Adaptive reuse of Goldsworthy and Perkins Boot Factory – Brisbane
‘Federal Residences’ mixed-use development
AHS has a proven track record of working with our commercial clients to ensure that heritage buildings are retained, protected and reimagined within the context of new property developments.
A recent example is the former Goldsworthy and Perkins Boot Factory at 14 Maud Street, Newstead in Brisbane, which will be adaptively re-used and incorporated into a medium-density residential tower by our client Barr KP Pty Ltd.
The ‘Federal Residences’ mixed-use development includes a ten-storey apartment building beside the heritage-listed former boot factory, creating a new laneway which separates the site’s historic and contemporary structures.
The AHS team worked collaboratively with Barr KP Pty Ltd to complete a Conservation Management Plan for the former Goldsworthy and Perkins’ Boot Factory which will guide the restoration and re-use of the building and broader site.
Overall detailing and key features remain
The former Goldsworthy and Perkins Boot Factory is one of the earliest boot factories surviving in Brisbane and demonstrates the city’s development of boot-making and manufacturing industries.
The building at 14 Maud Street is commonly referred to as the former Goldsworthy and Perkins Boot Factory although the site has been utilised by various companies and trades since the original two-storey brick factory was constructed in 1889.
By 1900 it had been extended to the current size, taking up the full length of the lot. Both levels of the exterior are lined with four-panel sash windows, the majority of which are original, while the front entrance door and windows on either side feature high round arches.
The interior, which is divided into three sections, has a concrete slab ground floor and an upper floor of hardwood beams supported by bearers, posts, beams and headstocks. The timber upper floor structure and ceiling trusses survive from the building’s original construction.
Front entrance - southern elevation of 14 Maud Street
A gentle approach to conservation
As a locally significant, heritage-listed place AHS recommends a gentle approach to the site’s future conservation and is confident that this can be achieved while serving the necessity for adaptive re-use of the vacant factory.
Some examples of appropriate re-use that were outlined by the team include a mix of retail and commercial businesses, a café or restaurant, function rooms and event spaces as these would all support the residential component being constructed on the site.
We suggest that the early fabric should be retained and conserved rather than restored or replaced, so the building can retain its patina of age and sense of industrial ruggedness consistent with a nineteenth century boot factory.
New interpretive signage would provide a window into the building’s past, helping the future occupants of ‘Federal Residences’ to appreciate this location’s significance within the history of Newstead.
Early arched access (possibly the 1889 entrance)
Contact us
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The Challenge
The former Goldsworthy and Perkins Boot Factory is one of the earliest boot factories surviving in Brisbane and demonstrates the city’s development of boot-making and manufacturing industries.
The building at 14 Maud Street is commonly referred to as the former Goldsworthy and Perkins Boot Factory although the site has been utilised by various companies and trades since the original two-storey brick factory was constructed in 1889.
By 1900 it had been extended to the current size, taking up the full length of the lot. Both levels of the exterior are lined with four-panel sash windows, the majority of which are original, while the front entrance door and windows on either side feature high round arches.
The interior, which is divided into three sections, has a concrete slab ground floor and an upper floor of hardwood beams supported by bearers, posts, beams and headstocks. The timber upper floor structure and ceiling trusses survive from the building’s original construction.
How we helped
As a locally significant, heritage-listed place AHS recommends a gentle approach to the site’s future conservation and is confident that this can be achieved while serving the necessity for adaptive re-use of the vacant factory.
Some examples of appropriate re-use that were outlined by the team include a mix of retail and commercial businesses, a café or restaurant, function rooms and event spaces as these would all support the residential component being constructed on the site.
We suggest that the early fabric should be retained and conserved rather than restored or replaced, so the building can retain its patina of age and sense of industrial ruggedness consistent with a nineteenth century boot factory.
New interpretive signage would provide a window into the building’s past, helping the future occupants of ‘Federal Residences’ to appreciate this location’s significance within the history of Newstead.
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