Thomas Dixon Centre, Home of Queensland Ballet

The Thomas Dixon Centre is a state-heritage listed building that originally opened in 1908 as a boot and shoe factory. Owned by the State of Queensland, it has been the home of Queensland Ballet since 1991. The building has been renovated into a world-class performing arts destination and cultural precinct. A central promenade connects the existing building to a new extension. The revitalised centre features six dance studios, a 350-seat theatre auditorium, production and costume workshops, public art, a rooftop terrace, and basement carpark levels, with a café and bunker bar to be delivered during 2025.

Project delivery was led and managed by the State of Queensland, through Public Works. Jensen Hughes was hired by QBuild to handle the fire safety engineering for the Thomas Dixon Centre. Our team utilised extensive performance-based fire engineering solutions to meet the key architectural design objectives, such as retaining the timber and masonry fabric of the existing portion of the centre, creating a large open entry foyer space, and having a flexible auditorium.

We conducted a thorough review of the design and incorporated both active and passive fire safety measures to ensure the required level of safety for the building. We also demonstrated that the existing fire safety levels within the Thomas Dixon Centre were adequate and would not be affected by the new works. Structural fire safety engineering was employed in the steel frame system within the new auditorium to meet Queensland Ballet's operational requirements. Additionally, evacuation modelling was carried out for the entire building.

Given the building's significance, close coordination with stakeholders, including Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, was essential to ensure that the building was constructed with everyone's best interests in mind.