Melbourne Approves Skinny Skyscraper

The Melbourne Minister of Planning recently approved a 73-story, 230-meter skyscraper that will be just 12 meters wide at its narrowest point when finished. It will primarily be a residential building with 256 apartment units, but the tower will also feature a seven-story lobby that will attract local people to the landmark building.

Melbourne based architecture firm Black Kosiof Knott (BKK) will design the tower. The building will be located in downtown Melbourne in an area undergoing a “skyscraper boom.”  According to BKK architects, it will feature a slender, flower stem design that will increase natural light within the building.  The skyscraper will also have on site power generation, sky gardens, and a ground level containing shops and cafes.  Due to the urban location of the building, the first seven stories of the skyscraper will have a state of the art car lift system that will be enclosed by glass. The tower owners plan to use green building strategies to complete the structure including an integrated water management system and modular construction in addition to the on site power generation.  No information has been given on when construction of the building will begin or the cost of the building.

Melbourne also features the Phoenix Apartment Tower. The 88.5 meter, 29-story residential building is just 6.7 meters wide. The structure will be finished next month, and the units are selling for $665,000 for lower apartments and up to $1.86 million for the top floor apartments. Each floor will consist of one apartment unit that is 24.3 meters deep. The building’s elevator will open into each unit, and residents will have great views of the city. The tower will also have a nine story car stacking device.  According to lead architect James Pearce from Fender Katsalidis, the building’s slenderness ratio of 13.2 is near the edge of structural stability.  The tower was designed to sway up to 150 millimeters from center during extreme conditions. 

Sources: The Age, Architecture and Design, SMH