Fortitude Valley Church Office Block Plan Revised

Revised plans have been filed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane for an eight-storey commercial building next to St Patrick’s Church in inner-city Fortitude Valley.

The change application comprises design amendments to create a “more harmonious coexistence with the church” at 58 Morgan Street.

Although the height and overall form of the BVN-designed scheme approved in August 2021 are retained, the building’s proposed exterior and layout have been reworked.

The revamped plans follow a concept design review focused on “enhancing the functionality of the built form, aligning it with operator requirements, detailed design specifications and market demand”.

Melbourne-based fund manager and developer Quintessential is behind the $175-million project to be known as The Arbory after striking a long-term leasehold agreement with St Patrick’s Church.

The firm's chief investment and operating officer Andrew Borger has described the proposal as a “next generation” workplace.  It is to be a 100 per cent electric, green-powered, fossil fuel-free office building.

Architectural firm Blight Rayner has undertaken the revised design.

Its proposed changes not only relate to architectural design amendments but also reconfigurations of the ground an basement levels, as well as revisions to landscaping, parking arrangements and setbacks.

“The majority of minor amendments have come about to enhance the relationship of the architecture of the new building to St Patrick's Church and enhance, in particular, the ground plane in terms of spaciousness and activation,” the planning documents said.

Notably, the original angled columns along the building’s ground-level colonnade have been replaced with vertical columns as structural supports and the exterior has been revamped with a grid-patterned facade inspired by the church’s large stained glass windows.

End-of-trip facilities and a function area have been relocated and a two-storey innovative commercial space dubbed the “the seed pod” as well as a cafe introduced to provide increased activation on ground level.

“This addition is expected to yield positive outcomes for the overall design and further align with the requirements of future tenants, providing them greater flexibility of use,” the documents said.

Layout changes across the levels have resulted in a slight increase of 1698sq m to the development’s total gross floor area from 13,270sq m to 14,968 square metres.

The proposed building also comprises an atrium green space,  rooftop terrace plus two basement levels with 126 carparking spaces and a minimum of 115 bicycle parking spaces.

According to a submitted design statement, the development’s colonnade—with cascading greenery fringing its edges—has been revised to create “a more traditional form of expression with vertical rather than diagonal columns”.

▲ Renders of the revised plans for the eight-storey office building at 58 Morgan Street, Fortitude Valley.

“The transition from hexagonal triangulated podium columns to vertical columns has been implemented in order to create a more harmonious coexistence with the church, reducing any potential clashes in their appearance,” it said.

Under the new scheme, the view corridor to the heritage-listed, early 1880s-built St Patrick’s Church from James Street would continue to be preserved.

Proposed amendments to the building's facade involve the replacement of balconies on levels 3 to 7. In their place, multiple highly-articulated, vegetated sections that provide scenic vistas overlooking the church and its surrounding precinct are planned.

“The grid-patterned facade facilitates the integration of abundant greenery and distinctly breaks the extent of facade more definitively than in the initial development application,” the documents said.