How GRAYA created Maison, their luxury New Farm apartment development
When leading Brisbane-based residential developers, Rob and Andrew Gray of Graya, first laid their eyes on the potential New Farm site of their first multi-residential development, they knew they were onto something special.
Securing the perfect multi-residential site in New Farm, arguably Brisbane’s best lifestyle suburb, proved to be challenging from the outset, with Graya taking more than two years to select the site after considering a number of other options.
“We knew finding a site that fit the criteria we needed wasn’t going to be easy, but given our buyer demographic, we had a fairly tight brief on what we needed from it–with river and city views being at the top of our list” Andrew said .
"With its proximity to Brisbane city, and major lifestyle precincts including James Street, Teneriffe, and Howard Smith Wharves, property and real estate in the area is hard to come by and tightly held”.
Once the site at 60 Moray Street had been secured, both Rob and Andrew knew they had a site that would allow them to do something new, innovative, and ultimately iconic.
With its grand corner frontage, the design potential of the site was unlimited, and there was an opportunity to execute something that was design-driven and not commercially driven like many other developments in the area.
"Being our first multi-residential development, I wanted this development to be design-led and reinvigorate the tired streetscape of Moray Street currently littered with run-of-the-mill brick unit developments," Rob said.
"We also wanted to offer something unique to the suburb too, full-floor sky homes rather than jam packing as many units as we could in."
The concept of Maison was born, and a brief was conceived to deliver something completely innovative to the suburb, some of the main design elements encompassing soft curves, plank form concrete and a major focus on landscaping.
“The core focus of Maison was the environment and adding a living, breathing piece of architecture that added significant aesthetic value to the New Farm streetscape," Rob added.
"Yes, Maison had to offer residents unrivalled luxury internally, but it also had to give back to the suburb in terms of its presence."
Rob and Andrew’s vision for Maison is evident just by looking at the stunning photos taken of the project.
The brutal aesthetic of the surrounding buildings is instantly softened by Maison’s bespoke curved planter boxes which were a first of its kind for this project. The level of detail (and commitment to the project brief) is evident when looking closely at the planter boxes with their ‘wood form’ look further elevating Maison’s façade.
Unlike other projects in the area, significant time and effort were invested in the 'luscious' landscape design of Maison. Given it was a key design feature of the development, and a major selling point, Graya ensured the long-term viability of the landscaping by selecting a range of drought-tolerant plants as well as implementing a grey-water reticulation system to minimise the water usage of the building-another major sustainability point of the project.
"Maintaining a green building can be challenging and costly if not implemented correctly. We've spent time in designing a system that is viable for the long-term, but also does not compromise on the aesthetic of the building design inside and out", Andrew said.
One of the most eye-catching elements of this project is the juxtaposition it creates between old and new architecture and just how far Brisbane has come along in terms of building design.
This commitment to design excellence is a consistent theme-with each of the beautifully appointed luxury sky homes featuring carefully curated, and high-end, fittings and fixtures as you'd expect with a development of this calibre. Residents also have access to a fully-functional rooftop community area and pool which enjoys commanding city and river views.
Maison is evidence that multi-residential buildings do not have to conform to the normal standard, that not all of a project's budget has to go into the internal fit-out. Sometimes, investing time and effort into the facade of a building is worth the reward in terms of its impact on elevating the streetscape of a suburb."
At Graya, we're not interested in knocking out run-of-the-mill developments with a pure focus on cramming as many units in as possible. We want to deliver iconic architecture projects that elevate our city-that contribute to the community in terms of their aesthetic.
We feel there is a gap in this high-end multi-residential market, and we're looking forward to executing more design-led owner occupied projects in the years to come", Rob said.
Graya has a range of upcoming multi-residential developments coming up, including the 21-unit development Canvas Bulimba, and another two projects, York, and Blook, in New Farm.