Architect：Elenberg Fraser Architecture

Location：Melbourne, VIC, Australia; | ;

Project Year：2019

Category：Offices;Shops;Housing

This might be the first time you’ve heard us say this but at our new mixed-use project at 134-160 Spencer Street there’s actually less than meets the eye. Well, kind of. It’s true that the responsive approach to precinct regeneration sets a new bar for mixed-use developments. We could even say that this building, which sits directly in front of Southern Cross station – the first thing people see when arriving – will anchor the increased westerly shift of the CBD, heralded by the regeneration of Docklands, Fishermen’s Bend and Southbank.

But believe us – the twists and turns of this new project belie its pure and simple, first principles rationale – Occam himself would be proud. This project is the culmination of our significant research into how to best work with individual site and climatic constraints, brought together using our new parametric modelling techniques. The complex form – a vertical cantilever – is actually the most effective way to redistribute the building’s mass, giving the best results in terms of structural dispersion, frequency oscillation and wind requirements. Art and science? You betcha. For those more on the art than science side, we will reveal that the form does pay homage to something more aesthetic – we’re going to trust you’ve seen the music video for Beyoncé’s Ghost.

As far as this project goes up, our focus also extends outwards – with retail space as well as hotel rooms and apartments, the whole precinct is designed with a more long-term view to urban design, creating a self-sustaining development. With three street frontages the building’s podium steps down from the tower’s lofty heights to respond to its heritage surrounds.

We’re not going to deny that this is one stunning building – afterall, the simplest solutions are usually the best.

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