Description:

brief /
Melbourne developers Hirsch & Faigen approached us to develop the strategy, brand and marketing for their new residential tower on the corner of Jefferson Lane and 17th Avenue at Palm Beach on the Southern Gold Coast.

objective /
Everybody wants the dream. The traditional beach house just metres from the sand; the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean just a ‘last-one-in-is-buying-drinks’ sprint away, and views that are mesmerising. But who can afford the dream nowadays? Conventional apartments promise the dream, but fall short in delivery, with enclosed spaces tightly framing letterbox views. Still good. Still popular. But we knew we had more.

We needed to explain the idea - not of just another beachside apartment - but of a beach house in the sky, and bring it vividly to life for prospective buyers, too.

idea /
In a world full of shining glass towers, Hemingway is a nod to the past, delivering the dream of owning the quintessential Queensland beach house, just in the sky. Unique in architectural design, it deserved an identity that mirrored this rare perspective and a strong, compelling brand that captured the attention of our audiences and stood out in the ever more crowded offering of beach apartment developments. All the Hemingway collateral demonstrated the idea of ‘reframing reality’, which became even more relevant and resonated with interstate audiences in lockdown throughout the marketing period.

solution /
The concept and design of the building, by Rothelowman Architects in Brisbane, was genuinely unique, taking inspiration from the classic single-level Queensland beach houses with their iconic wrap-around balconies. The design cleverly used articulations (cut-outs) to reduce the buildings’ perceived bulk and dramatically enhance aspect. Instead of a conventional apartment approach with limited framed views typical of a square building, the project delivered wide-open views associated with a classic Queensland beach house – just in the sky. This foundational idea formed the core of our strategic and design approach. We wanted to hark back to a golden age of beachside living, re-interpreted for a new generation of Palm Beach locals. The Gold Coast city council objected to the natural concrete used in the exterior columns of the design as ‘too Brutalist’, so Rothelowman pitched the idea of tinting the concrete a light salmon pink colour - and that sparked the name. We christened the project Hemingway, after the romance of Havana in Cuba with its beautiful, muted pastel palette and the pink colour of El Floridita, Papa Hemingway’s favourite bar.