FEATURES: HOSPITALITY
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On the waterfront
A massive renovation project has transformed the derelict Howard Smith Wharves complex. Caroline Moss takes a virtual tour of Brisbane’s newest hospitality destination, which has successfully readapted during 2020 LOCATED ON A BEND OF THE BRISBANE RIVER BENEATH the Story Bridge, the 3.4-hectare Howard Smith Wharves, originally created to provide Queensland locals with employment during the recession of the 1930s, is enjoying a new lease of life. A selection of restaurants, bars and event spaces began springing up during a phased opening that started in late 2018. The site has withstood Covid-19 restrictions, albeit with a little repurposing, and is firmly back in business. And with more than 80% of the site allocated as public space for Brisbane residents to enjoy, providing a 500m cycle and walking path allowing riverside access into the city, it is well-placed to aid the region’s recovery. With a history of refurbishing heritage-listed and derelict buildings, the HSW Nominees consortium was selected by Brisbane City Council in 2015 to undertake the revitalisation of HSW. HSW Nominees plans to own and operate the precinct for the long term, with a three-tiered approach of restoration, design and visitor education. Brisbane construction firm, Hutchinson Builders, was contracted to restore the heritage buildings and construct new facilities, with local systems integrator Ampd Electronics brought in to handle AV integration. The site, which had lain derelict since the 1960s, had become a wasteland of disused historic buildings. Over a five-year period, at a cost of between A$200–250 million, this has been transformed into a multiplexed, family-oriented leisure village overlooking the Brisbane River. Before the events of 2020 struck, HSW’s phased opening was going according to plan as the different venues came online, starting with the Felons pub in November 2018. Ampd was brought in 18 months into the development phase to provide a networked audio system across the site, featuring an enormous deployment of Martin
Howard Smith Wharves is on a bend of the Brisbane River Image courtesy of Christopher Pratt Audio and QSC loudspeakers, with nearly 250 of Martin Audio’s CDD (Coaxial Differential Dispersion) series enclosures alone – including IP-rated weatherised WR versions. A QSC Q-Sys backbone running on the IT fibre network provides connectivity between the individual venues, allowing any audio source to be routed to any destination. The audio technology was provided by Australian distributor, TAG, whose director Anthony Russo
describes the project as “world class, transformative and the most unique site in Australia.” “We started almost three years ago,” recalls Ampd’s Matt Hayes, looking back over the project. “It was a huge construction site in terms of the sheer size, and while the venues weren’t massive jobs individually, there were several projects of a reasonable size going on in the same space all at once.”
58 PRO AVL ASIA Januar y–Februar y 2021
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