A new 15-storey office building in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley will incorporate a folded façade and an activated ground plane to encourage the public to enjoy the views and facilities at the back of the site.
Designed by John Wardle Architects (JWA), 900 Ann Street will provide brand new food and beverage tenancies, office spaces and community facilities for the Holy Trinity Church which occupies the back half of the site.
The proposed development encompasses the broader site, 141 Brookes Street, and provides an integrated approach that acknowledges presence and activities of the church, whilst rejuvenating the busy street frontage onto Ann Street.
Site context. Church buildings behind.
A pedestrian connection will run between the proposed tower and the church precinct behind serving as through-link for Church and Brookes Streets whilst providing a transition zone between ecclesiastical and commercial activities.
A low rise monolithic brick building at the back of the building nods to the heritage brick structures of the church campus and also acts to mediate the scale and materiality differences between the tower and existing buildings.
The building features a minimal material pallette of brick, glass and opaque glass planks.
Like the podium, the tower is also minimal in its material palette, comprising only glass and opaque glass planks that extend in a taut skin unbroken to street level on the three street frontages. Slender in its appearance, JWA have folded back the tower’s curtain wall at its south and north ends to encourage viewlines from Ann Street into the Church precinct beyond and to create an interesting architectural element to the building.
The ground level of the tower is a glazed wall angled and shaped to draw views and movement through to the church precinct. The Ann Street frontage will also feature a folded linear glass canopy that appears as a continuation of the curtain wall facade of the tower. It will be clad in a delicate frit patterned glass to control the patterns of light and will use strategic guttering to divert water to specific points where water can run off into the tree beds below.
End of trip facilities block and frit patterned glass awning.
JWA have also included injected a translucent two storey box into the ground level corner of Church and Ann Streets. It will house end of trip facilities including 110 bicycle spaces on level one and shower and changing facilities on level two.
The building will provide basement carparking for 110 cars and have an overall gross floor area of 23440sqm.
Images: JWA
