118 City Road

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The long-awaited winning design for the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-designs-revealed-at-future-cities-symposium">"Southbank by Beulah" </a>design competition has been revealed - The Green Spine - a collaborative effort between UN Studio and COX Architecture.

Set to become Australia’s tallest tower at 356.2m, the winner was announced following an exhaustive six-month global search, which involved six of the world’s best architectural firms; BIG, Coop Himmelb(l)au, MAD Architects, MVRDV, OMA and UN Studio.

All partnered with local firms to propose varying and dramatic designs. UN Studio and COX Architecture's scheme is now likely to head toward planning.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/uns_green-spine_view-aerial.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Green Spine in the Southbank skyline. Image: UN Studio and COX"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="580" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/uns_green-spine_view-aerial.jpg?itok=cd6BtLfL" title="The Green Spine in the Southbank skyline. Image: UN Studio and COX" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Green Spine in the Southbank skyline. Image: UN Studio and COX</figcaption></figure>Beulah International purchased the 6,061 sqm BMW Southbank site in 2017, with a vision to create an exemplar mixed-use development that would include retail, hotel, residential, commercial, cultural and public spaces of international standard. 

The six shortlisted designs were revealed at the Future Cities Symposium last month, and judged by seven highly regarded jury members including key figures from Australia’s architectural community and chaired by Victorian Government Architect Jill Garner.

To view each of the design entries in greater detail, please click through the links below to their respective articles on Urban.com.au:

<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-un-studio-cox-architecture-the-green-spine">UN Studio + COX - The Green Spine</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-mvrdv-woods-bagot-the-stack">MVRDV + Woods Bagoot - The Stack</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-mad-architects-elenberg-fraser-the-urban-tree">MAD Architects + Elenberg Fraser - The Urban Tree</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-big-fk-the-lanescraper">BIG + Fender Katsalidis - The Lanescraper</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-coop-himmelblau-architectus-the-beulah-propeller-city">Coop Himmelb(l)au + Architectus - The Beulah Propeller City</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-oma-conrad-gargett-the-base">OMA + Conrad Gargett - The Base</a></li>
</ul>
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Laurence Dragomir

Southbank by Beulah: The winning design for Australia's tallest tower revealed

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Urban.com.au today takes a closer look at the penultimate entry in the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-designs-revealed-at-future-cities-symposium">"Southbank by Beulah"</a> design competition - Beulah Propeller City - by Coop Himmelb(l)au and Architectus.

According to the architects, The Propeller City has been designed as a recognisable architectural landmark which attempts to redefine the residential, commercial, retail and public open-space environments of Melbourne via a new high-rise typology.

As part of this strategy, the design boasts a dramatic silhouette and formal composition unlike the typical extruded podium-tower typology prevalent throughout Melbourne's Southbank.

The public space is shared between an outdoor cinema and a huge public space which is called the "Red Carpet Area", which functions programatically as the reception area for the building.

The Red Carpet Area has been designed in the round with an access ramp which leading visitors along a double cone to reach the reception hall. Each of the two areas are capped with monumental roofs - the largest measuring 60 x 120m and cantilevering 85m.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/cooparchitectus_hero.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Beulah Propeller City proposal as viewed from City Road. Image: Coop Himmel(b)lau + Architectus"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="773" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/cooparchitectus_hero.jpg?itok=Ykwbeftw" title="The Beulah Propeller City proposal as viewed from City Road. Image: Coop Himmel(b)lau + Architectus" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Beulah Propeller City proposal as viewed from City Road. Image: Coop Himmelb(l)au + Architectus</figcaption></figure><blockquote>
Our vision for BEULAH PROPELLER CITY is the creation of a vertical city composed of multiple functions intertwined in a fluid gesture of vertically linked public spaces. The “Gestalt” of the structural, material and functional components of the design will create a memorable and unmistakable icon in the city-scape.

The concept of “public benefits”, which in the traditional sense generates the creation of a multifunctional building, is further developed and expanded: we create real public spaces within a multifunctional structure.

More than a tower. Its time to design a new typology for a highrise. 

- Coop Himmelb(l)au
</blockquote>

The design team approached the building form in the same manner an artist would a sculpture;  Beginning with the maximum possible building envelope, the client’s brief, planning regulations, the existing urban form, climate and views to and from site were all considered and informed the specific 'carvings' and manipulations which collectively resulted in the dynamic urban form.

The Propeller City is characterised by different districts which reflect their respective programmatic functions, with interfaces created  between these areas to promote and facilitate connections and shared spaces, which provides legibility and an identifiable trait.

Atria, terraces, community facilities and amenity spaces such as recreational and public areas for leisure, pleasure and circulation are all accommodated with the building envelope.

These spaces provide points of orientation or landmarks for visitors and residents within the building, encouraging interactions to assist in promoting the concept of community. 

The result of this approach is a unified composition of identifiable building elements comprising low, mid an high-rise volumes created by dividing the program of the building into its four main functional parts; public podium, office, hotel and apartment tower.

Through the design of the external primary structure, the internal construction elements are optimised and reduced to enable maximum flexibility for current uses as well as allowing for potential adaptability in the future.

This structure for future adaptability is a primary expression of the architectural design and one of the identifiable features of the building.

At its summit the tower is crowned with a propeller like structure accommodating the building's communal facilities, providing a unique visual element on Melbourne's skyline and representing a departure from the traditionally flat roof forms found throughout the city.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/coop_architectus_street_level.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Propeller City at street level. Image: Coop Himmel(b)lau + Architectus"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="773" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/coop_architectus_street_level.jpg?itok=Px20jcdH" title="The Propeller City at street level. Image: Coop Himmel(b)lau + Architectus" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Propeller City at street level. Image: Coop Himmelb(l)au + Architectus</figcaption></figure><h2>PROJECT DETAILS:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Value: AUD 2 billion</li>
	<li>GFA/ Area: 248,410 sqm</li>
	<li>Height: 92-storeys / 335m</li>
</ul>
<h2>CONSULTANT TEAM:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Structural Engineering: B+G Ingenieure, Bollinger und Grohmann GmbH​​</li>
	<li>Urban Planning: Ethos Urban</li>
	<li>Engineering/Structural Design/MEP: ARUP</li>
	<li>Energy Design: Brian Cody</li>
	<li>Placemaking: Village Well</li>
	<li>Landscape: TCL</li>
	<li>Retail: Benoy</li>
	<li>Cultural Consultant: Timmah Ball</li>
	<li>Urban Art: UAP</li>
	<li>Wayfinding: Büro North</li>
	<li>Cost Management: Rider Levett Bucknall</li>
	<li>Building Surveyor: du Chateau Chun</li>
</ul>
The winning design for the “Southbank by Beulah” competition will be announced on August 8th, 2018.

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Southbank by Beulah: Coop Himmelb(l)au & Architectus - The Beulah Propeller City

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As Urban.com.au's series looking at each entry in the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-designs-revealed-at-future-cities-symposium">"Southbank by Beulah"</a> design competition draws to a close, the announcement of the winning design is expected to be imminent.

With that in mind let's take a look at OMA and Conrad Gargett's entry - The Base. As the name suggests the design has avoided the temptation of other designs in providing the tower with a crowning feature, instead opting to focus attention at its base.

According to the architects, The Base has been designed to function as a 24/7 mixed-use vertical city accommodating cultural, commercial, educational and social programmes supported by retail, and food and beverage tenancies. 

The Base follows the the site footprint and then tapers inwards to a slab 100m above the city. Within this volume, different programs are distributed strategically to create dynamic vertical movement, and are rendered distinguishable from both inside and outside through façade elements.

Open arches at street level, provide a contemporary re-interpretation of Melbourne's arcades, inviting the public into a sheltered extension of both the street life surrounding the building, and of Melbourne itself.

<blockquote>
The Base of the building is a 24/7 mixed-use vertical city in which many cultural, commercial, educational and social program elements have their unique spot bound together by the more generic program of retail and food &amp; beverage. In this vertical city, there are highways of movement through the large express escalators, shortcuts by elevators, and laneways to wander on through the normal escalators, stairs, and voids. The planning of the Base builds on the principle of large scale public invitation and open arcades after which a vertical wonderland of discovery awaits. It is a vertical sheltered extension of both the streetscape surrounding the building, and Melbourne itself.

The Base is the foundation of the project, giving it its 24/7 livelihood. It represents the urban experiment Melbourne is looking for – an urban living lab. We have deployed a strategy to stretch the boundaries of current policies in the Base for the benefit of the public good. The Base starts as the site and tapers back to a slab 100m above the city. In this tapered volume, the different program elements, clearly readable behind the facade, are distributed strategically to create large vertical movement.

- OMA
</blockquote>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/oma_conrad_gargett_01.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Base would rise to a height of 345m. Image: OMA + Conrad Gargett"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="870" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/oma_conrad_gargett_01.jpg?itok=GygnQi7h" title="The Base would rise to a height of 345m. Image: OMA + Conrad Gargett" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Base would rise to a height of 345m. Image: OMA + Conrad Gargett</figcaption></figure>The Base also includes the BMW Experience Centre which has been positioned on the corner of Southbank and City Road to mark the corner and due to its high visibility.

Although elevated above the ground to fit within the Base concept of providing a permeable and public street level, the BMW Experience Centre boasts an iconic feature – a cylindrical glass car lift – piercing through the ground and connecting the 1400 sqm basement storage and the mezzanine experience.

As one of the “special volumes” in the design team's concept, the experience centre is clad in a special façade – a dichroic glazing in the iconic BMW blue shade. The BMW logo appears in the moving lift platform that shuttles between basement and mezzanine levels. 

Moving upwards, the tower has been divided into three sections - office, hotel and residential. The office block comprises a variety of flexible floorplates that range between 1800-2200sqm  and sits right above the Base so that a significant number of lift banks are no longer required for the vertical transport in the hotel and apartments. The floor plates provide views of Southbank and City Road and include green areas on each floor on the corners facing the east and west ends which also act as visual buffers to future development at Hanover House.

The hotel block sits just above the office block and is the first upper tower programmatic segment twisting around the core. It consists of 17 floors including two amenity levels at the top and bottom of the block.

Two amenity levels at the top and bottom of the hotel block offer a variety of wellness, food and beverage, and recreational facilities, and the lower one also houses the check-in. Hotel guests can arrive at the drop off at ground level, be quickly escorted to the hotel lift bank in the central core in order to get to the calm and spacious atmosphere of the lower amenities/sky lobby for checking in. 

The residential portion of the tower has been strategically located at the top to maximise outlook and natural daylight. The gentle twist at the top of the residential component not only provides the tower with an iconic and elegant silhouette but also enhances the quality of the residences with views towards Port Philip Bay and the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The residential segment of the tower boasts particularly efficient floorplates due to the compact core layout – the efficiency of this part of the tower is 81%. Smaller units are fitted with winter gardens as extra amenity and daylight.

In response to the ambitious brief, the residential component is complemented by amenities ranging from fine dining, private party rooms, VIP movie theater, fitness, recreation, a wellness center, creche, gardens, and a pool at the base of the residential block.

An iconic feature for the entire tower, the side cuts in the residential block reveal double curved facades through the two glazed triangular skylights above the swimming pool and the gardens in the bottom amenity level. 

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/oma_conrad_gargett_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Base at street level. Image: OMA + Conrad Gargett"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="385" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/oma_conrad_gargett_0.jpg?itok=8Inyuffz" title="The Base at street level. Image: OMA + Conrad Gargett" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Base at street level with its sweeping arches. Image: OMA + Conrad Gargett</figcaption></figure><h2>PROJECT DETAILS:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Value: AUD 2 billion</li>
	<li>GFA/ Area: 255,000 sqm</li>
	<li>Height: 345m</li>
</ul>
<h2>CONSULTANT TEAM:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Engineering Consultant:  ARUP</li>
	<li>Traffic Engineer: AECOM</li>
	<li>Quantity Surveyor:  Rider levett Bucknail</li>
	<li>Visualisations:  MR.P</li>
</ul>
The winning design for the “Southbank by Beulah” competition will be announced on August 8th, 2018.
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Southbank by Beulah: OMA & Conrad Gargett - The Base

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As the announcement of the winning design in the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-designs-revealed-at-future-cities-symposium">"Southbank by Beulah"</a> design competition draws closer, Urban.com.au is continuing its series looking at each entry, and today it's BIG and Fender Katsalidis turn with the aptly names 'Lanescraper'.

The design of the Lanescraper has been conceived as an evolution of the skyscraper beyond the notion of simply a vertical village by imbuing it with a local context and something uniquely Melburnian.

According to the design team, the high aspect ratio of the site indicated a dual core strategy would provide the greatest efficiency in terms of layout and reduce travel distances from the core to apartments - particularly at the upper floors.

The other benefit of splitting the cores is the opportunity for a finer-grained vertical subdivision of the programme, creating new possibilities for programmatic relationships within a single tower.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/lanescraper_hero.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Lanescraper takes the idea of a vertical village one step further. Image: BIG + FK"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="580" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/lanescraper_hero.jpg?itok=jTwmddp0" title="The Lanescraper takes the idea of a vertical village one step further. Image: BIG + FK" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Lanescraper takes the idea of a vertical village one step further. Image: BIG + FK</figcaption></figure><blockquote>
Our proposal is borne from a series of pragmatic responses to programmatic needs and constraints of context – and the opportunity to give form to a potential game changing building and experience in Southbank. We propose architecture as social infrastructure, a framework for the life and experiences that happen within and without.

- Bjarke Ingels, BIG
</blockquote>

The stacked blocks between the cores extend upwards and interlock to provide connectivity and structural rigidity, while allowing for shared spaces and relationships between various programmes. The result is a built form which appears as a zipper of diverse programmatic functions that setback from Southbank Boulevard and Power Street.

The tower tapers inwards and negotiates the space between the surrounding buildings, minimising adjacencies at the top and overshadowing of the public realm below.

As the name suggests, a series of laneways are distributed up the building between the two cores, each with a unique identity and experience based on its specific role and function, providing a continuous three-dimensional promenade of interconnected and multi-tiered public and social spaces for exploration and discovery.

The Lanescraper has been designed based on BIG &amp; FK's desire an architectural outcome that provides social infrastructure to the city both within the building and without.  

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/06_big_fender_katsalidis_sbank_streetview_image_by_big-bjarke_in.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Lanescraper along the City Road streetscape. Image: BIG + FK"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="399" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/06_big_fender_katsalidis_sbank_streetview_image_by_big-bjarke_in.jpg?itok=7Haz6ew_" title="The Lanescraper along the City Road streetscape. Image: BIG + FK" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Lanescraper along the City Road streetscape. Image: BIG + FK</figcaption></figure><h2>PROJECT DETAILS:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Value: AUD 2 billion</li>
	<li>GFA/ Area: 238,000 sqm</li>
	<li>Height: 356m</li>
</ul>
<h2>CONSULTANT TEAM:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Jan Gehl</li>
	<li>ARUP</li>
	<li>GTA Consultants</li>
	<li>Bloomimages</li>
	<li>Brick Visual</li>
</ul>
The winning design for the “Southbank by Beulah” competition will be announced on August 8th, 2018.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/282865992" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>

<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://vimeo.com/282865992">BIG &amp; Fender Katsalidis, 'The Lanescraper', Southbank, Melbourne</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user1395824">BIG</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.
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Southbank by Beulah: BIG & FK - The Lanescraper

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The next entry in the <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-designs-revealed-at-future-cities-symposium">"Southbank by Beulah"</a> design competition that Urban.com.au will be putting under the spotlight is MAD Architects and Elenberg Fraser's "Urban Tree" proposal.

Rejecting the typical notion of the Melbourne skyscraper found within the central city, MAD and EF's design instead favours an organic design which introduces a silhouette of natural forms – mountain, tree and cloud – into a dense urban environment.

According to the architects, the Urban Tree provides a distinct and iconic scheme for the Melbourne skyline, and one which celebrates Melbourne's parks and gardens by allowing citizens to connect with nature.

The design was informed by carefully studying the tower’s site and composition, and rather than maxing out the planning envelope, instead proposes a single tower strategy to avoid over-crowding and to maintain and allow sightlines from the surrounding high-rises while also maximizing the views from the residential and hotel programs on the upper floors.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/06_mad_southbank-by-beulah.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The podium is envisaged as a 'mountain village'. Image: MAD Architects and Elenberg Fraser "><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="583" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/06_mad_southbank-by-beulah.jpg?itok=JKAZU960" title="The podium is envisaged as a 'mountain village'. Image: MAD Architects and Elenberg Fraser " width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The podium is envisaged as a 'mountain village'. Image: MAD Architects and Elenberg Fraser</figcaption></figure><blockquote>
The future of our cities needs to have an emotional connection between humanity and nature.

Urban Tree will feature small, green foothills that lead pedestrians up to the ‘mountain village’, with amenities along Southbank Boulevard including a children’s playground, public artwork and a water feature.

- Ma Yansong, Founder &amp; Principal Partner, MAD Architects
</blockquote>

The podium is envisaged as a ‘mountain village’, with the typical massing of a retail/mall space reduced and a more intimate human-scale introduced. 

The urban spaces are stacked vertically and landscaped with lush green walls and trees to give visitors and residents alike, the feeling that they are in nature, rather than in the middle of a dense urban environment.

The tower rises up out of the mountain village like a tree, to a maximum height of 360m - hence the Urban Tree moniker.

Clad in transparent glass, it employs an innovative Glulam timber façade structure that mimics tree roots twisting upwards, reinforcing the tower’s organic shape. Sky gardens are interspersed throughout that vertically extend the urban green up the height of the tower.

The pinnacle of the tower is ‘the cloud’ - a cantilevered structure that accommodates the public amenities for the hotel including lobby, restaurant, bar, and observation deck, and offering expansive and all-encompassing views of Melbourne.

Composed of an ETFE membrane façade, it is lightweight and features varying degrees of transparency. Towards the edges, ‘the cloud’ becomes translucent, emulating a real cloud so that it gives the sensation of air and lightness, becoming a blur as it blends into the sky.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/09_mad_southbank-by-beulah.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Urban Tree will be topped at its pinnacle with 'the cloud' housing public amenities. Image: MAD Architects and Elenberg Fraser"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="367" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/09_mad_southbank-by-beulah.jpg?itok=sEl4y_nn" title="The Urban Tree will be topped at its pinnacle with 'the cloud' housing public amenities. Image: MAD Architects and Elenberg Fraser" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Urban Tree will be topped at its pinnacle with 'the cloud' housing public amenities. Image: MAD Architects and Elenberg Fraser</figcaption></figure>At street level, the tower maintains a cohesive design language drawing on and responding to the Southbank Boulevard transformation project.

The design team have proposed an inviting plaza landscape that integrates urban activation spaces, and revitalizes the street level in a way that encourages people to gather and linger. Conceived as a series of small, green foothills that lead pedestrians up to the ‘mountain village’, the scheme seeks to link the ground plane to the building.

MAD and EF introduce nature into the urban context, by remodelling the typical high-rises typically found in cities.

Materializing as a ‘mountain in the city’, the design establishes open connections between the interior and exterior spaces in the form of large terraces, gardens, and public art zones.

The winning design for the “Southbank by Beulah” competition will be announced on August 8th, 2018.
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Southbank by Beulah: MAD Architects & Elenberg Fraser - The Urban Tree

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<a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/southbank-by-beulah-designs-revealed-at-future-cities-symposium">Following last Friday's big reveal</a> of the six competing designs for Southbank by Beulah at the 'Future Cities' Symposium, Urban.com.au will this week focus on each individual entry.

First up is MVRDV and Woods Bagot who believe the competition represents a shakeup for development in cities which are under increasing pressure to deliver good higher density living.

For those unfamiliar with MVRDV, the practice was founded in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries in the Netherlands. 

For their entry in the Southbank by Beulah competition, the MVRDV and Woods Bagot team have proposed "The Stack"  which has been designed as "a new kind of skyscraper” for Southbank. 

Disregarding the traditional tower and podium typology prevalent throughout Southbank, the Stack instead proposes a confident prism with public interface on all sides, according to the design team.

The strength of the MVRDV and Woods Bagot partnership has been described by the team as the main factor in the innovation and design quality of the Stack.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/mvrdv_wb_sbb_media_image_02.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Stack's programme is expressed externally. Image: Woods Bagot + MVRDV"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="820" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/mvrdv_wb_sbb_media_image_02.jpg?itok=eLjUHx4x" title="The Stack's programme is expressed externally. Image: Woods Bagot + MVRDV" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Stack's programme is expressed externally. Image: Woods Bagot + MVRDV</figcaption></figure>MVRDV and Woods Bagot assert that the “next” skyscraper should be beautiful, if not wonderful, with the Stack described by the team as “mind-blowing and elegant”.

From the edge of the Yarra River, Southbank Boulevard will be transformed into an urban promenade. A wide pedestrian area with greenery, cafes and terraces becomes the welcoming heart of the district. The new building, the Stack, is located right at the starting point of this urban promenade. Footpaths are wide so that people can walk, wait and sit on the terraces to become "....a nice street.”

From the street all the way to the seventy-sixth floor, the site will be developed as a lifestyle precinct, with apartments, offices, a hotel, entertainment centre, technological display centres, retail, cultural precinct and public green spaces.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/mvrdv_wb_sbb_media_image_04.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Sky high amenities with the Stack. Image: MVRDV + Woods Bagot"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="410" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/mvrdv_wb_sbb_media_image_04.jpg?itok=feWzHqjE" title="Sky high amenities with the Stack. Image: MVRDV + Woods Bagot" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Sky high amenities with the Stack. Image: MVRDV + Woods Bagot</figcaption></figure><h2>What they say:</h2>

<blockquote>
Stacked neighbourhoods are connected from the bottom to the top and vice versa by lifts, stairs and escalators – these interconnections create a true vertical city. It’s diverse, mixed, green, sustainable, human, open. The Stack is a manifesto that shows that urban density is great and can contribute to our planet's survival.

The single mono typology towers that have plagued Southbank don’t offer the richness that Melbourne is known for. We’ve endeavoured to unlock that, infusing the public offering as an extension of our city to dramatically enhance and future proof high rise living.

-  Winy Maas, Co-Founder MVRDV
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
What makes our proposal different is how we’ve created a Melbourne-centric vertical urbanity. All of Melbourne’s great qualities and amenities are integrated through a sequence of interconnected public spaces, from the ground level all the way to its 359-metre peak.

- Will Hosikian, Woods Bagot Principal 
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
In another magnificent example of international collaboration, our studios have worked together with a spirit of generosity and mutual respect.

-  Ivan Turcinov, Woods Bagot Design Leader
</blockquote>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/mvrdv_wb_sbb_media_image_03.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Interior image of the public realm along City Road. Image: Woods Bagot + MVRDV"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="410" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/mvrdv_wb_sbb_media_image_03.jpg?itok=pekffAxq" title="Interior image of the public realm along City Road. Image: Woods Bagot + MVRDV" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Interior image of the public realm along City Road. Image: Woods Bagot + MVRDV</figcaption></figure><h2>Project details:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Value: AUD 2 billion</li>
	<li>GFA/ Area: 265,000 sqm</li>
	<li>Height: 77-storeys / 359m</li>
</ul>
<h2>Consultant team:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Arup: Structures, Sustainability, Vertical Transportation, Traffic, Services, Fire Engineering, Wind, Geotechnical</li>
	<li>Ratio: Planning</li>
	<li>Slattery: Quantity Surveyor</li>
	<li>McGregor Coxall: Landscape Architect</li>
</ul>
The winning design for the “Southbank by Beulah” competition will be announced on August 8th, 2018.
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Southbank by Beulah: MVRDV & Woods Bagot - The Stack

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The second instalment in Urban.com.au's Southbank by Beulah series highlights UN Studio and COX Architecture's entry dubbed "The Green Spine" which celebrates and contributes to Melbourne's parklands and gardens.

The collaborative design proposal aims to establish the site as a new destination within Southbank, which forms part of the linear part network being delivered via the Southbank Boulevard project, connecting the Botanical Gardens with the Yarra River.

The project is both characterised and organised around the ‘Green Spine’ of vertically networked of cascading platforms, terraces and verandas, which begin at street level and wind their way up the tower's extremities.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/uns_green-spine_view-cityroad.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="To maximise solar permeability to City Road, the scheme is split into two towers. Image: UN Studio and COX Architecture"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="822" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/uns_green-spine_view-cityroad.jpg?itok=Vrhg2ZlP" title="To maximise solar permeability to City Road, the scheme is split into two towers. Image: UN Studio and COX Architecture" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>To maximise solar permeability to City Road, the scheme is split into two towers. Image: UN Studio and COX Architecture</figcaption></figure>COX Architecture and UN Studio’s distinct design considers nature, culture and well-being within the urban framework and is the product of the two firms’ collaborative, conceptual thinking of future living.

In addition to being fully integrated within the existing Melbourne network of cultural, entertainment, leisure and commercial venues on offer, with its variety of programmes and connectivities, the design further proposes a mixed-use building that is a city in itself.

The Green Spine is conceived as an environmental tool, adding a distinctly contemporary, Australian vernacular and striking presence to Melbourne’s skyline.

The Green Spine is created by splitting a single mass of the planning envelope to create two separate towers of varying height, revealing the "almost geological strata of their core layers as they rise above a light-filled canyon."

The towers that result on either side benefit from city views, access to daylight, strong permeability and vastly improved contextual links. The orientation of the Green Spine enables an extension of the public realm from the podium, sweeping up the towers, oriented towards the CBD and the Botanical Gardens at the top of the towers.

A host of programmes, including recreation, retail, offices, residential, hotel and exhibition spaces are integrated into the vertically stepped public infrastructure – an infrastructure that is formed by indoor-outdoor spatial frames that embed nature, public space and culture.

On a local level, the aim of the design is to provide porousness at street level, whilst simultaneously connecting the upper floors with the streetscape by expanding the public realm.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public//pictures/article-images/unstudiocox_corner.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Green Spine as viewed from City Road &amp; Southbank Boulevard. Image: UN Studio and COX"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="410" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files//styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/unstudiocox_corner.jpg?itok=tMrk8Qjz" title="The Green Spine as viewed from City Road &amp; Southbank Boulevard. Image: UN Studio and COX" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Green Spine as viewed from City Road &amp; Southbank Boulevard. Image: UN Studio and COX</figcaption></figure><h2>What they say:</h2>

<blockquote>
What I thought was so great about the location is that on one hand it is closely related to the botanical garden and inner city and will be seen from so many parts of the city, but also that it so nicely connects to all this liveliness of Melbourne.

- Ben van Berkel, Founder UN Studio
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
Everywhere really, you continuously see this green, and it's a lively green - it twists around.

- Caroline Bos, Co-Founder UN Studio
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
Through the exploration of a series of massing forms, we came to the realisation that a singular tower form was going to be a serious impediment on the precinct and the connections from Southbank to the CBD.

So we evolved the design to look at the idea of two towers, with a great separation between those two towers, creating a permeability of light and views through the Southbank precinct.

- Pete Sullivan, Director COX   
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
The other key component to this is the way we integrate the Southbank Boulevard and the importance, I think, within this precinct creating amenity for the area is key.

- Phillip Rowe, Director COX
</blockquote>

<h2>PROJECT DETAILS:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Value: AUD 2 billion</li>
	<li>GFA/ Area: 253,485 sqm</li>
	<li>Height: 360m + 246m</li>
</ul>
<h2>CONSULTANT TEAM:</h2>

<ul>
<li>Future City, London: Cultural Placemaking</li>
	<li>Studio Drift, Amsterdam: Lead Artist</li>
	<li>Atelier 10, Melbourne: Sustainability and Well-being</li>
	<li>Grant Associates: Landscape Architect</li>
	<li>GTA Consultants: Traffic &amp; Accessibility </li>
	<li>ARUP, Melbourne: Engineering</li>
</ul>
The winning design for the “Southbank by Beulah” competition will be announced on August 8th, 2018.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/281931532" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>

<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://vimeo.com/281931532">Southbank by Beulah, UNStudio, Green Spine</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/unstudio">UNStudio</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.
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