Quad Project
QUAD // Qld Architecture Awards, Brisbane Regional Commendation
QUAD represents the first trial of a new type of light industry, small lot development. Essentially conceived as a commercial townhouse module for small business use, the design evolved out of a desire to reduce the dominance of parking and vehicle manoeuvring on the ground level of the small site (405sqm).
The design creates a new typology for urban infill in light industry area. The focus on small business reduced the ‘grain’ of the building mass and offers a livelier streetscape. People business triumphs over vehicle business. The tenancy arrangement suits a wide variety of users, hence the flexibility sought by small operators in industrial zones is catered for. The other benefit is in terms of workplace culture whereby the focus on useable open space was given importance. Third level covered roof terraces would not normally survive the financial rigours of commercial property development. The desire for these types of spaces for workers in the modern workplace is catered for and the successful uptake of leases on the tenancies proves the model.
Four small tenancies make up the 3 storey development. It was agreed that single vehicle access was appropriate to the scale of each tenancy. All landscaped areas are privatised with entry courts to each tenant and the corner forecourt dedicated to the Café. The corner café operates on a small footprint requiring the wall to fold up for serving directly onto the sheltered forecourt.
The site occupies a prime corner location at the top of a dead-end street which terminates at Breakfast Creek. The corner is west and south facing and the planning resolves itself in four equal south facing tenancy frontages with the café tenancy taking advantage of the corner forecourt. Each tenancy steps down the site and access creating a stepped row house form.
