De-luxe
Client:
Weiya Holdings
Location:
Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast
Traditional Custodians of the Land:
The Yugambeh Language people
Completion:
Current
Contact Person:
John Flynn
A short walk from the vibrant heart of Burleigh’s main retail center rests the heritage listed De-Luxe Theatre. The existing building is an enduring landmark where local residents and holiday makers have been gathering since 1930. With a story spanning nearly a century, the building has been reimagined a number of times, responding to the ever-changing social needs. As a modern picture theatre and dance hall, apartments, open-air cinema and an arcade, the De-Luxe building fabric has been marked by time and endured, becoming a landmark for the Burleigh community.
In response to growing housing demands and the changing patterns of living along the Gold Coast, De-Luxe is again being reinvented to provide luxury residential apartments. Importantly, this development acknowledges and enhances the significant local heritage of this site. The retained De-Luxe built form provides a central entry to the new ground floor retail and residential apartment lobbies. The new podium responds to the retained heritage building in scale and materiality and includes a new western colonnade of brick piers referencing the former building. The story of the De-Luxe building is shared in a series of interpretative devices, providing an opportunity for the community to engage with shared Burleigh memories.
The original 1930s intent of the building as a modern picture theatre has inspired the architecture and intricate detailing found within each apartment. The De-Luxe theatre was characterised by a framed stage, a heavy draping curtain, lights strung in an ellipsoidal arrangement and a central performer or object. The forms and sequence of these elements have explicitly informed the apartment arrival experience. The architectural response references Queensland’s early beach houses through its openness and connection to the outdoor environment, maximising light through extensive glazing. The buildings façade to the west is protected by operable screens providing privacy and solar protection. The screens are articulated in a rhythm reminiscent of the stage curtains of the former De-Luxe Theatre.
Client:
Weiya Holdings
Location:
Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast
Traditional Custodians of the Land:
The Yugambeh Language people
Completion:
Current
Contact Person:
John Flynn