In the heart of Queensland

In the heart of the modern suburb of Coorparoo, located four kilometres south of the Central Business District of Brisbane, Australia, a luxury residential complex stands out for its fresh and contemporary architecture influenced both by the local tradition and by a design culture inspired by the great international masters. Concerto Apartments is a project by Bellevue Queensland, a well-established practice in the region. Founded in 1988 and boasting an extensive portfolio of projects completed in the Brisbane suburbs (West End, New Farm, Ascot, Toowong, Greenslopes, Taringa, Indooroopilly and Nundah), over the years it has moved on from the large single-family homes it designed in its early days to luxury residences and retail spaces while maintaining the original spirit and savoir-faire of its early projects. «This project is inspired by the traditional Queensland home, where one can sit out on the large veranda and enjoy the pleasant breeze and subtropical climate. With its modern touch, it appeals to the target market of young professionals who want to live near the city centre while maintaining all the benefits of the suburbs. In other words greenery, nature and peace and quiet but at the same time close proximity to infrastructure, cinemas, schools and shops,» explains Michele Kordic from Elite Bathware & Tiles, the company that supplied the finishing materials. But the real highlight of these apartments is the Restyle wood-effect flooring from Marca Corona chosen for the living area and kitchen. For the penthouse apartment, the client opted for a highly original custom solution consisting of the palest colours in the line to increase the sense of luminosity. «Restyle Beige was chosen for its soft colours, which range from grey to beige and allow for an unlimited decorative palette,» explains Kordic. «They also complement and integrate well with the other timber elements inside the apartments while evoking Queensland’s traditional wood floors and reflecting our indoor and outdoor lifestyle. Another important factor was that the material doesn’t require continuous maintenance, making it ideal for people with busy lives. Last but not least, the soft tones add a sense of freshness.» Restyle is a coloured body wood-effect porcelain floor tile inspired by reclaimed planks, each one of which is unique, making for highly realistic surfaces that blend in well with the landscape while offering all the advantages of ceramic. Inside, the furnishing solutions are consistent with the spirit of the architecture with their pastel colours, linear and essential elements, and easy-to-clean surfaces for the bathrooms and kitchen worktops. The full-height windows frame the unique landscape of the fluvial city, allowing light to flood into the interiors and creating a vibrant exterior façade made of solids and voids, with large terraces that reflect the quality and class of the building.