From the outset, the client’s vision for the redevelopment of this prime site with Queen, Edward and Adelaide Street frontages, was to create a Brisbane retail landmark. Throughout the design and construction delivery phase of the project, we worked tirelessly with all members of the design team to realise this vision, delivering a building that exceeded the client’s expectations.

The design team’s hard work and dedication to creating this Brisbane landmark was formally recognised by the industry at large when Queens Plaza won the prestigious Property Council of Australia Innovation and Excellence Award in 2008. Over a decade has elapsed since the completion of the project, and despite an ever expanding and evolving CBD, Queens Plaza continues to establish itself as one of Brisbane’s iconic centres.

The standout features of Queens Plaza are its large height ceilings and expansive voids linking the main mall levels. This coupled with the fact that the centre was designed to accommodate the construction of a future tower led to a complex structural design. A major  challenge for the services design for the site was simply getting the services to ‘fit’ while working around limited ceiling clearances and extensive and large structural beams.

Our team had to think outside the box on many occasions to implement several innovative combined services designs to minimise the spatial requirements of plant and duct work systems.  As 3D modeling wasn’t an option yet, the most significant contributor to the successful construction of the job was the commitment from all design team members to actively communicate and coordinate with each other.

Some ten years have elapsed since the completion of the original build. While many of the features and attractions of the existing centre remain as relevant today as they were then, Brisbane is a rapidly evolving city and buildings and infrastructure must too evolve to accommodate this growth. Acknowledging this change, current owners of the site, Vicinities Centres, have commissioned a project to refurbish part of the existing centre. The focus of the new works will be to revamp the façade on the prominent Edward and Queen streets corner as well as opening up part of the existing level 1 Queen Street façade to create a new elevated balcony bar. These changes will serve to complement the evolution of Edward Street as Brisbane’s prominent luxury and boutique retail precinct coupled with an expanding dining experience in Queens Street. DMA Engineers are proud to be involved in the delivery of this new project, aiding in the repositioning of Queens Plaza for years to come.