The brief from the Australian Government’s Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation required a multi-purpose recreation hall to be used for basketball, netball, badminton, volleyball, general recreation and theatrical performances. For Allen Jack+Cottier the challenge was to create a building that would simultaneously inspire its users, respect its site, work efficiently in terms of both environment and energy conservation and meet tight budget constraints.

Inspired by the famous London Crystal Palace designed by Joseph Paxton in 1851, the hall is based on the concept of a glass palace. Glass palaces provide wonderful internal light qualities, as well as shelter from the elements in temperate climates, but do not work in tropical climates without mechanical cooling and shading. Allen Jack+Cottier`s light box design overcomes that issue with the use of a four-wall, Danpalon Heatstop polycarbonate wall which transfers only 1% heat. The design allows for a natural ventilation system using low-level louvres and high-level wind turbines to provide fresh air and cooling.

Exhaustive on-site and environmental research, coupled with a lateral approach to use of materials, proved to be the keys to Allen Jack+Cottier`s inspired design. Detailed modelling showed that a transparent, insulating UV-resistant and cost-effective material could be used on a steel frame to add lightness and resilience to the structure.

The design result: three boxes where the volume of activity is enclosed in a dramatic luminescent tube-like expanse, which can be closed off at either end and reacts to outside weather conditions through a series of louvres and roof vents. At night, when the space can be transformed into a theatre, it glows like a lantern in the landscape.