Across a 20-year period, Liquid Blu has completed over 100 master plans and 25 aquatic centres across Australia, carving a niche as specialists in aquatic, sports and leisure precincts. This month, the Brisbane-based architecture practice celebrates 20 years in the business.
Founded by Creative Director Yuri Dillon in 2001, the practice has expanded to a team of ten with a portfolio that extends from Hobart to Darwin and everywhere in between. Dillon says the reason for their success can be attributed to the love the practice has for creating first-rate aquatic environments.
"We do it for the joy of delivering places that communities can embrace," he says.
The Gympie Aquatic Recreation Centre, Blackwater Aquatic Centre, the Gold Coast’s Miami Aquatic Centre and the Yeppoon Foreshore Revitalisation Project – which features a series of pavilions surrounding a lagoon – headline a long list of projects Liquid Blu have completed across the twenty year timeframe.
Dillon says the integration of amenity and high quality facilities into public spaces are crucial to the growth of regional communities.
"The Yeppoon Lagoon is an exemplar," he says.
"High quality, free public facilities can boost the economic resilience of regional towns by making them more attractive to visitors and, more importantly, to potential residents."
Liquid Blu will soon complete its biggest project to date, the Pimpama Sports Hub. An energy-self-sufficient sports and leisure precinct, it is the City of Gold Coast's largest-ever community infrastructure project.
Pimpama is testimony to the technical and commercial understanding that underpins the practice's design dexterity. Modest and respectful, their work pairs imaginative water-based and recreational activities with delightful buildings that enliven the public realm. From children's splash pads to elite training facilities, Liquid Blu brings people together and entices them to get active.
"There's so much opportunity for co-locating sport, community and cultural facilities,” says Dillon in regards to the trend of integrated precincts.
“With Pimpama, we were able to prove the economies of scale in both construction and facility management. Integrated precincts also encourage people to participate in activities that they might not otherwise be exposed to."
Delivering social and economic benefits in equal measure, the Liquid Blu team has touched the lives of many and looks forward to exploring another twenty years of community memory-making. For more information regarding the practice, visit liquidblu.com.au.
