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Scale:

Stage: CD - CA

Tools / Skills: Revit, Indesign, hand drawings, Photoshop, project co-ordination

Time: 2011 - 2013

Brief calls for the refurbishment of most floors of this office building to between PCA “A” and “Premium” grade, exploiting its prominent location between Brisbane River, Eagle-Queen-Wharf Street junction and Customs House.

The project seeks to re-establish and strengthen its identity within Brisbane CBD by means of 4 key strategies:

1. Eagle Street Presence. One would be forgiven thinking this project dates to the 80’s / 90’s when in fact it was constructed in the early 2000’s. Lack of presence and undefined ground floor geometries creates a street address that is non responsive to the programme and lacks commitment in owning its part of Eagle Street. Furthermore, the public artwork “chat” at the entrance has in recent times widely been associated with controversial rugby player John Hopoate, further decreasing the building’s street credentials.

2. Redefining Street Entrance. 175 Eagle houses four separate entrances off Eagle Street different entities – tower entrance lobby, lobby retail, public laneway to Brisbane River, and Eagle Street Retail. Currently these entrances, although under the same roof, bare no relationship to each other, have no sense of hierarchy – they seem lost and undefined in the vast Ground Floor Plan.

3. River Access. One of the few CBD properties with direct access through the building to Brisbane River, this access lacks clarity and consequently receives limited use by the public

4. Brisbane River as an asset. Apart from the views, there are further opportunities to exploit the Brisbane River as its strongest public draw card and through unlocking strategies of access and amenity, establish it as one of the key river connecting buildings in Brisbane.

The main architectural design proposal is for a bold monolithic profiled canopy that extrudes through ground floor from Eagle Street to Brisbane River. It will create presence in its linearity and strengthen the buildings relationship to both Eagle Street and Brisbane River. It sets up a hierarchy to entrances and attempts to create order within the ground floor programme.

Canopy strengthens link to Brisbane River with artwork to further enhance this experience. A river facing bar with deck truly allows the building to connect and engage with one of its biggest assets.