Wanda Group has started construction of it’s largest Australian real estate development, the $1 billion Jewel in Surfers Paradise. The beachfront address which features three crystal like towers varying in heights from 41 to 48 storeys high are set to be competed in 2018.
“Jewel will be impressive to behold and its gleaming beauty visible for miles –for boaters sailing up the Nerang River right through to hikers deep in the Gold Coast Hinterland,” says Wanda Ridong Gold Coast Development Director of Sales and Marketing, Andrew Bampton.
“Jewel’s iconic architecture coupled with the stunning location will make it one of the grandest structures on earth,” Mr Bampton says.
512 residential apartments, featuring one, two or three bedrooms options will be housed within the three towers. Jewel will offer buyers around 50 different apartment types to choose from. When complete, Jewel will also offer a fully-serviced, six-star Wanda Vista-branded hotel-resort.
A multi-level outdoor podium, complete with winding pools, will lead directly to the beachfront and surf.
“This development is the first, and largest development with direct beach access to be built on the Gold Coast in over 30 years, not to mention the incorporation of all five star sustainable elements” he says.
The shimmering exterior of Jewel’s three towers will be created through the use of a unique cladding technique. The use of materials will create the illusion of three crystal towers emerging from the sand. After a worldwide competition, DBI Design’s Barry Lee and US-based Oppenheim Architecture + Design principal Chad Oppenheim were appointed to devise and design Jewel’s unique architecture and interior design, to be based on three crystal shards discovered in the region which date back thousands of years.
“The smoky quartz crystals, discovered on the western side of Mount Warning, were scanned in 3D and then scaled up to generate the sculptural form of the building,” DBI Design’s Mr Lee says.
The simple image of the three crystalline forms rising from a base of sand became a powerful image during the design process, and led to the development’s bold exterior-the vibrant, sculptural forms making Jewel a meaningful piece of architecture with a deep connection with the region’s rich heritage.
“The crystalline forms of the towers are a direct representation of the underlying geology of the Gold Coast,” he says. “The city’s coastline is a consequence of erosion and oceanic action on the remnant Mount Warning shield volcano.
The headlands along the coast line and the rivers that sculpt the costal plane have their origins in the spectacular Mt Warning volcano caldera,” he says.
Wanda Ridong has appointed CBRE to handle sales in Australia.
The DA number for this development is MCU201100313.
