From Expo 88 to AI: Buchan celebrates forty years in Brisbane

“Brisbane and South East Queensland are undergoing a period of rapid growth,” asserts longstanding Buchan director and principal, Phil Schoutrop. Brisbane born and bred, he says that the firm’s milestone comes at an exciting time for the practice and for Queensland: “With the 2032 Olympics on the horizon, there’s a lot of attention on the opportunities here. Buchan’s forty years in Brisbane give us a deep understanding of the city’s unique culture, climate and governance.” 

An early commission for Buchan’s Brisbane studio was for the World Expo in 1988, hosted by the City of Brisbane. Buchan wrote the master brief for the site and, says Schoutrop, it “was a pivotal event in Brisbane’s evolution as a modern city, transforming South Bank and putting Brisbane on the world map.”

Schoutrop now leads precinct design at Buchan and comments further: “It was an early example of precinct design, which we evolved in the ’80s with our retail work on projects like the Brisbane Myer Centre, the Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast and, more recently, the award-winning Nicholas Street Precinct in Ipswich.”  

Schoutrop says precinct design continues to shape modern Brisbane. An example is Buchan’s proposed Bulimba Barracks development, a riverfront multi-residential precinct that incorporates retail, community and recreational elements. “Bulimba Barracks brings our forty years of cross-sector expertise together in one precinct attuned to Brisbane’s climate and way of life. High-amenity, climate-responsive neighbourhoods are the new model for contemporary living as we move towards a higher-density city.” 

He continues: “We want Brisbane to be known as a place where the quality of the urban environment underpins the quality of our lifestyle.”

Related: Buchan’s Jeames Hanley on AI

Schoutrop says the biggest industry shift since the Brisbane studio opened is the leap in technology, another evolution that can be linked back to Expo 88. Buchan collaborated on the design of Expo 88’s landmark shade sails, which became symbolic of the event. Fast forward to today and Buchan’s Australia Pavilion for Expo 2025, secured via an international design competition, was created by a team of designers located across cities and countries using digital parametric design. The Australian Pavilion will open in April.

“New technologies like AI are transforming many aspects of our business but are only ever a tool. It’s people who create great design and that’s our focus,” says Schoutrop. “We look forward to growing our Brisbane team in the new office and contributing to the city’s evolution.”

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