Wintergarden Brisbane, Queensland Shopping Centre, Australian Retail Building, Stores

Wintergarden Brisbane Shopping Mall

Retail Development Australia: Queensland Shops – design by The Buchan Group

18 Oct 2012

Wintergarden Shopping Mall Brisbane

Wintergarden by The Buchan Group wins at Property Council Awards

Queen Street Mall

Design: The Buchan Group

Address: 171-209 Queen St, Brisbane QLD 4000, Australia

Phone: +61 7 3229 9755

One of The Buchan Group’s landmark design projects has taken out the top award at the Property Council 2012 Queensland Retail Property of the Year Awards, with Wintergarden named 2012 Retail Property of the Year on Friday night.

Wintergarden, owned and developed by ISPT, showcases some of The Buchan Group’s most innovative architectural, interior and graphic design work, with the $100 million project completed in May 2012.

photos : Christopher Frederick Jones

The Property Council Queensland Retail Property of the Year Awards recognise excellence across a variety of categories that reflect the different aspects and challenges of delivering exceptional retail centres.

This is the 24th time that one of The Buchan Group’s projects has won either the Property Council’s Property of the Year or category awards at a state or national level.

The Buchan Group Project Director Gerry Holmes said that the Wintergarden project had presented the team with a set of unique design challenges.

“The biggest challenge with Wintergarden was the centre’s layers of existing structure, but that was also a key motivation for the final design,” Mr Holmes said.

“The Buchan Group was appointed in 2008 and after four years of extensive redesign and redevelopment, Wintergarden is now once again the landmark shopping destination in Brisbane.

“I am delighted that Wintergarden has been recognised within such a strong field of contenders, and the finished product is a credit to the entire development and design team.”

It has been a bumper awards weekend for The Buchan Group, with the Leukaemia Foundation ESA Village project named joint winner of the Wildcard Award at the 2012 UDIA QLD Boral Awards for Excellence on Friday night. The Wildcard Award is presented to an outstanding project that has made a significant contribution to the industry and the community.

The UDIA QLD Boral Awards for Excellence judges commented that the Leukaemia Foundation ESA Village project showed amazing community spirit.

“The entire project team was locally based and came together with excellent rapport to deliver a project early and under budget. There were significant fundraising initiatives held throughout and the contractor matched the value of the funds raised dollar for dollar,” said the judging panel.

“[The Village] provides accommodation where patients and families suffering from Leukaemia related illness can stay during treatment at no cost. The ESA Village also provides office space that acts as the Patient Support Hub providing counselling, information and education services for residents and metropolitan patients.”

10 May 2012

Wintergarden Brisbane

The Buchan Group helps Wintergarden thrive

Wintergarden opened its doors this month, unveiling its new design to Brisbane shoppers and showcasing some of The Buchan Group’s most innovative retail work.

After a four year redesign and redevelopment the landmark shopping destination has again started welcoming shoppers.

The Buchan Group’s design has introduced two elegant parallel malls that visually connect Queen and Elizabeth Streets, drawing pedestrians in to wander and explore the $100 million project.

Project Director Gerry Holmes said the biggest challenge for The Buchan Group was the centre’s layers of existing structure, but he said it was also a key motivation for the final design.

“The original structure was difficult to change, so we needed to come up with innovative ways to open up the space so that shoppers could enjoy exploring the centre,” he said.

photos : Christopher Frederick Jones

Mr Holmes said addressing the level differences was the first step to creating clear mid-block connections.

”By exploiting the slope of Queen Street Mall we were able to create direct entries to two levels of the centre from Queen Street, and lower ground and ground connections from Elizabeth and Edward Streets respectively,” he said.

“We reinforced this by ensuring that there were clear sightlines from Queen to Elizabeth Street, and good visibility into and out of the centre, creating a space where shoppers feel encouraged to enter and explore.”

Mr Holmes said the retail planning and architectural aspects were only part of the challenge—making Wintergarden the fashion destination it should be was next.

“Above street level the computer cut metal facades, designed by Studio 505, add geometric and organic layering to the building’s exterior.

“The Buchan Group’s interior design team employed natural light, the highest-quality materials and striking dashes of colour to imbue the centre with a playful sense of design, complementing the iconic fashion retailers and brands that that now fill the centre.

photos : Christopher Frederick Jones

“Unifying the interior and graphic design components is an original fractal pattern, unique to the centre.

“Derived from the golden ratio, the pattern is present in all elements of the design, on all scales, including stone floors, ceiling features, signage, bespoke joinery and furniture,” Holmes said.

Wintergarden represents a very important investment to asset owner ISPT.

‘’The people of Brisbane have certainly responded well to the design and creativity that Wintergarden brings to the heart of the CBD,’’ said ISPT Development Director, Chris McCluskey.

‘’We are particularly pleased that even large lunch time crowds move effortlessly through the centre, a testament to its innovative design.’

“The interior design features, natural light and an unmissable facade have all created a space that has been warmly embraced by shoppers.”

Wintergarden Brisbane images / information from The Buchan Group

The Buchan Group

Location: Wintergarden, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia