205 North Quay | Hassell REX Richards & Spence

Buildings That Breathe

This building delivers an exemplary civic and workplace environment through a permeable, 
climate-responsive design that prioritises public access, comfort and amenity. A truly open 
ground plane extends the street into the building, forming a 20-metre-high publicly accessible 
lobby that welcomes occupants and the wider community. Indigenous artwork integrated into the 
concrete awning, supported by lighting and landscape design, grounds the building in place and 
culture.
Public amenity is embedded throughout, with an amphitheatre, breakout spaces and a generous 
cross-block link activating the site and improving permeability. Full-building shading, informed by 
Queensland shade-house principles, wraps the east and west façades to mitigate heat gain. 
Upper levels provide high-quality outdoor spaces, including tree-planted balconies every three 
storeys, a pool and recreation level, and a landscaped rooftop terrace

Commendation for Commercial Architecture

205 North Quay reframes the commercial tower through its generous engagement with the city at the ground plane. The tower opens its base to light, air, and public occupation, establishing a civic threshold that encourages movement, pause, and everyday exchange. Programs at the lower levels activate street, plaza, and future laneway, stitching the building into its urban context. Above, adaptable workplaces rise with restraint and climate responsive façades. The architecture demonstrates how commercial development can quietly enrich public life while setting a disciplined benchmark for Brisbane’s future city-making. 

Art and Architecture shortlist

Beatrice Hutton Award for Commercial Architecture

205 North Quay offers a new dynamic for a commercial Brisbane tower through the inventive and generous relationship between the tower and its setting. Following the example of several of Brisbane’s urban public buildings, most notably the Knowledge Walk of the Queensland Library and the garden logia of the Translational Research Institute. The tower offers its generous ground floor to the public, to the weather and to everyday interaction whilst defining its place amongst the more conventional neighbouring structures. 

Public engagement is encouraged and reinforced by the scale of the open public space at ground level which includes the availability of a major auditorium, together with cross block linkages at street level and access above for breakout spaces. 

The principle entirely open entry from Herschel street is defined by the notable 31 meter long by 3.4 metre wide suspended artwork titled “City Reach”. 

Solar shading to the East and West facades is governed by Queensland shade house principles while the North and South facades are enlivened by full height looping braiding which comprises a notable and defining artwork feature in its own right

Art & Architecture Prize

205 North Quay makes a generous contribution to Brisbane’s public realm. By opening its ground plane to light, air and civic occupation, the project activates the street, plaza and laneway, creating a welcoming threshold that encourages movement, pause and everyday exchange. In doing so, it establishes a disciplined benchmark for how commercial development can enrich city life beyond its boundaries. 

At the heart of this civic ambition is City Reach, an integrated artwork of exceptional presence and refinement. Following a rigorous curatorial process centred on the themes of absence and presence, Brisbane artist Bruce Reynolds was selected for the clarity of his vision and its deep engagement with the site’s enduring relationship to Maiwar, the Brisbane River. The result is a monumental 31-metre-long bas-relief sculpture, cast in situ across the full underside of the Herschel Street awning. 

The strength of the work lies in its complete integration with the architecture and its powerful dialogue with place. The intricate patterned soffit recalls the pressed metal awnings that once defined Brisbane’s streetscapes, grounding the artwork in local memory while evoking the layered presence of Maiwar – its beauty, histories and continuing Significance. 

 Commanding in scale yet subtle in expression, City Reach establishes an enduring conversation between art, architecture and city, enriching the everyday experience of the public realm and leaving a lasting civic legacy. 

Queensland Architecture Medallion

205 North Quay offers a new dynamic for a commercial Brisbane tower through the inventive and generous relationship between the building and its setting. The tower opens its ground floor to the public, to the weather and to everyday interaction, while defining its place among more conventional neighbouring structures. By opening the ground plane to light, air and civic occupation, the project activates the street, plaza and laneway, creating a welcoming threshold that encourages movement, pause and exchange. In doing so, it establishes a disciplined benchmark for how commercial development can enrich city life beyond its boundaries. 

Public engagement is encouraged and reinforced through the scale and openness of the public realm, which includes access to a major auditorium, cross-block linkages at street level, and breakout spaces above. The principally open entry from Herschel Street is defined by the notable 31-metre-long by 3.4-metre-wide suspended artwork, City Reach. Solar shading to the east and west facades is governed by Queensland shade house principles, while the north and south facades are enlivened by full-height looping braiding, forming a notable and defining artwork feature in their own right. 

The scheme has created an adventurous and exciting addition to Brisbane’s urban growth, boldly strengthening its relationship with other inventive companion projects across the city. The generous spatial depth of this open public building, together with its encouragement of an inventive array of potential relationships, is to be commended. We congratulate the architects and their client on the bravura and generosity that have driven the adventurous imagination behind the creation of 205 North Quay.