The Buchan Group

The Buchan Group is delighted to announce the appointment of two new Associates to the Melbourne office. Simon Gregory is an experienced Project Coordinator who has taken a key role on both Retail and Residential projects in his more than seven years with The Buchan Group. He was a senior member of the project team for the highly successful Station Street development at Watergardens Town Centre, a role involving town planning, design development and contract documentation. Alex Su has specialist expertise in 3D concept design, schematic design and presentation drawings, and design development. He joined The Buchan Group’s Melbourne office in 2008 and has had a significant design role on the Vogue mixed use development in South Yarra, as well as a major development in Dubai.

The Resource Centre designed by The Buchan Group for Enoggera State School has received a Commendation in the Brisbane Regional Awards of the Australian Institute of Architects.  The judges described the project as “a contemporary building form comfortably sited within the existing school landscape. Beyond its walls is a dynamic learning space which challenges the current perception of a typical school library. Open and flexible planning has ensured that this building will meet the current and future needs of the client.”

Two of The Buchan Group’s projects have achieved success in the 2010 Property Council Awards.  The Northern Malls expansion of Robina Town Centre by QIC Global Real Estate was the Winner of the Shopping Centres Category.  Melbourne The Rialto Intercontinental Hotel redevelopment by Eureka Funds Management, built by Equiset Construction, was the Winner of the Tourism and Leisure Developments Category.

Construction of The Buchan Group’s latest Japanese project has commenced with a ground-breaking ceremony in Tokyo in April 2010.  The A $500M AomiQ mixed use development is a joint development by Mitsui Fudosan, Daiwa House, Fuji Television and The Sankei Building Co Ltd.  The commercial office and retail project in the Odaiba District,Tokyo Bay, comprises a 21-level office tower, seven levels of retail floor space and a 3-level covered civic amphitheatre and is adjacent to the iconic Fuji Television headquarters.  AomiQ is scheduled to open in the Japanese spring of 2012.  The Buchan Group also designed Mitsui Fudosan’s LaLaport Shopping Centre which opened in Yokohama in May 2007.

The new West Mall at Chadstone is the first retail project in Australia to achieve a 5 Star Green Star - Retail Centre Design v1 certified rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.  The rating represents Australian Excellence in environmentally sustainable design.  Chadstone has also been recognised in the ICSC Asia’s Awards, winning Gold for the Chadstone Place mixed use development, completed in late 2008.  In March 2010, Chadstone Shopping Centre was once again ranked as Australia’s most successful shopping centre in the annual Big Guns Survey.  The annual turnover of $1.071 billion represented an 11.9% increase on the previous year’s turnover, despite the global financial downturn and part of the centre being under development.

 

The $160M expansion of Perth’s Rockingham City Shopping Centre has won the 2010 Property Council of Australia Award for Retail Property of the Year, Excellence in Retail Development in Western Australia.  The Buchan Group worked with Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM) on the staged development, which has added over 16 000m² to Rockingham and confirmed the Centre as the shopping and entertainment destination of choice within the region. 

 

 The Brisbane practice of The Buchan Group celebrated its 25th anniversary on November 24, 2009.   A cocktail party marking the event brought together clients and other key property industry identities at Old Customs House.

Managing Director Greg Sheehan said that the practice had worked in every provincial city in Queensland and currently had projects in Port Douglas, Cairns, Mackay, Townsville, Rockhampton, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Ipswich, as well as the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, New South Wales, New Zealand and South East Asia.

The distinctive design of the new Performing Arts Centre at Lumen Christi College houses an auditorium with seating for 350 persons, rehearsal rooms, utility room, music practice area and a drama room, as well as the foyer, which can also be used as a teaching space. The irregular forms of the building reflect changing light conditions while minimising the significant mass of the complex.
Associate Director Peter Garvey led The Buchan Group team for the new Performing Arts Centre, which was completed in 2008.

The new 5-star Melbourne The Rialto Intercontinental Hotel has been awarded the inaugural Australian Hotel Architecture, Design & Development Award for Best Refurbishment and Best Interior Design. The Awards recognize the creative talent behind the best of new and refurbished hotels, resorts and serviced apartments opened in Australia in 2008.
The project was developed by Eureka Funds Management and built by Equiset Construction. The Buchan Group’s Design Director was David Cole and Director Nick Nigro was the Project Architect. The Buchan Group worked with project interior designer Joseph Pang.

Fortitude Valley station refurbishment is the largest station upgrade to be undertaken by QR Passenger Pty Ltd, capturing the spirit of an historic precinct and creating a new landmark. The Buchan Group’s integrated architectural, interior and graphic design reflects the cultural significance of the Valley music and entertainment scene, incorporating improved lighting, artworks and treatments on the platforms and concourse, with a new entry creating a visual focus for the Valley Metro and optimising pedestrian flow.
The project received a 2009 SEGD Merit Award and was a finalist in the 2009 UDIA Queensland Award for Excellence in Urban Renewal.

The City of Perth Heritage Award for Adaptation of a Heritage Place has been won by The Buchan Group, Perth, for the adaptive redevelopment of an abandoned 1930s warehouse at 484 Murray Street, Perth. The 1200 m² office is now a cost-effective, dynamic office for consulting engineers BG+E, complete with the original graffiti.

The first Apple store in Australia has opened in Sydney and is already a CBD landmark.  The store occupies the first three levels of a 21-storey building on the corner of George and King Streets.  From the glass facade extending the full 3-storey height of the store to the highly transparent interior of glass and steel, the store provides a total experience in which products assume centre stage. The Buchan Group worked in association with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Apple Inc. Director Phil Schoutrop led The Buchan Group team.

The Buchan Group is proud to have been the Principal Sponsor for the construction of a health centre in the remote Papua New Guinea village of Labu-Tale. The facility was designed to ESD principles and was built by architectural students from Australia and Papua New Guinea, as part of the Design Build:PNG initiative.