Exhibition Place

Delivering 443 apartments within Brisbane’s Exhibition Quarter, the fully electric development combines sustainable design with an extensive suite of shared amenities, creating a people-first community where wellbeing, flexibility and connection are central to everyday life.

Working alongside Lendlease, Cottee Parker helped reposition the project from a traditional Build-to-Sell model into a Build-to-Rent development, responding to evolving market conditions while balancing investment flexibility with enhanced resident experience. The revised strategy supported staged delivery and strengthened the project’s long-term commercial resilience, while creating a place designed for people to live, work and connect.

Grounded in the historical DNA of the RNA Showgrounds, the design reinterprets the character and identity of the precinct through a contemporary Build-to-Rent lens.

Conceived as an ‘urban sanctuary’, Exhibition Place balances the energy and connectivity of inner-city Brisbane with spaces of retreat, bringing together hospitality-inspired amenities, authentic materiality, biophilic design and a strong response to Brisbane’s subtropical climate.

Communal amenity is fundamental to the Build-to-Rent model and has been carefully layered throughout Exhibition Place to extend the private apartment experience. The ground plane acts as an active social hub, bringing together reception, flexible co-working spaces designed to support hybrid working, makerspaces and resident lounges to encourage interaction and everyday connection.

Level 6 becomes a dedicated wellness destination, where a gym, yoga studios, treatment rooms, saunas, magnesium spas and sunrooms connect with landscaped terraces, gardens and pool areas, including a lap pool. At the upper levels, the Sky Lounge and rooftop amenities offer a more elevated retreat, with dining spaces, resident lounges, a library, gaming areas and outdoor terraces opening to panoramic views across Brisbane.

Lift lobbies, corridors and other transitional areas are treated as part of the home, using warm lighting, tactile finishes and curated material palettes to create a consistent sense of quality and belonging throughout the building.

The interiors also reflect a commitment to Australian design and local making. Around 90% of furniture was procured from Australian furniture design companies, while all tables were custom designed by Blaklash and manufactured locally by 5 Mile Radius and Indigenous Australian supplier Blackwood Collective. This approach reinforces the project’s connection to place while supporting local design, manufacturing and craftsmanship.

In transitioning to Build-to-Rent, the design team reconfigured the towers’ vertical program and optimised the building for long-term rental. The revised scheme increased apartment yield by 18 residences without expanding the building footprint, resulting in 443 apartments, with more than 80% tailored to singles and couples through efficient studio, one and two-bedroom layouts.

Located within Brisbane’s rapidly evolving Exhibition Quarter, Exhibition Place is highly connected to the future Cross River Rail and planned Brisbane 2032 Athletes Village at the RNA Showgrounds.Vehicle access is concentrated to the rear from Exhibition Street, allowing the Alexandria Street frontage and primary residential arrival to prioritise people, landscape and public life.

From spaces that support hybrid working to dedicated wellness environments and locally designed interiors, the project creates a highly considered resident experience while contributing to the long-term evolution of one of Brisbane’s most connected mixed-use precincts.