Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: What is the largest project completed by the Queensland Department of Public Works?
In the same year, construction begins on the Suncorp Stadium redevelopment in Brisbane.[4] The redevelopment of Suncorp Stadium was the biggest and most ambitious project of its kind ever undertaken by the Department of Public Works. It involved a significant expansion of the stadium and the implementation of extensive built infrastructure and technologically advanced building systems.[16]
Although altered and extended over the years, the Brisbane Central Technical College represents an important era in education in Queensland and is the most extensive group of technical college buildings of the period. A major undertaking for the Queensland Government, the construction of the Brisbane Central Technical College was the largest building project for the Department of Public Works immediately prior to World War I. The architectural work of the Department of Public Works in the first decades of the twentieth century was of a high quality with many talented architects working in the office including Thomas Pye, Charles McLay, John Smith Murdoch, George Payne and Andrew Irving. Alfred Barton Brady was Government Architect and Thomas Pye, Deputy Government Architect. Brady administered the office and supervision of design was carried out by Pye. Pye was the driving force in developing and maintaining the office style after 1906 following the departure of Murdoch. Responsibility for individual projects within the Department was seldom clear-cut but evidence in the departmental files suggests that Pye had a major influence on the design of the Brisbane Central Technical College. The Department was responsible for the plans, specifications and construction of other contemporary technical colleges including Rockhampton Blocks A and E (Block A being now heritage-listed), Warwick, Mackay, Toowoomba Technical College, Queen Victoria Silver Jubilee Memorial Technical College (Ipswich) and Mount Morgan which were single buildings accommodating the whole college under one roof. All the technical colleges share stylistic details, construction and general architectural expression.
In 1886, construction commenced on the Queensland Government Treasury Building in Brisbane. The Public Works Department was one of a number of departments whose offices are moved to this new public administration building. The Queensland Government Cabinet met in the building until 1905.[4]
The state school building was designed by Philip Arthur Edwards, a British trained architect working in the Government Architect's office, for the Queensland Department of Public Instruction. Erected at a cost of £15,154, it was the second largest public works project of 1915, and was one of the largest and most modern brick state schools constructed in Queensland. The building could accommodate 990 pupils at double desks (built in Sydney by EJ Forbes & Son Ltd), and had floorage for 1100 children. Ensuring adequate ventilation was an emphasis of the design.
A series of stimulus packages designed to boost the Australian economy are delivered. In Queensland this means a cash injection of over $300 million for infrastructure projects.[4]
In 1893, Murdoch was re-appointed to the Public Works Department where he worked until 1904. During this time he worked on a great number of public buildings throughout Queensland. The design work produced by the department at this time was somewhat collaborative. Other prominent architects working for the Queensland Public Works Department who may have contributed to design work credited to Murdoch (and vice versa) include Thomas Pye and Alfred Barton Brady.
The Queensland Government releases plans to create a new parkland for Brisbane. The $72 million transformation of the old Roma Street rail yards is project managed by the Department of Public Works and includes a 15ha subtropical recreational space. The parkland opens to the public in April 2001.[4]
At 30 June 2015, there were 243,163 staff (203,348.50 full-time equivalent) employees in 20 Queensland Government departments and 15 other organisations included for statistical purposes. The three largest government employers are Queensland Health, the Department of Education and Training and the Queensland Police Service.
Queensland's first university, the University of Queensland, is established at Old Government House in George Street, Brisbane. The Public Works Department is tasked with transforming the building into a university. A total of 83 students are enrolled on opening.[4]
In the same year, construction of the Governor's residence in Brisbane, the first major public building in Queensland, is completed. Queensland Colonial Architect, Charles Tiffin, designed the building as both a private residence and official state office for George Bowen, the first Queensland Governor. In 2014, the heritage-listed building is known as Old Government House and stands in the grounds of the Queensland University of Technology. It is considered one of the state's most significant historical buildings.[4]
Gympie Lands Office is a heritage-listed former court house and public administration building at 26 Channon Street, Gympie, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Queensland Department of Public Works and Queensland Colonial Architect's Office and built in 1942 by the Department of Public Works, Gympie City Council, Mark Doggett, Andrew Collins, and George Caldwell. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 15 July 2011.
Design begins on the most significant group of public buildings ever completed by the state - the Queensland Cultural Centre.[4]
By 2008, Public Works has managed the delivery of facilities at more than 500 school sites, making it one of the largest educational building programs the department has ever delivered.[4]
In 2014, the amalgamated Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, is the largest and busiest hospital in Queensland, caring for over one million patients each year.[4]
One of the first buildings to be commissioned was the Old Ipswich Courthouse. Designed by Queensland Colonial Architect, Charles Tiffin, the building was completed on 19 July 1859.[3]
Brady immigrated to Brisbane in December 1884 and was employed by the Queensland Public Service in January 1885 and served the state in various departments for 37 years. From 1885, he worked initially for the Queensland Railway Department from 1885 and then from 1889 with the Public Works Department. He was appointed Engineer for Bridges in 1889 and then as the Queensland Colonial Architect in 1892. He was appointed Under-Secretary for the Public Works in 1901. Although Brady designed many important and handsome public buildings, his forte was bridge design and he designed a number of notable bridges.
In 2004-05 the department worked on numerous projects for the state. Work progressed on the Boggo Road Precinct Redevelopment in Brisbane to turn the former gaol site and surrounding area at Dutton Park into a research, business, commercial and residential precinct.[20]
Thomas Pye (18611930) was an Australian architect. He worked for over 33 years in the Public Works Department in Queensland. Pye contributed significantly to major buildings including the completion of the Public Offices (Treasury Building) and Rockhampton Customs House, as well as the design for the Lands and Survey Offices (Lands Administration Building). He was responsible for the heightened expectations which produced the best public buildings yet seen in Queensland.
The Millennium Arts Project, led by the Department of Public Works on behalf of Arts Queensland, was a $291.3 million project that saw the construction of the Gallery of Modern Art and the redevelopment of the State Library. It also included the development of associated public spaces and construction of a new entry to the existing Queensland Art Gallery. The construction phase was completed in 2006 and came in on time and within budget, despite a climate of escalating costs and a shortage of labour. This large and complex project called for close collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders. On site, more than 12,000 people worked on the project. There were also engineering challenges which included developing an innovative river water cooling system, the first of its kind in Queensland. The cooling system was constructed on site to assist the air-conditioning system for the Queensland Museum, Queensland Art Gallery, the new Gallery of Modern Art and the redeveloped State Library of Queensland. The initiative saw savings of about 110 megalitres of reticulated water a year and $140,000 in water costs alone.[21]
In 1977 the Department of Public Works, began a long term project which would rebuild all of the infrastructure. It would be the largest construction/reconstruction effort in the history of the Kern River. In addition to rebuilding existing infrastructure, other construction projects were carried out. These include constructing new weirs and the "2,800 Acre Water Bank", and inter-basin levee system. Most projects were completed in 1983, but the Second Point of Measurement was not finished until 1985.
By 2004, the centre was in need of a makeover. Refurbishment commenced under the Millennium Arts Project and also included the design and construction of the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). The building received numerous awards including a National Award for Public Architecture.[14]
The bridge was judged World Transport Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival. It was the first Queensland project to win a World Architecture Award.[22]
Thirteen years after the Queensland Government announces construction of the Queensland Cultural Centre in Brisbane, the final building is completed, the Queensland State Library.[4] The completion of the Queensland Cultural Centre was a major achievement for the department, creating a significant cultural facility for the state.[14]
Australia was at war from 1939 to 1945. During this time, Townsville became a major military base for both Australian and overseas Armed Forces. It was therefore deemed necessary for Public Works staff to relocate to the area to assist with defence projects. Substantial quantities of materials were required for these projects and procurement and transportation was rapid. As a result, the department becomes heavily involved in defence projects including the construction of the Garbutt Air Base, large warehouses at depots at Macrossan and Breddan, and a military hospital at Blackwater.[4] The department was also involved in procuring and sending food supplies.[7] The Department of Public Works' Townsville office becomes the epicentre for the department's work during World War II.
The Queensland Museum opens. One of four buildings which form the Queensland Cultural Centre, the museum's construction is managed by a Public Works Department team. The team also supervises construction of the Queensland State Library.[4]