This Brisbane building might be the best of its kind in the country. Would anything like it be built today?

October 23, 2026 — 4:00am

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Few building types have stood the test of time like the public library.

Its role has long since expanded from book storage into being a community hub hosting a multitude of demographics, from parent groups to PhD students. Libraries are regularly cited among Gen Z as one of their true “third spaces”.

The State Library of Queensland (SLQ) might just be the finest example of its kind in Australia. What makes this building so successful?

The library we know and love today is a 2006 extension to the previous state library built in the 1980s as part of Robin Gibson’s Cultural Centre.

Reimagined by Donovan Hill and Peddle Thorpe Architects, it is double the size of the former library. This year marks two decades since its opening, and it’s worth reflecting what makes it one of Brisbane’s best public buildings.

The extension is nothing short of radical. Instead of a front door, you are greeted by a towering, bright green concrete wall nearly five storeys high, capped with a copper-finned crown. It gives nothing away about the inside.

Visitors........

© Brisbane Times