We welcomed James in April 2024 as Principal and Brisbane studio lead. With 23 years in architecture and extensive expertise across education, commercial, residential and workplace sectors, Du Plessis will play a key role in scaling up the global architecture firm’s expansive portfolio across the state, with a particular focus on Brisbane’s housing density needs.
“Brisbane needs 900,000 new homes by 2046 to accommodate 2.2 million new residents,” du Plessis said. “One of the things that Brisbane and Queensland could certainly do better is catch up on medium-density housing. There is an opportunity for more three- to five-storey scale developments, which I think Brisbane can deliver in an interesting, subtropical specific way.”
We have a longstanding history of executing key density housing projects across Australia.
In Queensland, we unveiled our vision for Hampton Yards, a mixed-use development at Woolloongabba, consisting of three residential towers of varying heights (up to 40 storeys) situated above a two-storey podium and public plaza.
Born in South Africa and educated in Australia, du Plessis studied architecture at the University of Queensland (UQ). Since 2022, he has served on UQ’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning’s Industry Advisory Board. Before he joined us, he was a senior practice director at BVN, where he served as project director for the UQ Brisbane City campus.
“James brings extensive experience and perspective to our practice in education, workplace and mixed-use residential, which aligns with our extensive portfolio in these sectors across our studios, nationally,” Director, Lisa-Maree Carrigan said.
“We are excited by what James brings to GroupGSA and for this new chapter in our Brisbane studio, working with our talented designers and engaging with our clients.”
This article first appeared in Architecture & Design.
Lisa-Maree, a Director and multi-award-winning architect, is a design and thought leader with a global perspective. Her extensive industry knowledge from working in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Australia underpins her purposeful, visionary design excellence.