Telephone +61 7 3844 1362
studio@shanethompson.com.au
47 Wahcumba St, Dutton Park
PO Box 1170 Fortitude Valley
Queensland 4006 Australia
The site for this project is located at the northern gateway of the old Gold Coast Highway entry to the traditional Gold Coast strip. It is also the southern gateway to the more recent and significant communities at the northern end of the Gold Coast and the Southport Broadwater. Significant traffic movements combined with proximity to the waterfront provide challenges from an urban design point of view, and also a responsibility to enhance the quality of the urban environment (particularly at ground level) and recognise the site’s threshold position. The site also enjoys spectacular views to and from the Broadwater and South Stradbroke Island with the Pacific Ocean beyond.
The proposal incorporates a stepped form rising from seven storeys at the north corner of the site to 11 storeys on the south-east corner. This creates a smaller footprint on the western part of the site, which deals with potential issues such as inappropriate scale and overshadowing of the public parkland. A series of seven domestic-scale attached houses is will be located on the park on the southern boundary.
The form of the building and its particular character has been influenced by a strong desire to create a poetic architectural response to the waterfront site. Careful composition, with detailed attention to scale and an informal, contemporary urban resort architectural language results in an understated modernist form, which accentuates the effect of the strong sub-tropical sunlight conditions.