Robina Group’s $25 million commercial building, The Base, will bring a sophisticated metropolitan style to Gold Coast City’s office market, with New York style loft offices and a feature internal green wall.

The four level building, which will be located adjacent to the iconic commercial tower, The Rocket, at the heart of CBDRobina, will deliver 4,221 square metres of premium office space with a ‘five star’ green star design.

Designed by architects Rothelowman, a quarter of the space has already been leased, with construction anticipated to begin later this year.

Architect Jeff Brown, principal of Rothelowman, said the building would be unlike anything else developed in Gold Coast City to date, introducing a cutting-edge urban feel to the commercial office market.

“The inspiration for the top floor offices came from the New York style loft, with the unique addition of a partial second level, adding practical yet luxurious floor space, complete with balcony,” he said.

“The floor to ceiling height in some parts is eight metres, so when you walk into the loft floor you see a huge expanse of glass, allowing natural light to come in from the east and maximising views of Lake Lido and the Gold Coast City skyline.

“It is a real point of difference from what else is available in Gold Coast City, with commercial space here generally having a floor to ceiling height of 2.4 metres.”

Mr Brown said every tenancy would benefit from the floor to ceiling glazing, with the majority of spaces taking in the lake and city skyline views.

“The core of the building will run on one side to provide maximum floor space and flexibility, with columns generally located in tenancy wall spaces to create a true open-plan design,” he said.

“While this was done predominately to maximise the views, it has the added advantage of allowing more natural light to filter through, which in turn will significantly reduce energy consumption.

“This has been a major contributing factor in boosting the building’s green credentials and it will be one of only a few commercial buildings on the Gold Coast to have a five star green star energy rating.”

Mr Brown said the internal green wall would also be a focal point of the double height foyer and would integrate with an external green courtyard area.

“The courtyard space between the podium levels of The Base and The Rocket will include lush green landscaping, which inspired the internal green wall, and the two tie together to give the building a real unique identity,” he said.

“The landscaped courtyard includes an outdoor dining zone, which will also benefit from the green outlook.”

Mr Brown said cantilevered balconies on the eastern facade of the building would be another architectural highlight, not normally seen in modern commercial buildings.

“Because the podium level is already several floors above the lake, it will give those on the balconies a real sense of floating over the water,” he said.

“They will also be quite colourful in-line with The Base’s colour scheme of black and striking yellow, with the balconies featuring evocative yellow against the sophisticated black glass of the building.”

Robina Group general manager Hylton Slater said the vision for The Base was to take commercial office development in Gold Coast City to a new level.

“The days of Gold Coast City being seen as purely a tourist destination are well and truly behind us as we continue to gain momentum as a major global business centre,” he said.

“We need to offer spaces that are of a sophisticated metropolitan standard to cater for the growing demand from international, national and local businesses.

“We wanted The Base to offer something completely different from anything else available in the city to fill that gap, and the design by Rothelowman certainly delivers on that brief.

“This is a distinctive commercial space for a new commercial district.”

Mr Slater said a recent report by interdisciplinary consulting firm Urbis, which found CBDRobina had a vacancy rate of just 6.1 per cent, compared to Gold Coast City’s overall vacancy rate of 16.7 per cent, revealed the strong demand that existed for new office space.

“Businesses want to base themselves in cutting-edge new precincts that are pushing the boundaries of what is currently on offer,” he said.

“The location in CBDRobina is also appealing because of the diverse mix of commercial, residential and infrastructure development, along with a whole range of entertainment and services that help to lure top rate staff.

“The Base offers a prime location fronting Robina Town Centre Drive, close to Robina train station and transport hub, Robina Hospital and Cbus Super Stadium, and with easy access to the M1.”

Flexible office spaces, ranging from 112sqm to full floor plates of up to 1,834sqm metres, are now available for lease in The Base.

In addition to The Base, Robina Group is continuing to roll out further stages of its unique CityPods development, to comprise 15 stand alone two-storey offices within the M1 Business Precinct.

Four CityPods ranging from 163sqm to 304sqm remain for sale or lease and are available for immediate occupation.

Robina Group
robina.com.au

Rothelowman Architects
rothelowman.com.au