205 North Quay – a subtropical approach to an office tower

21 JANUARY 2026

A new commercial tower in Brisbane cracks open the traditional workplace typology with an office tower ‘designed to breathe’.

For a decade now, Brisbane City Council has invited developers and architects delivering new high-density developments to give the city ‘Buildings that Breathe’. The Council’s aspiration has been for new buildings to embrace the subtropical climate, opening up to cooling breezes and reducing energy use, while providing lush landscaping, shade and comfort.

A new $600 million office tower appears to be the latest response to this vision.

205 North Quay is shaped by its environment and channels the essence of the traditional Queenslander home into a workplace. According to its architects Hassell, REX and Richards & Spence and developer Cbus Property, the design achieves this with plenty of shading, plants, verandahs, terraces and outdoor spaces.

“Our goal was to design a building that works with Brisbane’s subtropical climate,” Hassell principal Liam Short explains. “By using shading, natural ventilation and layered outdoor spaces, we’ve reduced energy demand while creating a healthier, more comfortable workplace.”

Connecting to and protecting from the outdoors

205 North Quay begins with an open-air civic plaza at street level, which has been designed for employees and the wider community to share. Landscaped outdoor terraces then ascend the 30-level tower to maintain a connection with the outdoors.

A strategically positioned building core and a finely articulated façade provide welcome shade. Placed on its north side, the building’s core is centred to maximise views of the Brisbane River and South Bank’s cultural district. The core’s position provides essential shading from Brisbane’s severe north-west sun while freeing up space at the retail and lobby levels.

Copper-coloured ellipses feature on the two longer façade elevations. According to the architects, the ellipses use less material than traditional shading systems. They also encourage plenty of natural light and clear views, all while reducing the impact of the sun’s heat.

“205 North Quay asserts its commercial value not by wilful form, but by shrink-wrapping a slender, highly efficient structure in an equally efficient, state-of-the-art enclosure tailored to Brisbane’s subtropical climate,” REX founding principal Joshua Ramus says.

‘Advanced building services’ have been designed to minimise energy use, water consumption and waste throughout the building’s life cycle.

Inner ‘neighbourhoods’

According to the architects, stairs connect interlinked three-floor communities to larger ‘neighbourhoods’.

This includes a dedicated wellness floor with a 25-metre lap pool, a gym and exercise spaces, along with premium end-of-trip facilities, included to support work-life balance.

Flexible, adaptable and functional spaces can be found throughout the building to help it meet evolving workplace needs, while an outdoor rooftop terrace offers opportunities for both focused work and social gathering – something the design team says is high on the wish lists of many employees and prospective workplace tenants.