Wintergarden retail project shines for The Buchan Group

Design firm The Buchan Group has another landmark retail project to showcase with the recent opening of Wintergarden, a fashionable shopping precinct in Brisbane’s CBD.

Located between Queen and Elizabeth Streets, Wintergarden consists of two parallel malls designed to draw in pedestrians from the main retail avenues. The innovative project took four years to redesign and redevelop.

Project director Gerry Holmes said the biggest challenge was the centre’s layers of existing structure, which also represented a key motivation for the final design.

“The original structure was difficult to change, so we needed to come up with innovative ways to open up the space so that shoppers could enjoy exploring the centre,” he said.

To bring shoppers through the mall area, the design carefully allows pedestrians clear sightlines between Queen and Elizabeth Streets, “creating a space where shoppers feel encouraged to enter and explore,” Holmes explained.

“The Buchan Group’s interior design team employed natural light, the highest-quality materials and striking dashes of colour to imbue the centre with a playful sense of design, complementing the iconic fashion retailers and brands that that now fill the centre.”

The $100 million project now “effortlessly” draws crowds through the centre, said Chris McCluskey, development director at ISPT, owner of Wintergarden.

“The people of Brisbane have certainly responded well to the design and creativity that Wintergarden brings to the heart of the CBD,” he noted.