The long-dormant 31 Queens Road heads to planning
Queens Road is likely to lose one of two major vacant development sites in the near future, with 31 Queens Road now resting with City of Port Phillip's planning department.
Alongside a site adjoining Bayview Eden Melbourne which was once subject to a hotel proposal, 31 Queens Road is one of the two 'missing teeth' detracting from the thoroughfare which is itself undergoing a construction spurt. Queens Road Projects Pty Ltd is the entity looking to gain approval for the 16 level residential tower.
Set within the Plus Architecture-designed tower are 155 apartments. Externally, Plus Architecture have chosen a tubular or curvaceous expression which is designed to set the tower apart from its angular neighbours.
Costed at near on $45 million, the proposal would add to the hundreds of apartments in the development pipeline along Queens Road, which at the moment is equalling St Kilda Road in terms of development activity.
31 Queens Road application summary
- Vacant site area: 2,320sqm
- Proposed 16 level tower at 49.9 metres to roof
- 155 residential dwellings: 33 x 1BR, 109 x 2BR and 13 x 3BR
- 3 basement levels: 178 car parking spaces, 60 bicycle spaces and 155 residential stores
- Ground floor communal facilities: gym, pool and spa, cinema, lounge and games room, and a private dining room
- Rooftop terrace
- Estimated cost of development: $44,970,000
Design rationale
The majority of buildings within the area are free standing rectangular objects interspersed with a number of exemplary designed buildings from the last century. 31 Queens Road sits between two such examples with the Expressionist Newburn Flats at 30 Queens Road and the Art Deco Brookwood Flats at 32 Queens Road.
Extensive analysis of these allows the proposal to draw inspiration from them to create a more contextual response. The design techniques shared with them include: jutting out of the side elevations to orientate views toward Albert Park and curvilinear forms softening building edges. The overall massing of our proposal balances the surrounding building heights, which vary greatly from almost 20 stories down to a few stories.
The curvilinear shape of the massing provides that side elevation articulation, it responds with the internal planning, and creates a varying silhouette against the sky. The circular in plan form adjusts as it grows vertically, and the number of curved segments reduce into larger circles at the top of the building. The jutting circular forms create apartments with great amenity and interesting spaces.
Town planning submission, Plus Architecture
Citing the likes of SOM's Al Sharq Tower and Hetherwick Studio's Learning Hub as design leads, Plus Architecture's Queens Road edifice will see five different shades of glazing over the tower. Also present is precast concrete with applied finishes and wintergarden louvres to match tinted glazing.
The application was lodged during September.
31 Queens Road adds to the healthy number of residential projects along Queens Road. The Arthur, Lakeside and Queens Domain are at construction while Victoriana and K1 are waiting in the wings with their respective sales campaigns about to commence.
31 Queens Road development team
- Developer: Queens Road Projects Pty Ltd
- Architectural plans and design response: Plus Architecture
- Landscape plans: John Patrick Landscape Architects
- Arboricultural Preliminary Assessment: Greenwood Consulting
- Traffic Impact Report: Traffix Group
- Sustainable Management Plan: Green Rate
- WSUD report: Adams Consulting Engineers
- Wind report: SLR Consulting Australia
- Waste Management Plan: Leigh Design