Several projects in the 2026 Awards demonstrate that a building can do more than meet its brief. It can contribute to the street, the neighbourhood and the life of a community.Â
One idea that appears repeatedly through this year’s Awards book is generosity. Not generosity in the sense of excess, but in the way a project can create value beyond the immediate requirements of its client.Â
At 205 North Quay by Hassell REX Richards & Spence, the ground plane is opened to public life through a generous plaza, cross-block connections, an auditorium and places for movement, pause and exchange.Â
The jury recognised the project not only as a commercial tower, but for the way it strengthens its relationship with the city and creates opportunities for public occupation.
Little Lane by Twohill and James offers another version of the same idea at a very different scale. The project replaces a large-format building with a finer grain of development, introducing pedestrian laneways that support small tenancies, movement and everyday communal life. By relocating part of the lettable area below ground, the project creates more public space at street level and strengthens connections through the site.Â
At Hinterland Adventure Playground by Robinson Architects in Cooroy, architecture and landscape work together to create a civic destination grounded in local history and identity. The project links existing community assets, provides spaces for social interaction and play, and creates a new focus for gathering within the town.Â
These projects are different in location, scale and purpose, yet they share an important quality. Each asks not only, what does the client need from this project, but also, what can this project contribute to the place around it?Â
Taken together, the projects show how architecture can shape more than internal space. Buildings influence streets, movement, shade, activity, identity and the way people experience their neighbourhoods. Thoughtful design can allow an individual development to become part of a much larger urban and community fabric.Â
Why an architect?Â
Architects work beyond the immediate brief, considering how a building meets the street, how people move through and around it, how it relates to neighbouring places, and where a project might contribute something more to its surrounding community and place.Â
Explore the 2026 Queensland Architecture Awards digital book HERE