Economical, flexible and rudimentary were the design aspirations for the Curra Community Hall, conceived as a simple and honest construction with robust, natural and cost effective materials, appropriate to its place in regional Queensland.

Stakeholder workshops run by the architects streamlined the design aspirations of the 14 user groups who contributed to shaping an equitable community place for the 1,920 or so people who reside in Curra, a rural settlement just north of Gympie.

The legibility of the exposed timber frame structure celebrates the construction skills of the carpenters who made the building, as well as referencing the timber history of the region.

The single skin construction, reminiscent of and referencing the ‘Queenslander’ and ‘Rural’ shed vernacular, is designed using passive principles of solar orientation, cross ventilation and natural air flow / cooling. 

As a ‘Lantern’, the hall made of light filled walls during the day, also glows at night as a beacon of community spirit.