Firm： Studio505

Type： Commercial › Shopping Mall

YEAR： 2012

Photos： John Gollings Photography (8)

An iconic and enchanting new art facade for the newly opened Wintergarden Shopping Centre in central Brisbane. The 4,000 sq m facade covers three sides of a city block and is a complex study of wintergardens, biology, geometry and layering that was conceived in collaboration with artists and makers across Australia. The facade design incorporates unique cutting, folding and lighting systems which are integrated into a coherent cultural event.

The brief for the new facades required the creative application of a coherent identity and architecturally holistic sensibility in order to realise a multitude of intentions - to create an entertaining and engaging retail experience, a lifestyle destination and a 'must-go-to' meeting place and thoroughfare - at the heart of Brisbane's city centre.

Our response to this brief was to build upon the deep cultural collateral and public good will that resides in the site and the name 'Wintergarden' and create a radically experiential composition, a complex and beautiful study of nature, geometry and layering that communicates the rich diversity of life. The project team have created a new cultural infrastructure in the heart of Brisbane’s city centre. The areas surrounding the new facades, in particular along Queen Street Mall, have evolved into a central hub and lively meeting place both during the day and also after night fall.

The design includes an LED lighting system that explores and elevates the potential of the retail façade as a cultural interface. Programmed lighting generates content for the evening phase – and is ‘an open book’ for engagement opportunities.