WEST END WINNER

Turning Brisbane’s West End into a global neighbourhood that reimagines urban living — with an award-winning subtropical landscape

The new West Village mixed-use precinct from world-renowned property developer Sekisui House claims to “draw inspiration from the world’s most engaging precincts ... [offering] a journey of discovery for residents and locals alike.”

Inspired by the unique character of Brisbane’s West End, the new development features residential living surrounded by exotic greenspaces that create a relaxed urban atmosphere. Connected to the greater community via pedestrian and retail laneways, West Village reflects a diverse environment with approximately 6500 square metres of public space.

In Stage 1 of the project, an impressive 1400-square-metre greenspace, The Common, was constructed fronting Boundary Street, which functions as space for markets, festivals and public events. Expertly maintained by Hedge Property Services, The Common is a lush haven of soft and hard-scaped zones that transforms into something truly magical at night when hundreds of tiny lights begin to glow from the garden’s depths, setting the landscape to twinkling.

Constructed by Penfold Projects, who were tasked with installing turf and planting out the area with an array of tropical plants, shrubs and ex-ground trees, the greenspace has reinvigorated the site that sits in front of the fully restored 1920s Peters Ice Cream Factory heritage building.

Hardscaping works completed by Penfold Projects include stone works, concreting and pavement elements — which involved the installation of an impressive total of 26,000 recycled bricks.

Streetscape works around the site and the establishment of a Sensory Garden rounded out the project, accounting for the 433 freestanding planters of mature plants, 57 ex-ground trees and 4500 tropical plants used to outfit the project.

The Sensory Garden is a particularly special green zone that encourages users to take a hands-on approach to sustainability (there’s even chooks on the site!). Gardening and craft workshops held in this space help integrate the landscape into the neighbourhood and cement its value in the community.

Taking seven weeks of onsite construction to complete, the West Village project was worth navigating the challenges of accessing a restricted site and the vast volume of greenery to be installed within such a short timeframe. The end result achieved by the team at Penfold Projects speaks for itself, with the area now being widely enjoyed as a cultural hub by locals and visitors alike.

The West Village landscape was awarded the 2019 Commercial Landscape Construction of the Year by Landscape Queensland.

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PROJECT PARTICULARS
Client Hutchinson Builders
Location West End, Brisbane, Queensland
Developer Sekisui House
Construction Penfold Projects
Maintenance Hedge Property Services