University of Queensland’s Avalon Theater
The restoration of Avalon Theater for The University of Queensland saw the 1920’s building set in the St Lucia area receive a breath of fresh air. The building, previously a church, was then purchased by UQ in the 1960’s and transformed into a hub for drama performances and cultural activity. Currently being used as a teaching and production facility, UQ does have plans to review the model and potentially expand the theatre for community use in late 2025.
Recognising the historical significance which the Avalon Theater holds, the architecture team worked closely with heritage and design experts to ensure that the building was restored to a fully functioning, learning and educational facility while honouring its previous life. In an effort to preserve the building in the wider community, the front facade of the building was retained and restored, with the weatherboard from the original timber hall, window joinery and front steps all maintained to pay homage to the history of the building.
The new portion of the Theater adds the extension on from the original facade. Housing 2 theatres within the building, with 1 larger space holding up to 112 seats, and the other up to 50 seats. This new extension of the building also features a green room, dressing rooms, bathroom and shower facilities, storage facilities, theatre amenities, box office and bar. While the front Facade of the building honoured the heritage of the site, the extension edition favoured an uncommon process to cladding. The use of Roof Tiles for their Wall Cladding. Offering a new type of durability & aesthetic functionality to the look of the Theater. The cladding application of La Escandella Roof Tiles functioned like most rain screen cladding, although more thought around the batten fixing details when aligning these with the sub framing systems was necessary. With considerations around the sarking layers and the drainage from the tiles.
A major consideration when it came to the application of the tiles was the sizing, due to the batch consistency. Given the tiles were installed on a vertical face, any slight differences were pronounced. The tiles were chosen over other traditional facade masonry systems due to the colour warranty, smooth finish and cost point. The selection of the tiles also aided the building in blending seamlessly in with its urban landscape, with majority of the residential housing in the area utilising terracotta tile. This material selection lessened the loud nature in the residential area.
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