Founded in 2011 by architect Alexandra Buchanan, Alexandra Buchanan Architecture is a residential practice with studios in Brisbane and Melbourne, designing houses, interiors and landscapes in urban, rural, regional and coastal settings. Its work is distinguished by layered, highly resolved spaces that unfold through light, outlook and landscape, each shaped as an individual response to its client and place. Recent projects include Kent House, a renovation of and addition to a 1925 Queenslander in Teneriffe.

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Office D.SHARP worked with Alexandra Buchanan and Melbourne director Shane Willmett to clarify and elevate the practice's positioning and to develop a more structured approach to its marketing. In the year since, the practice has revised the copy and structure of its website, added a page recording its awards and media coverage, and published new photography of two completed houses by Cieran Murphy.

Alexandra Buchanan Architecture approached Office D.SHARP in June 2025, with the completed marketing plan delivered in October. Its portfolio had grown to include houses in rural and regional settings as well as in Brisbane and Melbourne, and the directors wanted to strengthen awareness of the practice close to both studios and, over time, to extend its reach nationally.

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They also wanted the brand to describe the qualities of the work more precisely. Their aim was to appeal to design-conscious clients who already valued the practice's approach, and to raise its standing among clients and within the profession.

We began by holding workshops with the directors to understand the practice's background and objectives. We then assessed its branding, website, messaging, imagery, social media and client-facing documents against a detailed framework, benchmarking the practice against a group of peer and aspirational practices.

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The practice's record of awards and publication was a clear strength, as was the open and professional presentation of its team, and the photography of Kent House set a high standard for the portfolio as a whole. The areas requiring attention were the curation of the portfolio, the written messaging and the way the brand represented both studios. Because the work is so diverse, we also felt the practice's architectural point of view could come through with greater clarity, so that prospective clients could readily see what connects one project to the next.

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Alongside the review, we interviewed three people who had commissioned or worked with the practice, and their insights fed directly into the positioning that followed.

Following the review, we held workshops with the directors to develop four positioning concepts: singular, evocative, meticulous and enduring. Singular presents the variety of the portfolio as the result of an individual response to each client's story, place and aspirations. Evocative describes layered, experiential spaces that unfold through light, outlook and landscape. Meticulous describes highly resolved detailing and a deliberate approach to design and delivery, and enduring describes a responsible architecture intended to last.

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We wrote the concepts as an internal tool for briefing suppliers and guiding creative decisions. Alongside them, we set measurable objectives focused on increasing awareness of the practice in the Australian architecture and interiors market, elevating its brand image and presentation, and growing consideration for rural, regional and coastal projects.

Once the positioning and objectives were agreed, we developed a detailed marketing plan in which project content was a particular focus. We recommended that the practice continue to work with photographer Cieran Murphy and photograph fewer projects each year, so that each could be promoted fully.

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On brand and website, we provided direction for a more refined presentation, with a concise practice statement written with a copywriter and a smaller, regularly curated portfolio. On media and business development, we recommended a media kit template, press profiles for both directors, and a routine for staying in contact with past clients and referrers. For each recommendation, we suggested creative suppliers, accompanied by a 12-month timeline.

We reviewed the plan with the directors over two sessions, after which the practice began approaching the suggested creative suppliers. In early 2026 we returned in an advisory role, reviewing the practice's client documents, outlining the contents of a new client document and media kit, and giving feedback on a practice statement and press profiles for both directors drafted by a copywriter.

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The practice's website has since been revised. Its studio page describes the work in terms close to the positioning, awards and media coverage are gathered on a recognition page, and new articles have been added to the journal, Field Notes. Mayfield House and Riverton House, both completed in 2025, have been published with photography by Cieran Murphy.

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With its work now described in consistent terms across both studios, and supported by recent photography and a clear record of its recognition, Alexandra Buchanan Architecture is well placed to show the range and refinement of its houses to the clients it most wants to reach.

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Images by Cieran Murphy.