295 King Street approved

295 King Street approved
Alastair TaylorMarch 16, 2016

The Plus Architecture-designed 208.3 metre 295 King Street tower for Farinia Pty Ltd first profiled on Urban.com.au back in February 2015 has been approved by the Planning Minister.

As witnessed through recent proposals in the centre of the city, Melbourne's skyscrapers are beginning to take on a decidedly playful form and 295 King Street is no different.  

The project's podium is of a similar height to the adjacent Hotel Sophia on the other side of Little Lonsdale Street and the playfulness is contained within the tower itself - from cylindrical near the podium flaring out to a more square-like floorplate in the upper levels.

295 King Street approved
295 King Street - Image © Plus Architecture

Inspired by Brancusi’s ‘Bird in Space’ 1923, the development’s sculptural circular tower will become a unifying presence within Melbourne’s city skyline. And at street level, the design is beautifully integrated with its urban landscape. 

The creation of meaningful connections has been an important guiding principle in this project’s design – it has been designed to make strong visual and contextual connections with its environment, and it also provides opportunities for building strong connections between its future residents. One level of the project has been dedicated to communal amenities and shared residential activities.

At street level, where the tower’s circular form allows generous corner setbacks, the development will include both retail and laneway lobbies and cafes will spill out on to the street, inviting people in. For this level, Plus has drawn inspiration from Melbourne’s street life, where historic bluestone-paved streets intersect with modern design, imagining a contemporary, Jenga-like form that is at once familiar and striking.

295 King Street approval media release

The project has 431 apartments in total, broken down: 206 x 1 bed; 78 x 2 bed 1 bath; 104 x 2 bed 2 bath; 32 x 3 bed and 9 x penthouses.  

Since we first profiled 295 King Street there has been a reduction in overall height (from 81 to 65 levels) and a reduction in total car park numbers from 124 to 115.  The project includes 381 square metres of ground floor retail space and 669 square metres of residential common area space on level 10.

When Urban.com.au quizzed Paul Lofitis from Farinia about future intentions for the project he said that all options are on the table due to the extended time the project was before planning authorities - 295 King Street was originally lodged with the state government in 2014.  

Proceeding to a registration and sales phase or seeking a joint development partner were options not ruled out.

295 King Street approved
295 King Street - Image © Plus Architecture

Alastair Taylor

Alastair Taylor is a co-founder of Urban.com.au. Now a freelance writer, Alastair focuses on the intersection of public transport, public policy and related impacts on medium and high-density development.

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