Every client wants the best possible outcome for their build project – whether residential, public or commercial. But when your client happens to be one of Australia’s most highly awarded developers, renowned for quality and excellence in design, the stakes are even higher.

When Aria Property Group – recognised as Australia’s Best High-Density Developer for the past three consecutive years – identified the need for a new three-storey, Brisbane-based head-quarters, it enlisted the help of a fellow multiple award-winner, Koichi Takada Architects.

The brief: to create a design that marries the practical needs of an office building with the cutting-edge visual impact synonymous with Aria developments.

The Challenge

One of Koichi Takada Architects’ main philosophies is to draw inspiration from nature. The chosen design for the Aria’s HQ featured a statement ‘crown’ – a decorative structure consisting of ‘floating’ timber battens, in a continuous flow around the entire top level and roof. While the timber crown would succeed in achieving the high impact Aria signature, one of the main challenges was ensuring that the sharp finish stayed sharp over time.

The use of real timber on external areas can be fraught with challenges; not only are many hardwoods – necessary to withstand weathering – too costly, but they pose fire testing complications and require on-going maintenance, often becoming badly faded over time. In order to overcome these challenges, Koichi Takada Architects looked to trusted cladding experts, Covet, to provide the best possible timber alternative.

The Solution

After in-depth consultation with Covet specialists, Koichi Takada Architects selected Covet’s Ever Art Wood® timber-look batten aluminium cladding, in Kuri Masame; one of the most popular colours in the Ever Art Wood® range. As Anthony Scott, Covet’s Director, explains “Kuri Masame is a very matte, textured, mid-range colour and incredibly realistic, even when viewed at close contact – making it an excellent choice for a high-quality build such as this”.

In fact, the light-weight aluminium Kabebari battens offer the ultimate cladding alternative to real timber. Not only are the Ever Art Wood® battens fire rated with a photo-realistic timber finish – the result of a unique pressure-printing process – but they boast unmatched durability, capable of maintaining an unfaded appearance, as proved in recent Xenon Arc lab testing, where the battens displayed minimal fade after withstanding conditions equivalent to 12 years of outdoor exposure. Unlike real timber, they are also impervious to moisture ingress, warping or insect damage, and require virtually zero maintenance.

The final finish for the new office headquarters is a stunning swathe of timber-look battens, creating the natural curves and clean design associated with both the client and architect’s portfolio.