Building Brisbane’s legacy before the Games begin
In 1992, Barcelona showed the world what the Olympic Games could do for a city. Once viewed as a gritty port town, it underwent a transformation that reintroduced it to the global stage. Beaches opened the city to the Mediterranean. Museums and public spaces emerged. A revamped seafront and upgraded transport redefined how people experienced the city.
Today, it attracts some 32 million visitors per year.
But it wasn’t the Games alone that changed Barcelona. The groundwork started well before the bid was ever won. The Olympics simply gave it a deadline.
That distinction matters. Some host cities emerge stronger. Others are left with debt, underused venues, and fractured neighbourhoods. The difference lies not in the spectacle, but in the strategy — and in what happens before the torch is lit.
Brisbane (which ironically came third behind Barcelona for the 1992 Games) now finds itself at a similar crossroads.
With the 2032 Olympics secured and seven years on the clock, we have a choice: Do we design for the event? Or do we design for the decades that follow?
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Beyond the bid
The Olympics have become a convenient justification for large-scale development. But legacy can’t be reverse-engineered. It has to be intentional: baked into our policies, streetscapes, and investment decisions from the outset.
At Open, we’ve been thinking carefully about that in-between space. About how people move from stadium to hotel, workplace to waterfront. That’s where legacy lives, or fails.
Operating with the new Olympic norm model, Brisbane is not delivering a single Olympic Park with a carefully curated public realm within a defined area, but is instead delivering a number venues right across the city - turning the entire city, in effect, into our Olympic Park. This is in many ways a more challenging task as the entire fabric of the city between venues and accommodation need to be considered, planned and delivered thoughtfully and comprehensively across a large footprint.
We’re currently developing a spatial City Frames framework that delivers a way to think about an curate Brisbane City as the Olympic Park. It’s centred on three key urban corridors shaping Brisbane’s future: the Knowledge Corridor, the Arts and Culture Arc, and the Sports and Events Oval.
The existing Knowledge Corridor runs north to south through the inner city, linking universities, hospitals, research institutes, and knowledge-based businesses. It’s already taking shape and is being supercharged by major public transport projects like Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro.
The Arts and Culture Arc is a new framework and builds on Brisbane’s creative spine, connecting venues such as the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Brisbane Powerhouse, Queensland Ballet, and a network of inner-city arts venues. With investment in the public realm and pedestrian infrastructure, this arc could become a vibrant, continuous circuit that supports both local makers and international audiences.
The Sports and Events Oval is perhaps the most pressing and visceral in light of the Games, and brings together the city’s major stadiums and event venues. Many of these will play a central role during the Olympics.
Planned cohesively, these three corridors could open up a seamless, everyday urban experience. But right now, they remain largely disconnected.
For decades, Brisbane has been shaped around roads, cars, and logistics. Many of the precincts are cut off by roads or topography. Pedestrian routes feel like afterthoughts. Retail shutters after 5pm. People come for the event and then leave.
The City Frames work is early, but the intention is clear: to prioritise movement, cohesion, and the everyday rhythm of the city. To see what already exists and make it work better. That’s the opportunity.
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Designing with intention
Good urban strategy doesn’t separate policy from place. It recognises that how we zone, regulate, and invest directly shapes the texture and feel of the city.
If we’re serious about building legacy, we need stronger alignment between public infrastructure and private development. That means making clear where growth is encouraged, and what kind of growth adds value to the everyday life of a place.
We’ve been looking at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium as an example. It’s a year-round precinct. F1, NFL, tennis, concerts — the infrastructure supports multiple uses, but more importantly, so does the surrounding environment. People know they can arrive early, stay late, eat nearby, and move easily through the space. It’s not designed solely for the event, but for everything that happens around it.
That’s the kind of thinking we need more of in Brisbane. What does it look like for someone to spend a full day in a precinct and not just attend a match or conference? How do we make it easier for a researcher to stay near a health campus for six months and have access to good food, green space, and cultural experiences? Can a family visit a museum in the morning, walk to lunch, and still feel safe exploring the riverfront into the evening without needing multiple transfers or a car?
The goal isn’t just connecting separate precincts on a map. It’s creating a layered, frictionless experience — one that makes the city livable, visitable, and memorable in equal measure. This is what City Frames aims to address by focusing on the three corridors shaping Brisbane’s future: the Knowledge Corridor, Arts and Culture Arc, and Sports and Event Oval. Each plays a distinct role, but their true potential lies in how they function together.
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Brisbane’s big moment
I’ve heard Brisbane called a “big country town” more times than I can count. Sometimes it’s affectionate. Sometimes critical. Either way, it says something: people want this city to feel accessible, comfortable, and alive. And a big city doesn’t have to feel crowded if it’s designed well.
We’re at a defining moment. Not because the Games are coming, but because we have time to shape what surrounds them. If we get it right, Brisbane will be a city worth returning to. That’s the legacy worth designing.
Our City Frames framework hasn’t been released publicly yet. If you want an early look at how these corridors could support a more connected Brisbane, we’d love to share it with you and welcome the conversation. Reach out to learn more.