Southbank Tower
Broadly the Southbank area has seen a significant renewal in recent years, with the development of Arts Precinct, Southbank Promenade, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and South Wharf Complex. The site itself sits nestled amongst a number of new multi-storey developments, with the West Get Freeway to the immediate South and Kings Way to the East.
Impact (Traffic)
Webber(Structural Engineer)
ADP Consulting (Services & ESD)
"Drawing on Gothic Architectural Styles, transformed into a shapeshifting contemporary tower."
Responding to the local context, the architectural facade treatment provides a strong sense of address with a residentially scaled rhythm to the street interface. Moments of verticality sit amongst lush landscaping allowing the exteriors to feel like an extension of interior living zones.
The proposed built form is expressed as a strong tower, with a canopy that engages the street front at both street interfaces. In an effort to give the building presence in a visually competitive environment, the proposal presents a contemporary take on architectural elements from the gothic style, historically referenced throughout Melbourne’s Central Business District.
The building’s unique façade system comprises of sculptural, sweeping arches that separate and re-join at various points to highlight proportion and weight at the base of the structure. These façade elements then elongate at the upper levels, with subtle thinning to emphasize the height of the tower form. The arrangement of the floor plans takes advantage of the amenities, such as daylight and natural ventilation, with limited numbers of apartments on each floor. Additional communal spaces are distributed across ground floor and podium levels to offer easily accessible amenity spaces, providing an active and integrated living experience to future residents.