Owned by the City of Perth, the concert hall is the main venue of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and also hosts a number of other events and performances.

The building itself is located in Perth's central business district, adjacent to the Supreme Court Gardens and Government House.

Designed by Howlett and Bailey Architects, a local architectural firm, the building is constructed in the Brutalist style, making heavy use of white off-form concrete and a solid opaque interior.

Acoustically, the venue is considered one of the best in Australia,[citation needed] with the design overseen by the New Zealand acoustician Harold Marshall.

Howlett and Bailey designed an administrative building and an auditorium, however due to financial constraints, only the former was built, Council House opening in 1963.

The original plans included a restaurant with a seating capacity for 400, but following inspection of similar halls in the eastern states of Australia, it was decided that this was not warranted.

D. H. Fraser was responsible for the structural design and Marshall was the acoustics consultant, in association with Warwick Mehaffey of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

that Sharp was an "extraordinarily talented person, largely self-educated, who has to his credit the design and construction of a number of organs, mostly in New South Wales.

"[citation needed] A 2.7-metre (9 ft) Steinway orchestral concert grand piano (Model D) was also imported from West Germany for installation in the Hall.

The concert call was the first in Australia to have a show relay installed so that latecomers could watch on two screens in the foyer while waiting for an appropriate time to enter.

The City of Perth and the Government of Western Australia, as well as the architects and builders, received many compliments on the hall as it neared completion from visiting experts in the fields of music, architecture and construction.