BDP won an international competition in 1998 to develop a new performing arts centre in the City of Perth for Perth and Kinross Leisure. The competition jury was chaired by Eva Jiricna, who described the winning entry as ‘a thoroughly engaging, exciting and deliverable concept’ At the heart of the scheme is a versatile 1200 seat auditorium designed to accommodate activities ranging from orchestral concerts, drama, conference and many other functions by means of a moveable floor, providing a full flat floor and various raked seating formats. The sub-divisible 150 seat multi-function room provides for a range of meeting, performance, conference breakout, catering and community activity in an acoustically variable, day-lit, flat floor space. The oval-shaped building, sited next to Perth Museum at the City’s historic Horse Cross, is conceived as an object in the round with its south facing glazed foyer conceived as an extension of the new public square beyond. The formal volume of the concert hall auditorium, which rises above the free-form accommodation below, is clearly expressed in pre-patinated copper signalling the presence of this new major civic facility. The strong building form provides for the client’s stated desire for an ‘iconic’ architectural statement of Perth’s future development, whilst integrating a large building into a sensitive historic townscape.