Queensland Living
the story behind our philosophy
What makes queensland living special
Queensland has a magic of its own. It’s a life of sunshine and a life of outdoors – mornings in soft, golden light, days framed by big skies and jacarandas, by streets and houses that feel generous and open. Being a Queenslander is something we feel in our bones: the climate, the pace, the way our suburbs spill gently between river, hills and sea.
Life here moves constantly between indoors and out. Sliding doors stay open, verandahs and decks become extra rooms, and so much of the day happens on the edge of the house – reading, talking, working, watching the world go by. Long, warm nights make it natural to eat, unwind and linger outside. Weekends can feel like holidays without ever leaving the city. There’s a quiet romance in the sweet smells and in falling asleep to an afternoon shower. It’s an easy, open way of life – one that’s quietly unforgettable.
Story Bridge, Brisbane, October 1939. State Library of Queensland.
The Queenslander: a 200-year ICON
Brisbane construction workers, CA. 1925. The State Library of Queensland
The classic Queenslander is more than a house. It’s a blueprint for how to live well in this state. One of the great pieces of residential design anywhere in the world, as recognisable in its own way as a New York brownstone or a Parisian balcony.
Since the 1840s, Queenslanders have been raised on stumps, wrapped in deep verandahs, opened to breezes and built with clear-eyed common sense about climate. Over nearly 200 years they’ve worn every style – Colonial, Victorian, Federation, Interwar, post-war – but underneath, they remain the same.
High ceilings and generous windows draw in light and air. Deep verandahs act as true outdoor rooms – tables for dinner, daybeds and sleepouts for the hottest nights, generous space for family and friends. Intelligent planning, materials and construction come together to deliver the Queensland dream.
Continuing the Queensland STORY
1939 Brisbane Plan on Modern Brisbane Aerial, Brisbane City Council
Jadecorp is a continuation of the great Queensland story. We take the intelligence of Queensland living – the way we respond to climate, light, air and everyday life – and apply to contemporary design driven residences.
A modern Queensland urban residence, whether it sits on stumps or a concrete podium, still has to live up to those principles. High ceilings that keep air moving. Large windows that welcome light without turning rooms into ovens. Plans that naturally channel breezes. Outdoor spaces that function like verandahs, not narrow ledges tacked on for marketing. Layouts that can adapt as households change. Materiality and finishes selected specifically for Queensland conditions, from façade systems to fixtures, so city living feels refined and remain robust.
Our work is about leading Queensland urban living into its next generation: contemporary forms that keep the spirit of authentic Queensland living – light, air, shade and resilience – alive in a modern, urban, multi-residential context.
Custodians of Queensland living’s next chapter
We see ourselves as custodians of Queensland living – not to hold onto the past, but to leave it, and our city’s homes, in a better place for the next generation. Our nearly thirty-year record of projects sits behind us; our responsibility now is to use that experience to lead the next chapter of Queensland’s housing story.
Being a custodian means saying no to shortcuts that will cost someone later. It means designing balconies people actually use, not just photograph. It means investing in structure and waterproofing before finishes, and building for Tuesday nights as much as for opening weekend.
Queensland will keep changing – skylines, suburbs, tastes, interest rates. Our job is to make sure the quality of its homes doesn’t slip in the process. When the next generation of Queenslanders looks back at how this era built, we want them to see that we moved things forward – in quality, in integrity and in the way our homes respond to this place.
What “a life well built” means at Jadecorp
We design and build contemporary residences that lead Queensland living into the next generation: high ceilings, real cross-ventilation, deep balconies as genuine living spaces, refined yet resilient materiality, and structures ready for our light, storms and long summers.
We keep our projects boutique so we can stay close to the work, the details and the people who will live in our buildings. Developers come and go. Buildings stay. We build as if we’ll still be here to answer for them – because we will be.
