Jubilee Place Fortitude Valley, Brisbane

Verosol blinds help maintain visual connectivity at Jubilee Place

Looking great and providing shade from the Brisbane sun, the Ambience roller blinds at Jubilee Place are also doing something else. They are helping ensure that everybody, both inside and outside, can experience the building’s striking external structure.

The Building

Designed by Blight Rayner, Jubilee Place is a 14-storey commercial development in Fortitude Valley, an area on the fringe of Brisbane’s CBD which, though not traditionally associated with development of this type, has recently begun a process of regeneration.

“In order to attract the interest of commercial tenants, the building and its architecture had to offer points of difference from other nearby office precincts,” says Jayson Blight, Director of Blight Rayner.

“The first such point of difference is the diagrid structure…a solution to the structural challenge of a wide road tunnel that runs diagonally under the site. The structure transfers loads to straddle the tunnel, simultaneously forming an architectural expression imparting identity.”

The second point of difference involves the Jubilee Hotel, a heritage listed pub that stands bedside the new development. As Blight explains, in exchange for permission to allow the office building to cantilever partly above the pub,
the architects gave the old watering hole a make-over and transformed it into one of the city’s most popular night spots.

The Requirement

Striking from the outside, and creating the appearance of a sort of exoskeleton, the building’s unique structure also means the offices above are virtually column-free. In addition, it is not only passers-by who get to see the distinctive external structure. It is visible from inside too.

As Project Architect, BlightRayner’s Christopher Lewis explains, maintaining this internal visibility was a conscious choice. The architects wanted those inside to be aware of this design feature.

“In terms of blinds, our selection was based around providing a stark contrast, but also a transparent look in order to maintain visibility of the structural diagrid,” says Lewis.

Having previously worked with Verosol, Blight Rayner was happy to do so again. “Verosol made many samples available to us, which eased the selection process. We were able to efficiently present appropriate products to the client,” he says.

The Solution

The products chosen by the client for the 14 levels of office space, a mix of 500 Manual and Motorised Ambience Roller blinds in the 123 Earth Screen and Verosol 737 Veropaque blockout fabrics, fit the brief perfectly.

Installed along with curved integrated blind boxes, which align nicely with the curved corner of the façade, the blinds present as not just functional but right on trend. Installed according to specification, with either chain operated or motorised uni-joint operation, they meet the needs of the various tennants perfectly.

The beauty of employing two fabrics – one semitransparent and the other a blockout material – in this way is that it ensures the best of both worlds. Specified in the 9000 – Black colour, the 123 Earth Screen allows for vision out. Then the 737 Veropaque blockout, in 8500 – Charcoal Black can be employed as needed.

“The selected blinds gave the contrast and aesthetic we were seeking, whilst providing the desired functionality for the tenants. The blinds enable the visual connectivity with the structural diagrid to be maintained, which is an important facet of the architectural expression,” says Lewis.