Mary Lane focuses on the creation of urban experiences for the hybrid luxury hotel and apartment complex, where the arrival experience is non-traditional and where the ground plane is experienced as an extension of the public realm of the city. More than just an apartment building, residents, on purchase, buy into the Westin brand and experience that adds another level of amenity and service available to complement luxury inner-city living.

The design has significantly improved the previously proposed development and transformed the available building volume into an engaging, articulated, subtropical design. The 38-storey complex includes a welcoming street frontage, five-star Westin Hotel, and luxury residential apartments. The tower boasts 299 boutique five-star guest rooms positioned above 184 luxury apartments in one-, two- or three-bedroom configurations. The rooftop recreation space provides exclusive use for the Mary Lane residences. The hotel provides restaurants and bars, resort-style pool with a swim-up bar, and other facilities.

The creation of a new cross-block link through the building adds to the fabric of the city, re-establishing the lost laneway system. The materiality of the podium is a combination of finished materials and expressed concrete slab edges with vegetation that gently fold away from the boundary back into the laneway. A glass canopy with sinuous steelwork ribbons visibly creates a flow into the laneway, leading the pedestrian from the footpath down through this new-cross block link.

The development pushes the boundaries in terms of how built form can open up and engage with its surroundings in sympathy with the seasonal weather variations. The podium design has created a set of placemaking strategies that encourage people to engage with the city and the climate by opening up the facade and engaging with its surrounding context. Mary Lane offers the city, residents and guests a variety of experiences in the heart of what will become a revitalised hub within Brisbane city.

Furniture: Space Furniture, Living Edge, Jardan, Cult, Hub, Derlot. Lighting: Douglas and Bec, Kundalini, Lanna, Kushi. Finishes: Brintons, Kvadrat, Bradco, Kvadrat Maharam, Ace Stone and Tile, Rimex, Artedomus, Ace Stone & Tile. Fittings & Fixtures: Rogerseller, Caroma, Clark, Mezzo.

Photography: Dion Robeson, Trevor Mein, Mark Nilon