John Wardle Architects has designed three towers for a riverfront site in Brisbane’s Toowong that has sat empty for more than a decade.
The site at 600 Coronation Drive previously belonged to developer Sunland, which had engaged Zaha Hadid Architects to design a trio of towers shaped like champagne flutes that would have reached 24 and 27 storeys in height, well above the 15 storey limit for the area.
Sunland abandoned its proposal in 2018 after a series of drawn-out legal challenges and it sold the site to new developer Consolidated Properties Group in March 2021.
The 1.5 hectare site was formerly home to the Brisbane headquarters of the ABC, whose buildings have since been demolished. Only the historically significant Middenbury House and two associated weeping fig trees remain on the site.
John Wardle Architects’ proposal retains the 1866 house and trees with a design inspired by the natural topography of the site.
Proposal for 600 Coronation Drive by John Wardle Architects.
“The design for 600 Coronation Drive has emerged from the remnant natural qualities of the site,” the practice said in a design statement. “It imagines how the site’s topography can be repaired to create a new landscape that connects the river’s edge to the heritage fig trees of Coronation Drive. Within this garden are set three new residential towers around the historic Middenbury House.”
“The siting and form of the towers responds to two key influences – the river, and Middenbury House.
“[The river’s] soft geometry of bends and curves, ripples into the footprint of the towers, and they jostle as if they are part of the river system. Early design studies also referred to images of circling fish and translated some of their qualities to the plan.
“The towers set within a new landscape expand the experience of the riverbank to Coronation Drive. This also provides a garden setting around the historic Middenbury House. The house was originally set upon a natural high point that afforded its inhabitants an imposing view of the river from its deep veranda. Our approach is to reintegrate the house into its landscape, so that it is connected to the public realm and gardens rather than remaining aloof and detached. The topography of the new landscape resolves the divergent levels in a convincing manner.”
The three tower forms take their cues from Middenbury House by using the plan proportions of the house to create a “village of smaller footprints.”
The south-east corner of the site has also been identified by the City of Brisbane as the preferred site for its Toowong to West End pedestrian and cycle bridge, which means that the proposal’s south-east tower is in doubt if the council proceeds with the green bridge location. The proposal includes pedestrian and cycle paths through the site which would connect with the green bridge.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
