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Mark it Six: Zaha Hadid unveils another skyscraper in Australia, this time in Melbourne

Mark it Six: Zaha Hadid unveils another skyscraper in Australia, this time in Melbourne

Zaha Hadid is designing another skyscraper in Australia. Following designs for a trio of towers in Brisbane and a pair of towers in Gold Coast, the London-based architect has just submitted plans for another tower, this time in Melbourne.

Like the Brisbane and Gold Coast towers, the proposed project, a 54-story mixed-use skyscraper, also employs a sculptural, tapered expression, creating more open space at the base.

Despite the notion that Melbourne is reaching an oversupply of residential housing units, the tower will comprise 420 apartments, 118,000 square feet of retail space, and 60,000 square feet of commercial office space.

“If more residential units are not supplied to meet demand, prices will simply become too expensive,” Zaha Hadid Architects Director Gianluca Racana told Australia’s Financial Review.

Other features of the project include a public ground-level plaza as well as a new north-south laneway connecting Collins Street, where the tower will be located, with adjacent Francis Street.

Due to recent height and density restrictions for the Central Business District set forth by Minister of Planning Richard Wynne, the development of Hadid’s newest Australian tower was delayed. Plans for the project underwent significant height reduction to comply with the new rules, which have been criticized by developers since they were announced this past September.

Even with the alterations to its design, the project’s plot ratio is still beyond the maximum requirement allowed under the new law. The developer is hoping that the project’s proposed contributions to the public realm, including the public plaza and the new thoroughfare, will prove exceptional when plans are sent to the minister for approval.

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