29 November 2022

‘Street presence’ refers to how a building is perceived from the street. This includes architectural elements such as height, scale, material, setback, entrance(s), threshold and landscaping as well as your building’s public interface with the surrounding area.

Effective street presence has the power to elevate the way existing and potential clients, as well as staff, perceive your business.

Consider what your building says about your business. Is it welcoming? Is it accessible? Is it compatible with the identity and tone of your business? Does it inspire confidence?

When Realside Property acquired a vacant 1980s office building in West Perth, it had no street presence and a first-floor-level entrance only. TRCB was engaged to refurbish the building and establish its presence on the corner of Colin Street and Mayfair Street.

Our response included the creation of a ground-floor entrance and a new canopy and landscaped entry statement to address the street. A new end-of-trip facility was added at ground-floor level, as was bike storage. Facade treatments were reconfigured by removing the obtrusive and unusable wraparound balconies, and by adding full-height glazing and a single balcony on each level to replace the bulky brickwork planter boxes. Existing cladding, window frames and glazing were replaced.

The new unobstructed clear glazing opened up each level to the surrounding canopy of existing large street trees. The refurbishment works took advantage of this unique site feature, which became a drawcard for future tenants.

The result is an attractive and welcoming facade and entrance with street presence befitting the building’s central West Perth location.

Mark Vonic, Founding Director of Realside Property, has said of the project:

‘The outcome was not just aesthetic but also positive financially, with 87 Colin at full occupancy with market-leading rents and market-low incentives. Additionally, from a sustainability perspective, reinvigorating the building and extending its life cycle is a significant environmental positive when considering the preservation of embodied carbon.’

One of the joys of our work as architects is to see a client’s vision for their building become a reality. To learn more about our services, and how we can help your business increase its street presence, get in touch with us here.