Bold ideas for Brisbane

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Tags: summer-2012

Dr Robert Riddel

PhD in Architecture – ‘08

Dr Robert Riddel

Dr Robert Riddel believes the best cities are old cities, that have preserved the best parts of their past. He says those cities have a tangible link to their history, giving occupants identity and cultural distinction.

An architect who completed his PhD in Architectural History in 2008, he has placed his respected firm, Riddel Architecture in what was originally a furniture shop on Wickham Street in Fortitude Valley. Over the past 20 plus years, Dr Riddel has helped preserve some of Brisbane’s most visible landmarks, with the renovation of Customs House probably the best known.

“The Customs House project was such a successful venture in public support and patronage and one of those locations where people can celebrate architecture, but also the place and its history,” Dr Riddel said.

Additional local projects include adaptive reuse of the former National Australia Bank in Brisbane’s CBD, Brisbane City Hall and a number of heritage Queensland homes. He also is currently designing an additional level atop the Goddard Building at UQ’s St Lucia campus.

Dr Riddel is a historian, innovator and conservationist. He sees Brisbane’s potential in what he calls its great architectural gems.

One place he would like to see admired, similar to Customs House, is St John’s Cathedral in the city centre.

“Brisbane has its fair share of landmarks but we do not honour them as we could. St John’s Cathedral is the finest of its kind in Australia, and shares its site with Adelaide House, where Queensland began. Who knows or gets to see this great history?” he said.

To showcase St John’s, he suggests looking to history, when its position was selected to be a prominent monument when entering the city by way of the Brisbane River.

“Important sites like the first European landing at North Quay are wastelands. Others are abandoned and await an unknown fate. My proposal is to link the Cathedral to Queen Street near Customs House with a grand staircase. The idea would put the Cathedral and the space on display similar to the Spanish Steps in Rome or Sacre Coeur in Paris,” he said.

Allowing for smaller buildings on either side of the steps and twin pedestrian bridges to cross over the top of Adelaide Street, this proposed viewing corridor would conceal underneath a 4000 seat music venue, with entrances connected to Queen and Adelaide streets. This would replace the lost Festival Hall.

Another idea looks at the sustainability of Brisbane’s transport system, which would allow Brisbane to grow without visible detriment and link to existing systems.

“The cost, although significant, is not so different to the road tunnels we have just built. This type of conservation depends on having a viable use for a place. New uses mean change, but that change needs to be carefully controlled,” Dr Riddel said.

He says controlled change recognises surrounding spaces, and not appreciating where and how people interact and view a structure is detrimental to its use, appeal and contribution.

One of his greatest inspirations, Brisbane architect Robin Dods (1868-1920), and the subject of his PhD work, had a great admiration for surrounding spaces, and greatly recognised Brisbane’s landscape.

“He was one of the best, doing good building after good building. Dods used timber materials in a way to be proud of, by using his skills and sophisticated craftsman approach. He was one of the greats and he was ours,” he said.

Dr Riddel has given a handful of tours of Dods’s remaining works, such as St Brigid’s Church in Red Hill, but many, like the nurses home at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, are empty, while many others are gone.

Still, he is optimistic about the future, and believes important lessons have been learned about what good architecture is, and how to look after it. He also looks forward to seeing where Brisbane goes structurally and visually and will continue to advocate for the best for his city.

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