A sculptural 30 storey residential tower has been lodged for a prominent corner at 39 Russell Street, South Brisbane, directly opposite Musgrave Park. Designed by Brisbane practice 111.company, the tower would deliver 93 apartments and is conceived as a contemporary subtropical landmark that blurs the line between architecture and landscape.
The application is lodged by Skyhold, through its site company Skyhold Project 11 Pty Ltd, with Finegrain Group as project manager and Town Planning Alliance as town planner. Skyhold acquired the corner site, a single 932 square metre lot with dual frontage to Russell and Manning Streets, for a reported $14 million. It sits within the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct, the inner-south pocket between South Bank and West End now undergoing rapid renewal.
The proposed residential tower has been conceived as a contemporary subtropical landmark that responds to its prominent corner location through fluid geometry, landscape integration and a sculptural architectural expression. The design seeks to dissolve the traditional distinction between architecture and landscape, creating a building that appears to emerge organically from its site.
111.company, Design Report
The architecture is built up as a series of distinct but interconnected components: a sculpted podium, a curvilinear tower and a crowning roof form. 111.company describes a process of carving recesses into the ground level, expressing the floor plates and articulating the roof, then adding curvilinear geometry to reduce visual bulk, so the tower reads as a single fluid gesture rather than a stack of floors. The response draws directly on its setting, at the meeting point of Musgrave Park, the Queensland Cultural Centre and the Brisbane CBD, with a highly permeable, landscaped ground plane designed to strengthen pedestrian connections on both street frontages.
The podium is the design’s most distinctive move. 111.company calls it an ‘artscape’: a continuous arrangement of vertically expressed bronze fins that introduces depth, rhythm and texture, softened by flowing curvilinear geometry that lets the podium wrap fluidly around its corner.
Organic elliptical openings are sculpted through the bronze facade to reveal elevated gardens beyond, allowing landscape to emerge through the architecture and transforming the podium into a living, permeable architectural form.
111.company, Design Report
At the top of the tower, the composition is completed by what the architects call a roof veil: a sculptural, reticulated metal screen that rises from the north-west corner and sweeps across the rooftop in a series of flowing undulations, at once shading the amenity below, defining space and giving the building a distinctive silhouette on the skyline.
The rooftop form is refined as a sculptural extension of the tower, establishing a distinctive silhouette that completes the building’s architectural composition and reinforces its landmark presence within the Brisbane skyline.
111.company, Design Report
Materially, the building is restrained and tactile. The podium pairs bronze glazing and bronze fins with off-white render, charcoal masonry and a vintage copper metal, while the tower shifts to a lighter palette of pewter glazing, white pebblecrete and off-white textured finishes, with dark bronze metal accents, so the fluid form reads clearly against the sky.
Inside, the 93 apartments are pitched at owner occupiers and families, with a mix of 74 two bedroom apartments (26 of them with a multipurpose room), 13 three bedroom apartments and six four bedroom apartments, across a gross floor area of about 11,713 square metres. There are no one bedroom apartments in the mix.
Residents would share about 1,027 square metres of communal recreation split between two levels: a podium recreation deck at Level 5 and a rooftop pool terrace at Level 30, tucked beneath the sweeping roof veil with panoramic views over the park, the river and the city.
Landscape is integral rather than applied. Working with 111.company, LAUD ink has designed planting that runs from the street through the podium’s elliptical openings and up the tower to the rooftop, helping the scheme achieve a green plot ratio of 76% across roughly 709 square metres of landscape. Swipe through the landscape concept plans below for the sitewide ground plane, the Level 5 podium recreation deck and the Level 30 pool terrace.
The environmental strategy follows Council’s Buildings that Breathe principles, using orientation, deep balconies, the bronze fin screens and extensive greenery to manage sun and support natural ventilation. On the practical side, the waste strategy is a strength: a diverter chute serves every residential level, so both general waste and commingled recycling can be dropped from each floor and separated into bins in basement level 2, where general waste is compacted at a three to one ratio. Residents would not have to carry recycling down by hand.
Parking would be provided across a two level basement and within the podium, with 136 car spaces (including five visitor spaces) and 39 bicycle spaces, reflecting the site’s highly walkable position a short stroll from South Bank, the Cultural Centre, West End and the CityCat.
Project Rundown
| Development Parameter | Proposed Development |
|---|---|
| Address | 39 Russell Street, South Brisbane QLD 4101 (Lot 171 on B3137) |
| Application Number | A007098299 (lodged with Brisbane City Council, 27 August 2026) |
| Development Type | Material Change of Use (Development Permit) for a Multiple Dwelling (93 apartments) |
| Site Area | Approx. 932 m² corner site |
| Frontages | Russell Street and Manning Street, opposite Musgrave Park |
| Zone | High density residential (HDR2) |
| Precinct | Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct (TLPI No. 2 of 2025), Kurilpa south (PPA-003) |
| Height | 30 storeys over a two level basement |
| Apartments | 93 (74 two bedroom including 26 with a multipurpose room, 13 three bedroom, 6 four bedroom) |
| Gross Floor Area | 11,712.8 m² |
| Ground Floor | Permeable, landscaped residential ground plane and lobby to Russell and Manning Streets |
| Communal Recreation | Approx. 1,027 m² across a Level 5 podium recreation deck and a Level 30 rooftop pool terrace |
| Landscape | 709 m² of landscape; 76% green plot ratio (green factor index 1.291), by LAUD ink |
| Sustainability | Framework: A contemporary subtropical response following Council’s Buildings that Breathe principles, in the Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct. Envelope: A sculptural, curvilinear form; vertically expressed bronze fin screens and deep balconies moderate sun and weather while framing views and cross ventilation. Living Greenery: A 76% green plot ratio (green factor index 1.291) and about 709 m² of landscape by LAUD ink, with elevated gardens revealed through the podium’s elliptical openings and planting carried up the tower to the rooftop. Water: A civil and stormwater management approach accompanies the application (MPN Consulting); rainwater harvesting or reuse is not specified within the documents reviewed. Movement: 136 car spaces and 39 bicycle spaces, on a corner site a short walk from South Bank, the Queensland Cultural Centre, West End and the CityCat. Solar PV: Not specified or detailed within the documents reviewed. Waste & Recycling: A diverter chute serves every residential level, with a hopper on each floor taking both general waste and commingled recycling down to bins in basement level 2, where general waste is compacted at a 3:1 ratio. Residents do not carry recycling down by hand. (Waste plan by Modus Engineering.) |
| Car Parking | 136 spaces (basement and podium), including 5 visitor spaces |
| Bicycle Parking | 39 spaces (31 resident, 8 visitor) |
| Status | Lodged with Brisbane City Council, under assessment |
| Developer | Skyhold (application lodged through Skyhold Project 11 Pty Ltd) |
| Project Manager | Finegrain Group |
| Architect | 111.company (111 Architects) |
| Landscape Architect | LAUD ink |
| Town Planner | Town Planning Alliance |
| Traffic and Waste | Modus Engineering |
| Civil Engineer | MPN Consulting |
| Building Services | EMF Griffiths |
| Date Lodged | 27 August 2026 |
The proposal is being progressed by Skyhold, the entity led by Zhen Chen that acquired the Russell Street corner, with Finegrain Group acting as project manager. Finegrain is an established Brisbane developer and development manager that has become one of the most active names in the Kurilpa precinct, where the temporary local planning instrument is guiding a wave of new high density housing close to South Bank and the Cultural Centre.
Plans
39-Russell-Street-Proposed-Plans-compressed-1Artist’s impressions by 111.company and landscape plans by LAUD ink, lodged with development application A007098299 to Brisbane City Council; renders are indicative and subject to change. Figures are drawn from the lodged design report, architectural and landscape plans and the Town Planning Alliance planning report.
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