Week 14 -Final Narrative (Script)

Back in 2012, Alex Madden was a QUT graduate looking to kick off his career in advertising. But he soon discovered good positions were hard to come by due to the economic climate at the time. Something more entrepreneurial was clearly required.

By 2015 he had established a small advertising firm and early success led to him opening a small office, located at 141 Queen Street.

In 2016, new technological advancements led to interactive glass screens hitting the market. Alex’s advertising firm was one of the first Australian companies to heavily invest in this technology. Alex’s firm went from strength to strength as the technology became commonplace. Such was their growth, that by 2022 the firm had purchased the 141 Queen Street Tower.

The use of new digital communication systems in the workplace gave time and flexibility back to companies, allowing employees to work where and when they preferred, increasing their productivity and quality of life. As more and more people worked from home, the influence of the traditional ‘nine to five’ working mindset slowly diminished, particularly in industries such as advertising. This created a decentralization of business and large reductions in office occupancies.

The home and office had almost merged into a single entity. Buildings now had a functional emphasis on mixed usage, where the flexibility of contained spaces was the key to their success.

By 2029 Alex’s firm had become almost entirely mobile. As a result, it was loosing money as they struggled to lease out redundant office space. Something had to be done.

Until now, any sizable plans for public transportation improvements serving the CBD had not come to fruition. Instead, the response of the City Council had been to increase the amount of pedestrianized streets in the CBD.

This gave the site on the junction of Queen and Albert Streets an increased centrality and importance, reinforcing its status as an iconic space. But this also created a space that became renowned for being congested, chaotic and claustrophobic.

In early 2030, the City Council purchased the building housing Hungry Jacks and the 141 Queen Street Tower from Alex’s firm. They since announced, that a design competition will be held for the redevelopment of the site in conjunction with the delivery of a new metro station. The brief outlines a desire to improve the functionality and connectivity of the site, whilst maintaining its iconic status.