Why a forest of steel has cropped up in a South Bank car park

Fears over the structural integrity of a South Bank car park’s roof have prompted concert organisers to install reinforcements ahead of a planned series of performances on the Cultural Forecourt.

More than 100 shoring jacks have been installed in the Queensland Cultural Centre car park. The posts were positioned below the temporary stage to provide extra support for the 5000-capacity event above ground.

By placing the jacks in a tight grid, engineers can redistribute the weight of the floor above across the entire lower slab, preventing a localised collapse.

The On the Banks series of concerts will kick off on Wednesday night with a performance by King Stingray.

Queensland University of Technology school of civil and environmental engineering senior lecturer Dr Hossein Derakhshan said the arrangement of the posts suggested organisers had load-bearing concerns.

“This may not be a design flaw, but if there is a change of function for the floor [above], such concern can come up,” he said.

Derakhshan said floor spaces had to be designed for relevant loads based on official Australian standards, with the loads varying depending on the floor’s function.

“A floor designed for relatively light loads cannot be used for functions that are associated with relatively larger loads,” he said.

“Dancing stages can have very high loads compared to light-traffic car parks.

“Assuming the event is a one-off and was not anticipated during the building design, those braces must have been added to increase floor capacity.”

An Arts Queensland spokesperson said the supports were precautionary.

“Detailed festival site planning, including the use of temporary supports and crowd management plans, are key tools used across the Queensland Cultural Centre to enable pop-up events and festivals,” the spokesperson said.

“This planning is consistent with best-practice approaches to event delivery across the site.”

The Arts Queensland spokesperson said alternative car parks had been made available across the cultural centre.

“The QPAC car park will reopen at capacity from late March,” the spokesperson said.

Other concerts planned for the On the Banks festival were Marina with Mallrat on Thursday, De La Soul on Sunday, Grace Jones on March 5, The Streets on March 6, Disco Club on March 7, Bernard Fanning on March 15, Peach PRC on March 19, Maoli on March 20, and Sarah Blasko and Marlon Williams on March 22.

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