Office tower to straddle Brisbane heritage pub

The City of Brisbane has granted development approval for a 14-storey office tower designed by Blight Rayner to be built above a heritage-listed hotel in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Fortitude Valley.

Sitting partly on a masonry plinth, the tower will be supported by an expressive external structural system. The white, criss-crossing exoskeleton will provide for a largely column-free floor plate and allow the structure to cantilever over the Jubilee Hotel. Its design also addresses the strict weight restrictions of the site due to the M7 Clem Jones Tunnel, which runs below the hotel.

A design statement from Blight Rayner identifies the rejuvenation of the hotel and the creation of public space as key parts of the proposal.

“Underpinning the proposal is the incorporation of two new public spaces on the ground plane, both servicing the revitalization of the hotel by opening and giving clarity to it; and creating an entry plaza directly adjacent to St Paul’s Terrace, and a beer garden to the rear of the heritage building,” reads the statement.

Designed by architect Richard Gailey and built from 1887 to 1888, the Jubilee Hotel was added to the Queensland heritage register in 1992. The listing notes that the building is significant as one of a group of hotels designed by Gailey that contribute to the architectural character of Brisbane.

The Jubilee Place project will see the hotel’s original scheme reinstated and later additions removed. The National Trust of Australia’s Queensland branch lent its support to the project during the development application stage.

The tower’s podium will be characterised by a louvered glass facade and will house an innovation hub, along with “lush” plantings. The landscape design by Lat 27 envisions a contemporary subtropical landscape that permeates all parts of the building, from plaza to roof garden.

“The built form will be inhabited by ‘untamed’ vegetation as the levels and layers of a subtropical landscape are expressed in the diversity of the vegetation ‘occupying’ the building, contributing to the vibrancy of the street, plaza and public experience,” a statement from Lat 27 reads.

The project will aim for a 6-Star Green Star rating and a 5-Star NABERS rating.

More industry news

See all
The development – proposed for Third Street – features 84 apartments, a new public multideck car park, four commercial or retail tenancy spaces, an open air function area and a seventh floor garden terrace for residents. A 12-storey building inspired by industrial history proposed in Adelaide

Renewal SA has released initial plans for a new 12-storey mixed-use building in Bowden, Adelaide, with designs by ARM Architecture.

Sydney-based Worimi and Biripi guri architect Jack Gillmer and multidisciplinary Yuggera and Biri artist from Brisbane, Jody Rallah, have been selected to participate in the 2024 galang residency program. First Nations architect named recipient of Paris creative residency

Powerhouse Parramatta and the Cité Internationale des Arts have revealed the recipients of the 2024 galang residency program, who will undertake two intensive three-month residencies …

LATEST PRODUCTS