Cocobrew Express Drive Thru and Benevolent Living Interiors win award

Two Central Queensland projects have won top gongs at a prestigious architecture awards. DETAILS

Cocobrew Express Drive Thru and Benevolent Living Interiors have won an architecture award.

Two Rockhampton region projects have won top gongs at prestigious architecture awards.

Cocobrew Express Drive Thru in Yeppoon and Benevolent Living in Rockhampton were honoured at the Australian Institute of Architects Regional Awards ceremony in Rockhampton on Friday, June 7.

Cocobrew Express Drive Thru by Design+Architecture received Regional Project of the Year and a Regional Commendation for Commercial Architecture.

Cocobrew Express Yeppoon. Picture: Cam Murchison

Opening in November 2023, the drive thru is located on Hoskyn Dr, next to the Capricorn Coast Hospital and Health Service.

It is the third store in the brand, with a drive-thru and restaurant in Rockhampton.

Its design challenges conventional drive-thru models.

Its unique roof, which reaches 9m in height, eliminates the need for separate signage, with the jury commenting that the building itself becomes “the platform for the branding”.

Cocobrew Express Yeppoon. Picture: Cam Murchison

Director Colin Strydom said most drive-thrus were all the same.

“They are boxes with a little bit of colour, a lot of signage and maybe a pylon sign at the end,” he said.

“Our vision was to take the pylon sign and building and combine it into one and make the building one big sign.

“We wanted to have a building that was in your face and subtle at the same time.”

Cocobrew Express Yeppoon. Picture: Cam Murchison

Mr Strydom said they had footpaths installed to connect the drive-thru to the hospital, which didn’t have a cafe.

He said this allowed hospital staff and patients to be able to walk down and easily access the drive-thru, which had a dedicated walk-up window and seating area, as well as boasting easy vehicle movement for motorists and a streamlined ordering system.

“You order at the window not at a speaker, so there is a personal connection,” he said.

“It’s made to be very easily usable.”

Cocobrew Express Yeppoon. Picture: Cam Murchison

Design+Architecture had also submitted its Morgan Street Revitalisation project for an award.

The Rockhampton based studio have previously won four Australian Institute of Architects awards.

Mount Archer Nurim Circuit won Regional Project of the Year in 2019 and Fig Tree Galleries won the same award in 2023.

OURHOUSEWANDAL won House of the Year Central QLD in 2021 and Kingsley College won a People’s Choice Award in 2022.

Benevolent Living Interiors. Photography: Benevolent Living

Rounding out the awards night Benevolent Living Interiors, designed by Deicke Richards, received the People’s Choice Award and a Regional Commendation for Interior Architecture.

The design of the residential aged-care building features light-filled living areas, self-serve kitchens and suites with space for couples to live together.

Residents of the centre live among natural materials and a modern colour palette inspired by a curation of regional artists, with art forming an integral component of the interior design.

The jury acknowledged the design as “successfully moving away from clinical environments, and towards a more social mode of living”.

Originally published as Cocobrew Express Drive Thru and Benevolent Living Interiors win award