Wintergarden facade

The three frontages of the Wintergarden Shopping Center in Brisbane have acquired a new look. Designed by Studio 505, the project for the new facades was conceived as a combination of commercial entertainment and architecturally engaging detailing. The abstract geometry of the screens is achieved by overlapping layers of different patterns, resulting in a radically experiential composition that communicates the rich diversity of city life.

Wintergarden facade

The main visual ‘structure’ of the façade is created by the trees that run (beyond) each side of the façade. By looking through the dense tree canopies of the forest, one notices a complex pattern of gaps and barriers. Details emerge and the rhythmic activity of life and light energizes the scene and captivates the imagination. As the position and strength of the sun changes from day to day and season to season so the folds, cuts and textures of the façade generate new patterns of highlights and shadows, and as night falls the lighting within the façade creates yet another reading. A low resolution integrated lighting system has been created that can change from a snowstorm through to the bursting of spring, into summer and finally into autumn, all within a single night. Rain, sunsets, storms and fireworks are other examples of these systems expressive capabilities. In short, the façade is similar and different but never the same. As well as being functional the façade is also engaging and entertaining.

Every panel and layer in the 4,000m2 façade has a unique design that is fully expressed through the dynamic, experiential interplay between a considered but expansive palette of colors and a rich language of cutting, scoring, folding and lighting all of which coalesce as a rich, coherent, cultural experience.

Wintergarden facade

Wintergarden facade

Wintergarden facade

Wintergarden facade

Wintergarden facade

 

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