growing city.
Unusually, HOTA is a vertical gallery.
You start on Level 6 and work your way down through the exhibitions via thoughtfully-detailed timber stairs that reward the transition with panoramic views of the HOTA precinct, Surfers Paradise skyline, and the broader Gold Coast.
The artscape interprets culture in the broadest, most inclusive way.
It is egalitarian and unashamedly different from cultural centres in other major cities.
Each of the six gallery spaces is a digitally enabled and immersive destination, boasting 5m ceilings and roof-loading capability.
Gallery 1 is a 1,000m² AAA-rated exhibition hall that’s climate controlled for national and internationally touring exhibitions.
There are three 300m² permanent collection galleries, a Children’s Gallery, and an Artist Workshop/Studio.
Plus there’s a Storage on Show feature.
Visitors stand on the Juliet balcony and look into the collection store which has several curated racks pulled out for viewing.
There’s a casual fine dining restaurant on the ground floor and a rooftop bar with 360-degree views of the Gold Coast skyline, the Nerang River, and the hinterland.
Client Feedback
“This is a beautiful, durable and functional design, offering a breathtaking rooftop experience, which will ensure the gallery becomes a cultural beacon…”
~ Tom Tate, Mayor, City of Gold Coast
“To have a project of this complexity constructed on budget and on time, and through the chaos of a COVID year, is absolutely exceptional.”
~ Professor Ned Pankhurst, HOTA Board Chair
“The outside of the building is colourful, it’s bright, it’s brash, it’s full of bravado like the Gold Coast itself. Then you come inside and it’s sophisticated, it’s smart, it’s thoughtful and full of light and shade—like the Gold Coast.”
~ HOTA CEO Criena Gehrke
Project Awards
HOTA Gallery
2022 Public Architecture Award (Queensland Architecture Awards)
HOTA Bridge
Commendation (Urban Design), AIA (QLD Chapter)
HOTA Outdoor Stage
National Award for Public Architecture AIA (National)
FDG Stanley Award—Public Architecture AIA (QLD Chapter)
Commendation—Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture
Architects Landscape Architecture Award (Civic landscape)
Tourism Award of Excellence from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (Qld Chapter)
Project Details
Budget – $395m
Outdoor Space Completed – 2017
Bridge Completed – 2020
Gallery Completed – 2021
Project Team
Master Planning and Architecture
ARM Architecture
ARM is an award-winning architecture, urban design, master planning, and interior design practice, working nationally across Australia.
The practice has an international reputation for creating culturally significant buildings and precincts that stretch the boundaries of architectural and urban thought.
The ARM team is known for immersing themselves in the culture, history, usage, or environment of a project and incorporating those elements into their design work.
Bridge Design
Archipelago
ARM and Archipelago partnered to create the concept design for the HOTA Bridge with Archipelago continuing as Landscape Architects and Architects engaged by the Design and Construct (D&C) Contractor, Georgiou Brady Joint Venture.
Landscape Design
Cusp
Brisbane-based Landscape Architecture firm Cusp was engaged to collaborate with Topotek 1 and ARM to develop a landscape design suitable for the climate and context, a coordinated external works package, and construction supervision of the delivery.
Structural Engineering
Arup
Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, architects, consultants, and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today’s built environment.
Photography
Jeff Gardner
Jeff is the Editor at Builtworks.com.au and is fascinated by how we use the built environment. He explores the man-altered landscape and makes a visual diary of the things he encounters, sharing some of it here.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge it.
Design © 2022 ARM Architecture. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2022 Jeff Gardner. All Rights Reserved.
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