This project for Mirvac at Broadway in Sydney involved developing new façade colour scheme options for an iconic building. Consideration was given to the following key aims and issues of the project, including:
- Reinterpretation of the façade colour palette using historicism as a starting point but allowing the colour palette to visually link with a more contemporary treatment.
- Enhancing Broadway as a prominent, historical landmark destination shopping site.
- Complement the architectural style of building and related buildings plus the new façade colour scheme of the Unilodge Broadway building on Bay Street.
- The potential use of the exterior for Vivid Sydney illuminations.
- Reimagining the idea of ‘destination shopping’ in a post-pandemic world wherein shopping was side-tracked by online purposeful, click-and-collect shopping.
All colour scheme options used historicism as a starting point to create essentially neutral colour schemes that enhance the architectural details of the building façade while updating and reinterpreting the colour scheme for this prominent building.
The existing building façade colour scheme featured a mixture of colours drawn primarily from the Victorian Heritage colour palette: tinted yellow (painted brick), yellow (trims and window embellishments), Brunswick Green (window frames), Brunswick Green and Indian Red (awning details) and charcoal grey (awning wall details and trim). In addition, the façade featured contrasting hues as well as multiple tonal values and saturation levels which, in conjunction with the various architectural details, contributed to a visually complex, ‘busy’ façade that did not enhance the this historical landmark building or contribute to it becoming a contemporary destination building.
Neutral colour schemes were developed for this building in an effort to move away from the yellow-based colours that are a hallmark of the Victorian heritage colour palette while still providing a link to historical colour palettes using hue and tonal value.
Several façade colour scheme options were developed and the final two options (featured in this post) were selected by Mirvac as preferred options. The colours used are drawn from the Resene colour range. It is hoped that this landmark building will be repainted in the near future – stay tuned!
