The Enhanced Land Force (ELF) project expanded the Australian Army by 3,000 personnel involving investment in 17 bases and training facilities across four states. Central to this initiative was the re-raising of the 8th/9th motorised infantry battalion, requiring a complete suite of buildings for over 600 personnel and their combat support vehicles at Gallipoli Barracks, Brisbane. The units at Enoggera include armoured, artillery, engineer, signals, infantry, medical and other combat service support units.

BVN and Conrad Gargett (now Architectus) undertook the project as a 50/50 joint venture.

Available land at the Barracks was scarce, with the site rising sharply towards Enoggera Hill on the west and established residential areas on the other sides. Many older facilities and compound layouts were inefficient and unsuited to mechanised Army units, requiring a re-think of established defence base building typologies.

The new master plan involved widespread urban development interventions, realigning roads, consolidating car parking, relocating two major units and moving open space. Reconfiguration was achieved by creating five new precincts, each with a distinct operational purpose. Support buildings catering for physical fitness training, education, administration, recreation and childcare were woven into the new structure — central, legible and easy to access.

The need to manoeuvre and park large combat vehicles and the laydown requirements of training and deployment demanded expansive areas of hardstand. With restricted site area and a goal of minimising earthworks, elements such as Q stores, vehicle shelters, armouries and workshops were placed at ground level, with other functions above. Where possible, similar functions were consolidated and collocated into larger buildings and the sloping site was exploited to double-stack vehicle shelters.

The central residential precinct 

The scale of the overall redevelopment and the degree of repetition called for standardisation to ensure consistency and maximise adaptability. Modularity and a “kit of parts” approach was applied to structure, services and cladding systems – carefully controlled in terms of scale, proportion, composition, and tectonics. This simple and restrained approach elevates the architectural quality, resulting in a coherent family of buildings.

Even though budget dictated many material choices, brick and other textural materials were used to ground and humanise the buildings and tie them to the base’s history. Habitation of the base was also enhanced through the use of open breezeways and sun shading as well as clear and legible circulation between buildings and precincts.

The design team made significant expansion and modernisation of the base possible by efficient use of valuable land. Evolution of a new suite of streamlined and cost-effective buildings was informed by BVN’s previous defence base experience. A robust and consistent architectural vocabulary has given the base a new identity and established a strong sense of place and character.