Most designers working in hospitality are chasing the next thing. Jared Webb, founder of Brisbane’s J.AR Office, is doing the opposite—designing spaces inextricably embedded in their city, climate and culture.
Climate is an ever-present supporting actor in Brisbane—the harsh subtropical light, the humidity, the particular quality of afternoon shadow. For Jared Webb, founder of J.AR Office, they’re tools that very often inform the whole brief.
Since launching his Fortitude Valley-based practice in 2022, Webb has built one of Brisbane’s most compelling bodies of hospitality work. Norte, Central, Gerards—each space carries a specific atmospheric logic only possible by responding to place, light and immersive storytelling.
Webb confirms this local context intuitively informs the design, “Right down to a window location, influenced by the time of day that captures a specific shade of blue,” adding, “For instance, [we look for] materials that can carry deep shadows with minimal reflectance—many of our interiors are environments designed to relish in reprieve of our harsh climate.”
At the core of J.AR Office’s practice is a preoccupation with what Webb calls “the creation of respite”—spaces that pull people away from the relentless brightness outside. Narrative is always the engine. “We indirectly reference heritage, culture and nostalgia, in a uniquely Queensland way. We want our spaces to feel immersive,” he says.
If there was one thing to remove from the way interiors are currently discussed, Webb says: “The ‘Instagram-able moment’. We design with the intent that occupants forget their phone is in the room. Bring back being present, let the space resonate. Imagine.”
Marlowe by J.AR Office
"We prioritise long-term flexibility, functionality and desirability for decades to come. A successful project is still here in 20+ years' time."
– jared webb
Webb is equally uninterested in designing for the moment. In a city that, as he puts it, “treats new like a personality trait,” J.AR Office builds against the norm. “We are not just designing the space for its current operator. We prioritise long-term flexibility, functionality and desirability for decades to come,” he notes. Success, then, is measured simply: “A successful project is still here in 20+ years’ time.”
This long-game thinking extends to how he reads a city still finding its feet. Travel—particularly through older, denser urban cultures—shapes how Webb approaches public and private space alike. “Seeing cities much older than ours, understanding how older civilisations have adapted to modern demands around density and the carving of public space are deeply inspiring,” he muses.
With a hotel and hospitality precinct on the Gold Coast currently underway, J.AR Office shows no signs of narrowing its focus.
