Kirk has created an “experimental” office tower in Brisbane that thoughtfully navigates a complex brief, a challenging site and a tight timeframe by utilizing locally grown and manufactured CLT.

In 2018, munitions company Nioa reached out to Kirk with a request for a new office to accommodate its growing workforce. The company, which had secured a multi-million dollar Australian Defence Force contract in late 2017, was undergoing a period of significant expansion for which it needed more offices at its Brisbane location – and fast.

The tight timeline was only one of the complexities of this project. Its small site is constrained by high winds, height restrictions, noise from nearby Brisbane Airport and what Kirk described as “highly corrosive air”. Further, these challenges had to be met for a client and at a location relevant to national security.

Kirk responded to this complex brief by thinking of the project as a prototype that adopted a set of building systems: a timber structure, a glazed facade and a zinc skin. To create visual definition and interest, the raw timber throughout the interior would be treated with some clear and some dark finishes.

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