Waterfront Hotel – Great Northern Brand Concept Pub

The $5.5m transformation of the Waterfront Hotel for Endeavour Group and Asahi Beverages has repositioned an aging local landmark into a contemporary brand destination that reinterprets the quintessential Australian outdoor lifestyle - now coined Northern Grounds.

 The design narrative draws on the ethos of camping – communal, elemental, and closely attuned to nature. Spatial sequencing is central: the venue is composed as a series of gathering moments, from the conviviality of long communal tables and bench seating to the intimacy of booth alcoves and fireside nooks. Fireplaces emerge as both literal and symbolic anchors, framed by stacked timber and log details that partition and animate the interior while evoking the ritual of campfire gathering.

 Materiality underscores this experiential language. Recycled timber, raw steel and tactile finishes introduce warmth and authenticity, grounding the venue in a palette that recalls the bush. Light is treated as atmosphere rather than utility – warm, low-level illumination that enhances the natural grain and texture of surfaces, conjuring the sensation of dusk settling across a campsite. The existing building fabric was stripped back to its structural essence, allowing the architecture to breathe with clarity and honesty.

In deliberate contrast to the conventional pub typology – where spectacle and screens dominate – Northern Grounds privileges atmosphere, sociality, and narrative alignment with the Great Northern brand. The result is not merely a place to drink but a destination of identity, where the experience resonates with memory and lifestyle as much as product.

 Queensland’s climate informed every move. External terraces are oriented to harness breezes from the adjacent lake, while interiors extend the outdoors conceptually through material and light, yet provide the reprieve of air conditioning on humid days. The project achieves a balance between authenticity and comfort, enabling patrons to inhabit the brand’s outdoors-inspired ethos year-round without compromise.