Jewel is the first beachfront development on the Gold Coast in more than 30 years. The high-profile, 1.5-million-square-foot project is designed as a social and economic activator—a new lifestyle to reinvigorate Broadbeach.
The towers are home to The Langham, Gold Coast luxury hotel and about 500 residential units. A three-story podium features hospitality, retail, and well-being spaces for residents, locals, and visitors. At ground level, a promenade leads people from the street, through a central courtyard, and out to the beach—an open urban gesture that integrates the Jewel into its neighborhood.
Like archeologists excavating a site, it was crucial for us to understand and uncover the spirit of place—the site’s history and geology—so the architectural “object” wasn’t an arbitrary form, but one that resonated with the land and its people.
Our research ultimately unearthed three smoky quartz crystals with a striking resemblance to the three tower forms we were investigating. We had exact digital replicas created by a 3D scanning facility used by NASA.
With minimal modification, we applied these shapes to the three towers and effectively removed ourselves as authors. Instead, we let the landscape itself define the architecture. The resulting triptych creates a new urban condition—a silent and ancient presence with a sense of the eternal.
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