Property developer Sunland on Monday unveiled the plans for Grace on Coronation, sparking a flurry of comments – both positive and negative – for the architect's proposal.

The $420 million residential towers were designed by Zaha Hadid, the founder of Zaha Hadid Architects and the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

Sunland managing director Sahba Abedian said the company understood its striking development would be built in an older, established part of Brisbane - but this wasn't a new problem for great pieces of architecture.

"When you think about history, the same question was posed to the residents of Paris when they saw the Eiffel Tower," Mr Abedian said.

"Their immediate reaction was one of discomfort.

"Similarly with the Sydney Opera House, a similar reaction was given to Utzon's design.

"I think part of the function as architects and as peers in the industry, we have a duty to advance and educate the eyes of the community."

"This is a very sculptural form."

"We were very selective about the architect that we wanted to work with given the uniqueness of the site."

Mr Abedian said Ms Hadid's London-based design team had been to Brisbane to see the site and "reflected deeply" on it.

He said the decision to build the Gallery of Modern Art on the river at South Brisbane in 2006 was a very influential event in a city-wide transformation that had been happening over about 30 years, with this development being the latest addition.

He said events in the change included the Commonwealth Games in 1982, World Expo in 1988, the revitalisation of Teneriffe, New Farm and Newstead and the revitalisation of the Powerhouse Museum in New Farm.

"Suddenly you see there is a vibrancy that is coming to the fore," he said.

"Fundamentally when you start to explore how the Galley of Modern Art in 2006 started to influence and shape the city, there is a direct correlation in terms of how the city is starting to view itself."

"There is laneways starting to come to life, there is this new culinary experience to be engaged with.

"It is really shaping the city in a new light."

"And when you look at it in that light, there has been a critical turning point in Brisbane."

Mr Abedian said Sunland was happy to have people talking about the proposal.

"We are very excited about generating this type of conversation, but we are more excited to be showcasing the maturation of the city of Brisbane."

"We are hopeful that this will lead to the industry continuing to push boundaries."

Debate over what the city of Brisbane wants to look like is always positive, Queensland Institute of Architects president Richard Kirk said on Monday.

Mr Kirk said Ms Hadid was the first significant international architect to win a commission in Brisbane.

"I think that is the interesting thing, that there is a level of interest from the international design community in doing work here in Brisbane and obviously Sunland see that as a key aspect of their development," he said.

"And I think that is the more interesting story."

"I think anything that creates discourse about what the city wants to look like is always positive."

Mr Kirk said architects always wanted to understand the context of a project well.

"So when an architect talks about the context, it is really talking about the scale of the development and the way it relates to – not just the existing fabric – but also what the future of what that site or that precinct might be."

Mr Kirk said some architectural projects sit in the current day, others in the future.

"There are always some projects which tend to be ahead of how that area might well be developed," he said.

"And then there are ones which fit in quite well."

Mr Kirk said Grace on Coronation was a "striking scheme" and urged residents to debate the design.

"I think it is important that there is a discourse about design and design quality in this city," he said.

The 1860s heritage-listed house, Middenbury - added this year to the Queensland Heritage Register - will form a central part of the public riverside park on the river at Toowong.

"This is the first time in the history of the site that the site itself is going to be open to the public."

"Middenbury may form a gallery and restaurant precinct adjoining it."

Other parts of the Toowong riverside site will be private.