A quiet corner of Teneriffe is now home to a sharply refined new residential building that asks: how do you build something new in a place already steeped in identity?
That question underpins Five on Florence, a five-residence development recently approved for Florence Street. It’s a modest five-storey building with only five full-floor apartments — but in architectural terms, it’s far from simple.
Designed by Plus Architecture in collaboration with Whitecasa Developments, the project navigates the tricky terrain of context, scale, and memory. The result is a building that visually recedes and reflects, while still presenting a strong and tactile connection to its neighbours.
At street level, a detailed brickwork base grounds the building and connects it to the robust materiality of Teneriffe’s historic woolstores. It reads as intentionally weighty — anchoring the structure to the street. But above this, the building seems to fragment. Reflective, fluted glazing rises across the façade in a pattern that channels the vertical repetition of corrugated iron roofs — a subtle nod to the Queenslanders that dot the surrounding hills.
Plus Architecture director Danny Juric described the design intent as imagining the building as “a chandelier in the streetscape, crystallising and refracting light while reflecting the architectural language of Teneriffe’s established cottages.” He added that “in certain moments, you catch glimpses of these historic homes reflected in the contemporary glass – creating this beautiful dialogue between past and present.”
The five apartments — each a three-bedroom, full-floor layout — are arranged to face north-east, embracing Brisbane’s subtropical orientation. Wide balconies, greenery-integrated planter beds and sculptural fluted balustrades continue the vertical rhythm up through the building, softening the transition from public to private space.
The project has already drawn strong market interest, with four of the five residences secured by owner-occupiers. According to Whitecasa Developments director Tom White, the project’s success stems from the strength of its original design concept.
“Plus Architecture’s innovative concept design set the foundation for this remarkable project,” he said. “Their vision has been brilliantly realised through exceptional interior architecture and delivery expertise.”
Brisbane City Council acknowledged the project’s contextual sensitivity during the assessment process, citing its architectural response as an example of how small-scale developments can contribute positively to the city’s evolving streetscapes.
Five on Florence may be boutique, but it sets a quiet precedent. In a city grappling with density, it suggests that scale isn’t just a numbers game — it’s also about proportion, memory, and light.
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