The Fifth > 605-613 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

The Fifth > 605-613 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Mark BaljakJune 23, 2014

Hong Kong-backed local developer Far East Consortium has begun pre-sales marketing for the fifth and final installment of their Upper West Side residential development. Currently at planning, The Fifth Apartments otherwise known as 605-613 Lonsdale Street, continues the strong working relationship between developer and architects Cottee Parker.

Responsible for the initial four residential buildings that constituted Upper West Side, Cottee Parker have again delivered a scheme for 605-613 Lonsdale Street which was purchased by Far East Consortium, enabling a fifth tower within the greater development.

The Fifth > 605-613 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Planning assessment details

  • The Fifth Apartments @ 605-613 Lonsdale Street
  • 51 levels and 165.45 metres in height
  • 1,491 sq.m site including 133 sq.m under Rose Lane
  • 399 apartments - 64 x one bedroom, 291 x two bedroom, 44 x three bedroom
  • 279 sq.m of retail over four separate tenancies to Rose Lane and Lonsdale Street
  • 204 car spaces, 6 motorbike spaces, 122 bicycle spaces provided within two basement levels and six podium levels, accessed via two car lifts from Lonsdale Street.

Cottee Parker guiding factors

From a built form perspective the proposed design aims for three principal objectives: to activate the ground plane with retail tenancies and foyer entry to the exposed frontages; to provide a podium activated with apartments and of a scale that contributes and enhances the street wall face to both Lonsdale Street and Rose Lane; and a tower of apartments that reinforces the Hoddle Grid in its orientation on the site, is set back off its boundaries to separate its form from the podium below, and offers maximum access to sunlight and views across the city and beyond.

Externally the tower varies from its neighbours by featuring copper and champagne metal cladding over the tower, whereas other UWS towers rely upon curtain wall glazing or precast finishes. Arranged in a rectilinear pattern, The Fifth's facade is accentuated by bronze tinted glass balustrades and is presented in almost a haphazard manner to pique visual interest.

The resultant expression is of a random cellular nature with added layers of complexity developed by the location of the glazing and the secondary solid balustrade components.

Although the western end of the CBD continues to flourish with a bevy of new developments, The Fifth will find its only direct residential interface with the adjoining 56 level Manhattan which is currently under construction. Both buildings front Rose Lane and as such 3.86 metres separate the towers at street level. Setbacks to Lonsdale Street above podium level maintain a minimum of six metres while separation to the adjoining Manhattan above podium is generally maintained at ten metres.

The Fifth > 605-613 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Internal amenity

Jack Merlo has been charged with delivering The Fifth's recreational areas, totalling 396 sq.m. Residential amenity over level 6 includes a gym, lounge and terrace while pool, spa, teppanyaki grill and rooftop garden are also present.

Nine apartments per floor is the norm for the tower component with fewer apartments located over the podium levels, acting as a car park wrap. No less than 22 separate apartment floorplans are available within The Fifth with the most proportionately generous being a level seven 2bed/bath at 225 sq.m, 156 sq.m of which is terrace. More typical spaces of between 47 sq.m and 108 sq.m constitute the majority of the 399 apartments expected to head to sales upon final approval.

Development team

  • Developer: Far East Consortium
  • Architect: Cottee Parker Architects
  • Structural & Civil: Winward Structures
  • Traffic: Cardno
  • ESD Consultant: Wood & Grieve
  • Services, Fire & Lift Engineer: Wood & Grieve
  • Hydraulics: Hydrautech
  • Acoustic Engineer: Acoustic Logic
  • Surveyor: Jeavons & Tomkinson
  • Building Surveyor: Phillip Chun
  • Waste: Wastech
  • Town Planner: Fulcrum Planning
  • Wind Engineer: Melconsultants
  • Facade Engineer: BG&E Consulting
  • 3D Renders: Luminova

Mark Baljak

Mark Baljak was a co-founder of Urban.com.au. He passed away on Thursday 8th of November 2018 after a battle with cancer. He was 37. Mark was a keen traveller, having visited all six permanently-inhabited continents and had a love of craft beer. One of his biggest passions was observing the change that has occurred in Melbourne over the past two decades. In that time he built an enormous library of photos, all taken by him, which tracked the progress of construction on building sites from across metropolitan Melbourne.

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