Client: Private

Scale: 30,000sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Solidity, translucency and transparency are layered skywards in this super-luxury hotel at 39 James Street.

The built form steps back from James Street to create generous public landscaped and dining space at ground level, and a north-facing pool terrace above overlooking the street. The tower expression is pared back to the absolute minimum in terms of form, materials and detail, dissolving into the sky and providing a background for the richness of experiences within.

A shared-use street of multi-level shopping and dining runs through the site on an existing cross-block axis, connecting Robertson Street through to the James Street retail precinct .

The three-level podium accommodates extensive retail, dining, wellness and hotel lobby spaces, while at the top level a group of five private loft suites feature private infinity-edge plunge pools with views out to Moreton Bay and the bay islands.

Client: Hancock Properties

Scale: 2,000sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Designed in response to a brief for a “feminine” built form and colour palette, this refurbishment of a 1980’s glazed office tower in the Brisbane CBD creates an entirely new street presence beneath the generic glass facade of the tower above.

Carving out a vaulted entry way through to the main foyer deep in the heart of the building’s footprint, then establishing a new secondary entry off Eagle Lane to the rear (opposite our Central Plaza Annex cafe frontage), this proposal opens the existing building up to the public realm in ways previously unimagined.

Where the original building offered a blank, hard facade to a narrow existing pedestrian walkway runs along one side of the tower at ground level, this proposal establishes this important pedestrian route as a major off-street movement path with an openable facade to a new dining tenancy running almost the full length of the site.

Internally, a new helical staircase flows up to a second-floor bar and restaurant, both of which open onto terraces overlooking Eagle Street, the heart of Brisbane's professional and corporate life.

Client: GPT

Scale: 55,000sqm

Status: Ongoing

135 Eagle Street is envisaged as a free-form terraced landscape extruded skyward to create a city-centre, riverfront workplace and public space environment without precedent.

Client: ISPT

Scale: 22,000sqm

Status: Completed November 2018

Awards:

2020 AIA Queensland Architecture Awards - The State Award for Interior Architecture

2020 Good Design Awards - Good Design Award Best In Class Accolade

Description:

This reworking of a particularly raw but refined 1970's CBD office tower pares back layers of recent refurbishments to leave the beautiful bone structure of tapered concrete columns and uninterrupted facade glazing to do the talking.

Overlaid onto this is the bare minimum of embellishment, intended to bring a sense of tactile deliciousness to surfaces that the hand can touch and the eye can wander over.

Photography: Toby Scott and Andy Macpherson

Client: Dexus

Scale: 500sqm

Status: Completed Feb 2024

Description:

Re-working an existing L-shaped arcade between Elizabeth and Albert Streets in the Brisbane city centre, this project creates a densely textured and richly volumetric experience from spaces that were previously bland and characterless.

A new street awning on Elizabeth Street takes its shape from the existing facade openings, extruding this form as ceiling vaults that run through the shared dining arcade.

Solid glass bricks provide an ephemeral reference to facade piers that were lost in the complex history of a building that had at one point been used as a public carpark, whilst a bespoke terracotta cladding system was developed to replace walls that were formerly smooth, flat and featureless with a deeply tactile and characterful surface.

Photopraphy: Toby Scott

Client: Private

Scale: 360sqm

Status: In progress

Description:

Located in the midst of the spectacular Dart River valley and surrounded by towering mountains in every direction, this house for an artist and a designer presents a rugged and durable exterior to the extreme elements, whilst offering a warm and welcoming interior year-round.

Designed as a home, artist’s studio, office and visitor accommodation, the complex brief is resolved primarily in section and stretched lengthways in plan to offer views both across the vast landscape and inward to contained gardens.

An open terrace expands the living spaces out into the cascading property towards Mt Earnshaw in the north, while at the south the guest wing includes a sauna, outdoor ice bath and hot pool, all with views across the mountainous Humboldt Range.

Client: Cameron & Co Architecture

Scale: 165sqm

Status: Completed Feb 2023

Description:

Occupying what was previously a plantroom and facilities management office at the top of an office building known as the “Gold Tower” in Brisbane, this office space is designed to create an atmosphere of quiet, contemplative calm in a very busy architecture practice located in the midst of a rapidly growing city.

The materiality and detailing is neither domestic nor commercial, instead seeking to create a space that is somewhere in between home and office, and also between indoors and outdoors despite being an entirely internal environment.

With the unique footprint of this particular office tower allowing occupants in peninsular portions of the floor plan to look back at the outside of the building from within, an interesting psychological phenomenon of being both inside and outside at once is played upon with the selection of materials generally reserved for outdoor use, such as split face linear ribbed blocks and hand-textured cement render. All spaces with access to daylight are extensively populated with planting in pots of natural terracotta and concrete.

The office space also performs a didactic role, informing its occupants about how it was made and how it functions by leaving exposed many existing services, façade connections and raw structural finishes. A large heavily sound-insulated window opens directly into the adjoining plantroom full of airconditioning chiller pumps, visible to all while walking from the entry to the boardroom.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: ISPT

Scale: 35,000sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

A proposal for a CLT-framed tower with a green concrete central core, built into airspace above one of Brisbane’s most historic buildings which at the time was also the home of the Cameron & Co office.

This scheme used the central atrium void of the historic building, which had originally been open air down to the ground level bank headquarters, as the means of inserting the primary central lift core structure into the existing building footprint.

Cantilevering CLT structure would then extend like a giant scaffold off the very stiff central concrete core, allowing a tower of 25,000sqm to soar above the preserved and enhanced c1881 bank building.

The roof-level meeting point between old and new built forms would also become an elevated meeting point for the tower’s intended population of postgraduate students, academics and professionals in a landscaped outdoor social environment.

With two notable laneway frontages (Gresham Lane and Dame Nellie Melba Lane) in addition to the two major historical street frontages, a densely activated and nuanced small-scale array of bar, dining and cyclist spaces would create an engaging and welcoming public presence at ground level.

Client: ISPT

Scale: 6,000sqm

Status: Completed April 2019

Description:

Opening up a brand new pedestrian connection between Queen Street and Eagle Lane via a dining arcade, this redevelopment of an existing 7-storey office "mini-tower" annex to the much larger, 40-storey conjoined "Central Plaza", strips away all traces of 1980's polish (leaving the adjoining tower thoroughly intact) and leaves a raw but refined arcade dining environment that announces its presence at street and laneway frontages via large insitu concrete portals.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: ISPT

Scale: 1,500sqm

Status: Completed Dec 2021

Description:

This refurbishment of a mid-2000’s office tower in the city fringe RNA Showgrounds precinct strips the original building back to its most skeletal concrete form, then applies a very restrained palette of new materials, forms, lighting and colours.

Redundant external built form is also removed at ground level, making way for a large lawn at the centre of the formerly barren Green Square precinct, with new planting climbing up the street facade.

The interior spatial composition includes a new arrival foyer, lift lobby, cafe and a club-style business lounge and library. Separation between all of these spaces is subtle but clearly perceptible, demarcated primarily by shifts in scale, detail and level of finish.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: Nodo

Scale: 60sqm

Status: Completed Dec 2023

Description:

Client: Private

Scale: 750sqm

Completion: Unbuilt

Description:

[In collaboration with Studio Spillane]

Proposed in collaboration with a restauranteur client in response to a City Council request for proposals to create a new multi-level dining establishment at the lower Edward Street end of the city-centre Queen Street Mall, the Spanish-themed “Toro” took inspiration from the arched-folly home and studio of artist Xavier Corberó.

Using a standardised and prefabricated coloured concrete facade, this monumental new addition to the Queen Street Mall (replacing a flimsy existing structure in the same location) is designed to facilitate minimal on-site construction time, and to create a dining environment that would be open on all sides to the beautiful year-round climate and outdoor lifestyle that Brisbanites enjoy.

Client: Aria Property Group

Scale: 700sqm

Status: Completed Jun 2020

Description:

This refurbishment of a laneway and adjacent building in Brisbane’s CBD stands as a compelling argument for why value should be placed on restoring often-overlooked urban spaces. While the existing brick, two-storey building did not fall under any formal heritage planning controls, the refurbishment sought to celebrate its stripped-back original conditions, while introducing refined complimentary detailing.

Reclaimed as ‘Ulster Lane’ (named after the original L-shaped “Ulster Walk” arcade that connected Edward Street and Elizabeth Street through the ground level of the historic building that has been retained as part of the project), this inner city laneway had served only as access to carparking for decades. It has now been transformed into a public destination for dining and drinking at all hours of day and night.

The revitalized laneway has also unlocked better access to tenancies located at the rear of the building on the upper storey through a carefully detailed cast in-situ concrete stair and passenger lift. Creating a new ‘front of house’ entry with no street address was a key part of the brief. The hospitality and commercial agendas of the space harmoniously co-exist, the laneway serving as both a pathway from street to office but also as a destination in itself.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: Nodo

Scale: 95sqm

Status: Completed April 2021

Description:

Located on Hawthorne’s high street in Brisbane, this busy café is the first of a partnership between Cameron & Co and Nodo. This fitout mirrors Nodo’s approach - artisan methods that deliver every time with thoughtful touches.

With a high turnover of loyal clients and newcomers, it was crucial the service and leisure functions of the café blended effortlessly together. Light stone tiles clad a generous bench where an assortment of the day’s freshly baked goods are on display, staff attend to customers and make coffee.

Natural timber framing and wall panelling, pink marble tabletops and leather upholstery is offset by a white, textural ceiling that reinforces the client’s dedication to elevating the café dining experience.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: ARA

Scale: 1,200sqm

Status: Concept Design

Description:

Adapting an existing two-level retail/commercial portion of a CBD office tower development site, this proposal converts vacant shopfronts and generic office space into two levels of indoor/outdoor dining and a new public arrival courtyard at the entry to the existing tower.

The built form proposes a strong civic presence on this major city street corner, providing covered outdoor dining spaces that engage directly with the public realm via deep planted edges with sheltered footpaths, with a generous, open-to-sky arrival court.

Client: ISPT

Scale: 6, 600sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

The question of how to add valuable floor area to existing buildings within growing cities in a considerate and meaningful way is frequently contemplated.

This proposal to expand the Central Plaza office tower, located on Queen Street is Brisbane, sees a delicate and situationally responsive form inserted above Central Plaza's Annex.

This addition, directly connecting to nine office levels of Central Plaza, seamlessly enlarges usable office space through a method that responds to climate and orientation. The faceted glazed structure, that consists of five offset forms, subtly nestles in beside its neighbours.

Setting itself apart is the building's unique engineered timber structure and immense integration of planting. This unobtrusive extension diplomatically manages to complement its neighbours while confidently contends for interest.

Client: Nodo

Scale: 27sqm

Status: Completed Aug 2022

Description

Situated in a tiny corner space in the West Village historic renewal retail precinct in West End, this fitout for Nodo is designed to present their high quality products in a setting that reflects the care and effort that goes into their making.

As a simple takeaway offering, this little shop is a friendly and approachable moment of delight for customers and passers-by.

Photography: Kosk Photography

Client: Private

Scale: 1, 500sqm

Status: Completed Jun 2022

Description:

This redevelopment of an existing suburban shopping centre on Brisbane’s northside removes a wayward patchwork of old materials, finishes and signage, replacing them with a very simple architectural language and a minimal materials palette with the intention of creating a much higher quality presentation and experience for visitors.

A consistent fascia band of deep-ribbed metal cladding continues around the entire colonnaded edge of the centre, with signage reduced to consistent generic items in bespoke backlit metal lettering.

The ground plane is refinished in stone tiles, which return up vertical surfaces intermittently as skirtings, seats and wall finishes.

Between the dynamic new ground plane and the perfectly consistent fascia datum, individual retailers have the freedom to present their brands in shopfronts to the covered walkway, while the centre’s overall identity is preserved at large scale through the new architectural interventions.

Photography: Cameron Murchison

Client: Nodo

Scale: 60sqm

Status: Completed Mar 2024

Description:

This very small kiosk within the vast Westfield Carindale shopping centre makes its presence felt with an honesty and simplicity of form, materials and detailing that is an unexpected and welcome respite within the aesthetic and experiential noise of one of Brisbane’s largest shopping centres.

Photography: Kosk Photography

Client: Effinity

Scale: 1,200sqm

Status: Complete

Description:

Inheriting a pre-determined site layout and a very limited budget, this project seeks to make the most of precast concrete panel construction in a building typology that is rapidly gaining momentum - small scale warehousing & storage.

Envisaged more as places away from home to store, share and enjoy personal collections, these warehouses are designed to play host to anything from bottles of wine to vinyl listening lounges to rare vehicles to fine art - whatever the collection may be.

Client: Axis Capital

Scale: 430sqm

Status: Completed July 2018

Awards:

2020 Good Design Awards - Good Design Award Gold Winner Accolade

Description:

A redevelopment of a Brisbane CBD office tower including a thoroughly redesigned ground level lobby and cafe, end-of-trip facility and lift interior upgrades.

The new lobby transforms what was formerly an austere and empty space into a lush, densely detailed environment full of intimate settings for gathering together or enjoying some quiet solitude in a semi-public space that is neither the office or the street.

Photography: Toby Scott

Awards:

2019 Eat Drink Design Awards - shortlisted Best Cafe

Client: Kyko Group

Scale: 1,200sqm

Status: Completed May 2022

Description:

An interior base-building refurbishment of an existing office tower on the fringe of Brisbane’s city-centre “Golden Triangle” office precinct.

Tactility of materials and generosity of expression characterise this small scaled but powerful transformation, with the office building gaining a new personality of warmth and approachability.

Original solid spandrels behind the facade curtain glazing were removed in order to allow full height floor-to-ceiling vision through the glazing. This major transformation of the interior workspace experience was achieved with a beautifully resolved finish utilising new steel detailing internally to conceal the original facade’s mullion-to-slab fixings through the creation of a deepened reveal and railing from the original sill height down to floor level.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: Private

Scale: 400sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

This redevelopment of a tiny 3-level 1990’s city fringe office/retail building with just 150sqm per floor sees the bulk of the original building structure retained and overlaid with a new facade and an engaging street-level retail frontage.

With each level expanded to fully utilise the available site footprint, this scheme adds useful additional tenancy space whilst significantly improving the presentation and quality of the existing building.

Access and amenities are upgraded to comply with current standards, with a discrete office entry lobby including a lift and a small cafe opening to the side laneway corner. A new landscaped outdoor roof terrace is proposed for office tenants, with views back towards the city centre.

The facade expression breaks up the existing banded windows into individually framed boxes which punctuate a smooth, solid tiled facade which gently curves outward to form a deep pedestrian awning over the footpath.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: ISPT

Scale: 550sqm

Status: Completed October 2019

Description:

The first Brisbane example of ISPT's "Flex" concept, this full floor fitout of the Central Plaza Annex converts a conventional office floor into a flexible meetings & gathering space for Central Plaza tenant organisations. Accessible via the sensuous copper stair (or lifts) from our laneway retail development at ground level of the same building, this new space is designed to create spaces scaled to feel perfect for gatherings ranging from a casual one-on-one chat to a 200-person function.

Photography: Andy Macpherson & Toby Scott

Client: Australian Government - Department of Industry. Innovation & Science

Scale: 827sqm

Status: Completed July 2018

Awards:

2020 Good Design Awards - Good Design Award Winner Accolade

Description:

This new office fit out for a federal government agency occupies a mid rise level of the existing office tower at 100 Creek Street in the Brisbane Central Business district.

Constructed in 1974, the original tower offers ‘good bones’ for a modern office fit out.

The public arrival and communal spaces are celebrated with a delicate wrapping of blonde timbers and light stone as a skin that threads itself through key collective spaces in the office.

Internal timber fins frame views, culminate vistas and filter natural light through the plan. Detailed joinery elements enrich everyday moments that form the routine of daily office life, such as welcoming visitors and addressing staff meetings, down to one-on-one meetings of special importance through an offering of warm timber touch points.

In contrast, office spaces are afforded a level of spartan simplicity to compliment the richness of the arrival and communal areas, allowing the beautiful bones of the tower a place in the conversation.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: Aria Property Group

Scale: 450sqm

Status: Completed Jun 2020

Description:

The Ulster Lane redevelopment invited the opportunity to refurbish two office tenancies on the first floor of the quaint and charming building; a hotel in a former life.

In keeping with the new aesthetic of the laneway - and the idea that less is more - these tenancies offer a working environment that is a hidden gem within the city. Beauty is derived from finding the value in reclaiming existing elements which adds inherent character to the space.

The interior spaces are pared back to let the history and bones of the building shine. Layers of paint have been stripped from the brick walls to reveal earthy tones. In one tenancy, the existing timber trusses have been exposed in their raw state to contrast against a crisp white cathedral-style ceiling.

The outdoor courtyard, that links to both tenancies, is converted into enviable breakout space whereby a new elevated and vaulted roof provides protection to employees recreating while maintains a visual connection with the surrounding cityscape.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: Shayher Group

Scale: 2,000sqm

Status: Unbuilt

A refurbishment of the public arcade spaces within the Brisbane Quarter retail podium, this project seeks to enhance the tactile and experiential qualities of the large-scaled circulation spaces by re-finishing the massive columns which pepper the arcades, turning them into sitting and gathering spaces full of high quality materials, verdant planting and subtle lighting.

Client: AMP Capital

Scale: 4, 200sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Pacific Fair, a shopping centre precinct situated on the Gold Coast, transforms itself to not only offer a supreme retail experience but now adds another arrow to its bow by launching itself as a lifestyle destination.

The underutilised and vast outdoor space, that links a primary arrival point with the mall's retailers, now takes full advantage of its role in taking visitors on a journey through atmospherically charged spaces.

A succession of water features and lush vegetation gently guides visitors from the entry into the heart of the outdoor space. Here, a dynamic composition of two pools - adapted from former ponds - set a new rhythm that charges the shopping centre. The wash of pastel tones is reminiscent of an exotic holiday oasis and the presence of water both simultaneously calms and energises the space.

The surrounding retailers on the ground and upper floor, in an arena style formation, project onto the lively and social outdoor space adding to the newfound atmosphere. At the same time, the new centralised nodes of activity in the outdoor space encourage moment along the shopfronts and the low and dispersed planting and design elements mean sightlines to the surrounding retail and hospitality venues are maintained.

These are plentiful places to pause and relax, which elevates the shopping experience into a civic destination.

Client: Private

Scale: 1, 500sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Taking cues from the base building form, this planning explored further how nodes of activity located on this residential tower’s roof terrace can foster a strong sense of community between residents and take full advantage of the sweeping views to the city and broader Brisbane.

Responding to the base building's voluptuous form, the strong brick external walls of the informal dining space are punctuated by deep arched window reveals. Within these reveals, joinery is inserted to provide intimate places to socialise over a coffee or to take a moment for yourself, as warm glow of natural light floods the interior setting.

In addition, a more private dining space - intended to host dinner parties for groups of residents - equally takes advantage of the spectacular views and plays with form and materiality to create the kind of unique qualities one would only find at home.

Custom designed cabanas featuring timber screens and plush upholstered daybeds provide a private sanctuary to relax after taking a dip in the infinity pools that wrap the building's edge.

Client: Private

Scale: 850sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Located on Ann Street in the midst of the Fortitude Valley nightlife precinct, this project involves the refurbishment of a ‘90s commercial office building via removal of ‘00s additions and creation of a new private courtyard garden above the busy street level.

A multilayered and deeply textured frontage is proposed to Ann Street, offering a rich engagement at a variety of scales. Whether seen from a passing vehicle or approached directly under the new footpath awning, the building allows itself to be easily understood at a glance with clearly differentiated public retail and private commercial components.

A tall, offset window aperture interrupts the high-level screen and continues to footpath level, identifying the “front door” address for the office spaces above.

The upper courtyard garden is screened from the noise of the arterial street frontage and the heat of the western aspect, and creates a lush, shaded and habitable outlook for the building’s office spaces.

Client: Private

Scale: 150sqm

Status: Completed June 2017

Awards:

2018 AIA Queensland Architecture Awards - Brisbane Regional Commendation for Interior Architecture

Publications:

Artichoke magazine - Issue 62

Description:

This new day spa occupies a space fronting St Paul's Terrace on the ground level of Lend Lease's new "Kingsgate" office tower at the RNA showgrounds precinct.

With the treatment spaces tucked away behind a gentle layer of privacy, the primary space that opens onto the street makes the most of the available ceiling height with a generous vaulting ceiling which runs the full length of the space.

A lush green tiled floor builds up into a high skirting, and a band of natural spotted gum timber lining and dowel screens completes the tripartite sectional arrangement.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: Aria Property Group

Scale: 30sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Along with revitalising the run-down laneway and providing a new front-of-house entry sequence to the upstairs tenancies, it was imperative to the overall success of Ulster Lane to flawlessly integrate active ground floor tenancies to bring the much-needed buzz of human interaction and blur the threshold between the built form and the laneway.

Mid-way down the laneway, a portion of the existing brick facade has been extracted to make way for a generous new cafe serving counter and doorway.

The humble cafe tenancy, set back from the busy city street, offers a sense of calm and an intimate place to gather. The large framed view to the laneway makes the cafe feel significantly larger and a friendly dialogue is created between the exterior and the interior of the cafe as staff and patrons interact.

Client: Axis Capital

Scale: 320sqm

Status: Completed July 2018

Awards:

2020 Good Design Awards - Good Design Award Gold Winner Accolade

Description:

Continuing the design themes and materiality from the foyer redevelopment above, this new End-Of-Trip considers in great detail the experience of building users as they arrive from their morning commute or step out for a midday gym session.

Being an entirely subterranean space, the EOT is crafted as a completely introspective environment, offering visual and tactile delight in a highly crafted series of discreet rooms.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: Private

Scale: 26sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

The fitout of a deluxe chocolate retailer is perfectly matched to the design philosophies underpinning our base building redevelopment of Central Plaza Annex situated in Brisbane’s CBD.

The store is anchored by a central copper-clad counter to entice passersby. The counter mimics a “jewellery box” to encourage the careful perusal of the assortment of chocolate. A sheet of copper frames the rear wall of the tenancy to create a luminous and expansive space to compliment the richness of the chocolate itself. 

The open plan layout features dark stone and raw industrial surfaces to provide a rich and subdued space to showcase the indulgent edible delights.

Client: Aria Property Group

Scale: 165sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Along with revitalising the run-down laneway and providing a new front-of-house entry sequence to the upstairs tenancies, it was imperative to the overall success of Ulster Lane to flawlessly integrate active ground floor tenancies to bring the much-needed buzz of human interaction and blur the threshold between the built form and the laneway.

Visible down the laneway, the old shed structure has been refurbished and beneath a secondary blonde timber structure has been inserted to house an 'izakaya' inspired bar.

The informal and shared nature of this environment elevates the social culture of the laneway. People eating and drinking at loose tables and chairs spill into the laneway and the warm glow of light entice visitors down the laneway.

Client: ISPT

Scale: N/A

Status: Completed March 2018

Description:

Bespoke lobby furniture made in collaboration with Schiavello for Central Plaza Brisbane, originally designed in the 1980's by Japanese architect Kisho Kurakawa. The polished stone floors were intended to represent the Japanese game of "Go", and this furniture creates new pieces for the board.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: ISPT

Scale: 1, 500sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Over two floors in 100 Creek Street, this office fitout imagines how existing and typical office floors can be converted into spaces that are contemporary and push boundaries.

The approach to this scheme is fundamentally subtractive rather than additive. The removal of a portion of the structural slab in the front of house reception space dramatically lifts the volumetric experience and creates a connectivity that before was not possible.

One monolithic form serving an array of functions is inserted. The pastel pink stone form appears to have been carved away to provide a reception counter, seating and a feature stair that links the two office levels.

Texturally rich finishes and an abundance of planting compliment the stripped-back and raw materiality of the existing building, in keeping with redevelopment of 100 Creek St.

Client: Mantle Group

Scale: 800sqm

Status: Completed December 2015

Description:

The first Pig’N’Whistle venue on the Southside, this sophisticated pub opens directly out onto a very busy corner with outdoor seating and lush landscaping right up to the footpath edge. The ceilings create a regular rhythm in the interior spaces that are very irregularly-shaped in plan, bringing order and a sense of familiar history that is carried in the vault forms.

Inside, the vaulted ceilings simultaneously tie the whole interior space together whilst also having the effect of breaking up the large internal volumes into more intimate, human-scaled spaces that lend an aura of specialness to the space around each table.

The spaces thus created are visually arresting but also easily approachable and instantly comfortable. The bar itself is the centrepiece of the venue, crafted from brass and Pilbara marble in an intricate composition on a very large scale.

Client: ARIA Property Group

Scale: 1,000 sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

An adaptive re-use redevelopment of a historic Art Deco apartment building on a very busy South Brisbane corner into a new bar/dining establishment. A new Corbusian slabs-and-pilotis construction is proposed as the site's new primary entry point fronting Fish Lane, Brisbane's most active and diverse dining laneway. A gold mosaic tile-clad vault caps the structure, with diminishing voids cut through the levels below to allow the golden shimmer to be visible from the moment visitors arrive at the laneway entry.

Client: Axis Capital

Scale: 25,000sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

The design of a new office tower on Coronation Drive in Brisbane combines striking forms and materials to produce an outcome that is powerfully distinctive.

The hero, a ribbed glazed prism showcases a tapered void set into its profile and a cantilevering floor plate above. Each floor has uncompromising views of the river, and to the city and South Brisbane precinct. 

A contrasting volume, wrapped in a terracotta screen, is positioned at the rear site to house many functional elements. The ground plane assumes a village-like presence, with a terracotta clad colonnade prompting movement into and around retail spaces.

Client: Lendlease

Scale: 1,200sqm

Status: Completed August 2015

Builder: Lendlease

Description:

Transforming the traditional relationship between office tower and street, this design for the ground level public spaces and retail areas blurs the boundary between inside and outside, public and private. A largely outdoor “foyer” space and deeply shaded outdoor dining areas are key features of this highly permeable ground plane.

These spaces provide outdoor dining, informal meeting and incidental interaction opportunities, with the objective of establishing a new precedent for subtropical commercial office development through the creation of memorable, enjoyable outdoor spaces that directly connect the building to its historic public context.

Scale: 250sqm

Client: Private

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Located 250 kilometres north of Brisbane on an island accessible only by ferry, this house is created by placing prefabricated modules onto foundations of locally board-formed concrete.

The house therefore takes shape by placing lightweight factory-made units onto a heavy and coarsely-textured monolithic mass that emerges from the site’s natural contours to craft a series of outdoor living spaces that take advantage of a beautiful existing banksia tree as well as views across treetops to the ocean.

Materiality is naturally robust and bushfire-resistant off-form concrete and shou sugi ban timber, both of which gather patina with age and gradually become one once again with the natural environment from which they have been produced.

Client: ISPT

Scale: 1,200sqm

Status: Completed Feb 2017

Description:

Reclaiming under-utilised basement floor area as new shower & change facilities for building users in Central Plaza, Brisbane, this end-of-trip facility pares back the existing remnant spaces to their raw, concrete-encased form and adds in only the bare minimum of new elements to create a atmosphere of austere but sensual luxury.

Human interaction with every item is considered in detail, with careful attention paid to every touch point and the daily process of cleansing the body and preparing for work or exercise.

Technological items such as in-locker phone charging, wi-fi and building information integration are all available but their presence is embedded within tactile, natural surfaces that are a delight to touch and effortless to use.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: Private

Scale: 7, 000sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

This bayside school is underpinned by an ethos of learning through close engagement with nature. The built form establishes a monumental presence within the landscape, whilst breaking this form down into a series of courtyards which create semi-contained landscape spaces which expand outward into the site’s bushland setting. Learning groups gather together in age clusters around shared outdoor spaces, each one capturing views to the surrounding bushland.

Rammed earth walls, structural timber elements and durable stone surfaces are sourced as locally as possible, even from the site itself. The architecture becomes a didactic element itself through the visible material relationship between structure and landscape.

Classrooms are illuminated by daylight and are naturally ventilated, placing students in direct contact with the ever-benign Brisbane bayside seasonal weather patterns and with the microclimates established by the architectural intervention in the landscape.

Client: Wil Valor Bespoke

Scale: 64sqm

Status: Completed Aug 2018

Description:

Located in Brisbane Quarter’s new W Hotel, a bespoke tailoring store resides on the podium level. The intent of the fitout design and the tailor’s product mirror each other — carefully detailed forms that speak volumes to both quality and individuality.

The fitout exploits the narrow floor plate and the full-height glazed frontage by positioning a series of crisp, white, well-proportioned arched display frames that showcase custom-designed suites worn by mannequins.

This seductive and powerful display is balanced by the restrained design that occurs beyond. While it is possible to glimpse a private fitting session and the range of the high-end product within the store, walls and joinery are dark in tone and are accented by luxurious curtains, parquetry flooring and a bespoke brass serving counter.

Photography: Cameron Murchison

Client: Private

Scale: 5sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

The humble five square metre footprint of the ‘Beach Box’, located on the Mornington Peninsula, is an unimposing addition to the captivating landscape.

The box, clad in reclaimed timber, unfolds in sections to maximise the use of internal space and reveal the contrasting blackbutt timber interior lining.

Client: Private

Scale: 85sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

This contemporary house boat re-imagines how to recreate on the water. The design of the 85 square metre floating structure is detailed with high quality finishes.

A blackbutt timber screen located on the perimeter of the boat provides privacy to selected interior spaces. Blackbutt timber is further used to clad internal walls enriching each space significantly. Structural elements are slender and powdercoated black to produce a sophisticated statement.

The prototype features a central opening that functions as an intimate swimming area, whereas the roof deck is ideal for socialising and taking in the surroundings.

Client: ISPT

Scale: 900sqm

Completion: In progress

Description:

In an era where a basement "end of trip facility" is a fundamental requirement for any CBD office tower, this proposal takes over an entire above-ground office level and converts it into a wellness centre for use by building users and the general public alike.

A new stair links the upper level space to a busy street-level laneway, leading to a juice bar reception which opens onto a boxing gym and yoga studio.

Around the tower's core, shower, change and locker facilities are grouped so that they can be used by cycle commuters, evening joggers and gym users alike.

The design of the entire space emphasizes the raw concrete structure of the buildling, paring back finishes & embellishments in the same way that working out takes us back to our raw physical selves.

Client: Private

Scale: 85sqm

Completion: Feb 2014

Builder: Formula Interiors

Awards:

2018 AIA Queensland Architecture Awards - State Award for Interior Architecture

Publications:

Artichoke magazine - Issue 50

architectureau.com

Description:

A new store for designer optometry brand OPTIKO, this fitout in the historic Tattersall's Arcade in the Brisbane CBD looks to settle effortlessly into its old-world gentlemen's club location, as if it's always been there.

Referencing Sir John Soane's 1812 House Museum in London and Carlo Scarpa's 1958 Olivetti Showroom in Venice, the fitout mixes theatricality with familiarity, brought together with fetishistic detailing.

Photography: David Hanson & Chris Proud

Client: QIC

Scale: 1,200 sqm

Completion: In progress

Description:

Acting as catalyst to the larger centre, one wing and its forecourt look to return a vibrancy and bring much needed shape to a neglected dining and fresh produce precinct of the Forest Lake Shopping Centre.

A richly fluctuating landscape offers an array of courts, shady groves, stairs, seating pockets and platforms, all coupled with gardens for joy and lawns for play.

The sight and sound of ponds, channels and cascades threads the plaza together on axis with the existing fig tree and clocktower. Working together with a new planted colonnade a its perimeter, a civic sense is brought to the square and dignifies it as a destination in itself.

Taking cues from the grand axial atrium of the centre, a concertina ceiling suspends a steel frame of signage, lighting and greenery to order and demarcate the spaces below.

Client: Private

Scale: 25sqm

Status: Completed May 2014

Awards:

2018 AIA Queensland Architecture Awards - State Award for Interior Architecture

2014 Best Cafe Design Shortlist, Australian Eat Drink Design Awards

Description:

Directly opposite our OPTIKO fitout, this new cafe/bar for the same client continues the same contextually-responsive design themes and seeks to establish itself as something of a rarity in the Brisbane cafe scene - a quietly elegant off-the-street destination with a classically continental approach.

Brass, marble, dark timber and studded leather finishes combine with handmade tiles, chamfered mirrors and low lighting to create a space that is designed for settling into by day and night.

The signage and graphics are an integral part of the fitout, and are the result of a close collaboration with graphic designers The Letter D.

Photography: David Hanson & Chris Proud

Client: Private

Scale: 1,100sqm

Status Completed Mar 2010

Awards:

2011 AIA National Awards - Brisbane Regional Commendation - Commercial Architecture

2011 AIA National Awards - Queensland State Award - Commercial Architecture

2011 IDEA Awards - Finalist, Commercial Interiors

Publications:

Artichoke Vol 32

AIA "Inspire 2010"

Description:

An existing warehouse abutting the main northern rail line in Fortitude Valley is re-purposed as a collection of flexible event spaces downstairs and shared creative studio tenancies upstairs. The primary task was to create a memorable identity and atmosphere for the building and its interior spaces whilst leaving things open-ended enough to allow for any sort of event or end use without significant modification or restraint upon theming.

Particular attention has been paid to giving the building a “blank canvas” exterior, communicating its intended persona, whilst ensuring the internal spaces have “strong bones” with scope for endless change accommodated within volumes that retain their integrity and spatial quality even when empty.

Photography: Scott Burrows

Client: Arete

Scale: 1,625sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description

A design proposal for the new Uber "Green Light Hub" in West End, Brisbane, utilising an extremely limited budget to maximum effect by concentrating the design effort around the public entry point, while the remainder of the spaces were to be ultra-basic, stripped back and raw.

The new reception point occupied an existing double-height space at the front centre of the building footprint and was treated as a single timber mass form where the arrival counter was integrated into the stair access to the upper staff level, and an accessible staff lift was edged with a lush planted timber screen. All other finishes were to be simple raw concrete with basic painted walls and economical loose furniture.

Client: Private

Scale: 400sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

To be constructed using a prefabricated timber shed-frame system, this house for a large family on a magnificent semi-rural site is envisaged as a small village with a central courtyard and a series of distinctly different outdoor spaces on the outer periphery.

With a primary structure including all the main living spaces, the other structures that make up the village include a parents' suite, a pair of double children's rooms, a garage and a utility shed.

The "circled wagons" arrangement of the individual buildings creates a completely private yet completely open central space which forms the true living heart of an outdoor-oriented household.

Client: Private

Scale: 400sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

Situated on an expansive site of open eucalyptus forest between Brisbane and Ipswich, this house is designed to have a very direct relationship with the intensely-present elements whilst making its presence felt within an environment that could easily overwhelm a meeker intervention.

The house presents itself with a variety of personas as it is approached along the existing winding dirt track. As first glimpsed, the leaping roofline dominates under the vast sky and tree canopies. Circling around on the track behind the house, it protects itself from the intense southwestern heat with solid masonry walls, punctuated only by the single break of the front door and capped with the angluar cantilevering roof. Continuing around the northern, open forested side, the house opens itself out to the landscape, stepping gently down from an only slightly raised verandah to an outdoor hearth and a grove of native grass trees.

Client: Pragmatic Traning

Scale: 3425 sqm

Status: Completed April 2016

Description:

A very low-cost fitout for a beauty, health, design and IT vocational training company across two full levels of the brand new Kingsgate office tower in Bowen Hills constructed by Lend Lease. More details of our design for the ground level retail & public spaces environment on the project page.

Expansive open spaces are an essential component of the brief, allowing for classroom & studio training as well as common area gathering and recreation for large numbers of students.

The material & finishes palette is very simple & restrained, creating a simple but memorable backdrop for the busy activity of daily learning & socialising activities.

Photography: Toby Scott

Client: ARIA Property Group

Scale: 30sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:

A simple glass display case placed in a garden in front of an existing office building in South Brisbane.

A reflective polished stainless steel roof with fine perimeter columns addresses the street and provides shelter, while the glass box within breaks away from the street alignment to settle into its garden setting and respond to its micro-context of adjoining window openings and solid walls.

Absolute transparency is the primary concern, with the entire interior easily visible from the street. The physical entry point is defined by a single arch, also of polished stainless, completely unembellished and stripped back to its pure abstracted essence as signifier of an opening.

​Client: Open Competition

Scale: 5,000sqm

Status: Unbuilt

Description:​

According to the late Ngunnawal Elder Don Bell, the true meaning of the word "Canberra" is "woman's breasts", referring to the twin mountains of Mt Ainslie and Black Mountain that define the plain in which Canberra was created. Despite this, Canberra is defined around just one primary axis established between Mt Ainslie and Parliament House.

This proposal seeks to re-establish a polyvalent relationship with the ancient Canberran genius loci by forming itself around the intersection of the two major axial lines to Mt Ainslie and Black Mountain, and then adding to this the third and fourth axial determinants of Red Hill and the sky, or Cosmos.

Australia is an ambitious, outward-looking island nation, and this proposal reflects our grounded, “down to earth” persona combined with global outlook in its siting and physical expression. The site itself is the landing point for a soaring structure that leaps out over Lake Burley Griffin and addresses the City of Canberra with a confident, welcoming disposition.

The siting of The Lodge allows the majority of the site to be preserved as landscape setting for perambulation and rehabilitation. The site divides into two equal sized settings on either side of the ridge. To the west, gathered around a private cove, is the “cultivated” landscape, whilst to the east is the protected “indigenous” landscape.

The great copper roof is the defining element of the architecture, as it is of our mineral-rich continent. The roof takes on the familiar gabled profile of historic local structures, including the original worker cottages at Westlake and the Yarralumla Brickworks. This roof form speaks immediately of “home”, but its scale and articulation give the building a sense of purpose and identity befitting its role as The Lodge.

At the primary entry, the great roof cantilever reaches out to a skyward mast from which the Australian flag is flown. The roof is truncated perpendicular to the axis linking the Lodge and Parliament House flagpoles.

Internally, the ground level is given over to public spaces, with the ballroom and dining room occupying the primary eastern and western wings over the Lake. The upper level features the PM's residence and office in separate wings. A great central atrium connects both levels with the sky and is envisaged as a “house museum”, displaying Prime Ministerial art and artifacts from Federation to present day.