The Oxlade

The Oxlade responds to the changing patterns of living and density in the New Farm enclave of Brisbane, striking balance between the amenity of the single detached home and the luxury of a contemporary apartment building. The generous, square-shaped site on the edge of the Brisbane River, encouraged a typical floorplate loosely divided into four apartments spread across two co-joined buildings. Key to realising this planning strategy was the sculpting of the perimeter to ensure sunlight and natural ventilation — as well as ensuring views to the street, garden and river were intrinsically part of the experience of the interior. The experience of The Oxlade is made memorable by the civic quality of communal spaces which bestow a sense of gravitas through the use of natural landscape and the incorporation of public art. Scale and materiality also play a part in bestowing a civic quality, particularly evident in the subtropical foyer space where the Water Mall establishes the atmospheric coolth at arrival. Externally, the use of natural stone conjures memories of the historic local stone known as Brisbane Tuff and reaffirms the gravity of the architecture, finessed by accents in bronzed metal and softened by vertical gardens.