Dakota Woolstores

The Dakota Woolstores were one of the original conversions of a Woolstore building into high end apartments along the Teneriffe river front.  The building had not been renovated since its’ original conversion, and the interior was dull and tired, not reflecting the vibrant culture within which it sat on the busy Macquarie Street.  Full of passionate building occupants, we worked closely with the Steering Committee to set an aesthetic direction for the project.  The clients sought to provide an interior that was classic and prestigious, elevating the occupants experience of the foyers and common areas.

Most of the heritage fabric of the building exists within the apartments that border the building, so the team chose to create a scheme that celebrated what heritage remained.  A predominantly black and white scheme allows the warmth of the brick and timber heritage elements to ‘pop’.  Nuanced reference is made to the Art Deco tradition of the building with framed borders and strong contrast.  The dramatic design move in the foyers was to lower the ceiling and paint it out dark to hide all the services and simplify the lighting scheme.  This creates a dark, rich interior environment that is calming and clean to the eye.  Lastly, each apartment doorway was elevated to give an importance to the feeling of arriving home by painting the door panels out in dark grey and introducing new signage and lighting.

• Location

  Yuggera & Turrbal Country
  Teneriffe, Brisbane

• Client

  Dakota Body Corporate

• Builder

  Total Fitouts Hope Island

• Year Completed

  2018

• Design Time

  9 months

• Build Time

  9 months

• Value per m2

  Undisclosed

• Photography

  Cathy Schusler