Hassell on the move in Brisbane as Sekisui House steps into office market

Architects Hassell are relocating to Sekisui House’s multi-billion dollar development West Village at West End in Brisbane.

Japanese developer Sekisui House, best known for its housing estates around Australia, is stepping up its office activities and has won a commitment from one of Brisbane’s leading workplace design companies to relocate into a heritage building it is redeveloping.

Hassell’s Brisbane studio will move from Fortitude Valley in October next year into a 1100sq m office in the former Peters Ice Cream Factory in Sekisui House’s West Village development in West End.

Hassell principal Lucy O’Driscoll said the move offered staff all the benefits of working within an already lively precinct.

“Connection to the local surrounds and community has always been a consideration for us as well as for our clients, but post-Covid it is more important than ever to ensure that the workplace is somewhere people want to come back to,” she said.

“The history of the Ice Cream Factory has been carefully preserved, with the original brickwork and beams, high ceilings and enormous windows creating the ideal canvas for us to design our new Brisbane studio.”

West Village is a 2.6 hectare urban renewal development being established by Sekisui House Australia in Brisbane’s West End. At the heart of the precinct are the heritage listed former Peters Ice Cream factories.

Hassell was in the heritage-listed old Keatings bread factory at 37 Kennigo Street, which earlier this year was purchased by RG Property for $15.8m.

Hassell’s move to West Village was negotiated by Angus Harvey Ross from Harvey Ross Consulting and Shane Van Beest from Colliers International.

West Village is a 2.6ha living heritage village and when completed will include up to 1000 residences, 14,000sq m of retail and 12,000sq m of office space. Over the past few months West Village has opened its retail centre including the flagship store for Harris Farm Markets, a full-line Woolworths, restaurants and specialty stores.

West Village project director Harrison Phillips said there was growing demand for community-driven commercial office spaces.

“Employers and employees are drawn to environments that offer the same lifestyle we look for in a home — green space, established amenity, and most importantly, community connection,” he said.