The Brisbane studio of global architecture and design practice Buchan is kicking off 2025 by celebrating its forty-year anniversary and moving to a new studio.

Longstanding Buchan director and principal Phil Schoutrop is Brisbane born and bred and says the milestone comes at an exciting time for the practice and for Queensland.

“Brisbane and South East Queensland are undergoing a period of rapid growth. With the 2032 Olympics on the horizon, there’s a lot of attention on the opportunities here,” says Schoutrop. “Buchan’s forty years in Brisbane give us a deep understanding of the city’s unique culture, climate and governance. We’re well-placed to partner with developers and other practices looking to work here.”

An early commission for Buchan’s Brisbane studio was for the World Expo in 1988, hosted by the City of Brisbane. After writing the master brief for the site, Buchan collaborated on the design of the landmark shade sails that became symbolic of the event. That work is echoed in Buchan’s design for the Australia Pavilion at World Expo 2025 in Osaka, secured via an international design competition and opening in April.

“World Expo 88 was a pivotal event in Brisbane’s evolution as a modern city, transforming South Bank and putting Brisbane on the world map,” says Schoutrop, who leads precinct design at Buchan. “It was an early example of precinct design, which we evolved in the 80s with our retail work on projects like the Brisbane Myer Centre and Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast, and more recently, the award-winning Nicholas Street Precinct.”

Schoutrop notes that World Expos are also showcases for technology, another area of exponential change. “Expo 88 saw the introduction of text-based internet. Fast forward to today and Buchan’s Australia Pavilion for Expo 2025 was created by a team of designers located across cities and countries using parametric design.”

Leaps in technology are the biggest change in the industry Schoutrop has seen since he joined Buchan in 1993.  “New technologies like AI are transforming many aspects of our business but are only ever a tool. It’s people who create great design and that’s our focus,” he says.

“We look forward to growing our Brisbane team in the new office and contributing to the city’s evolution. We want Brisbane to be known as a place where the quality of the urban environment underpins the quality of our lifestyle.”

An example is Buchan’s proposed Bulimba Barracks development, a riverfront multi-residential precinct that incorporates retail, community and recreational elements.

“Bulimba Barracks brings our forty years of local cross-sector expertise together in one precinct attuned to Brisbane’s climate and way of life. High amenity, climate-responsive neighbourhoods are the new model for contemporary living as we move towards a higher-density city.”