Next step for Green Spine

By Alex Dalziel

Developer Beulah International is finalising the design of its Southbank Green Spine twin-tower proposal following the completion of a “global study tour”.

Beulah hosted Dutch architecture firm UNStudio and Melbourne-based Cox Architecture on a 15-day tour of seven cities, looking at some of the world’s best examples of architecture and commercial developments. Cities visited included Shanghai, Hangzhou, New York, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo and London.

The design teams met with the chief architects of the buildings, were given a tour and provided a number of insights to be used in finalising its own plans for Green Spine, which is yet to be submitted to the state government for approval.

Some of the buildings the team visited included Tokyo’s luxury retail space, Dover Street Market, London’s Bloomberg Headquarters, and Singapore’s 1000-unit multi-residential Interlace Apartments.

At each pitstop, the team was exposed to various design styles, which it believed would influence each component of the Southbank development, including hotel, residential, retail and wellness.

Beulah International executive director Adelene Teh said the extensive tour saw the project team embrace global urban master planning and architecture learning, as it worked towards delivering its own world-class precinct in Southbank.

“By visiting various projects overseas we were able to truly understand how development can positively change the urban fabric of a city. The way in which other urban cities have approached regeneration of urban areas is something we can learn from,” Ms Teh said.

“Our vision is that it becomes a true vertical city with something for every single person in Melbourne, both visitors and residents. We want to offer an unprecedented world class multi-use offering for the city.”

The tour comes after UNStudio and Cox Architecture won a design competition hosted by Beulah for the $2 billion project on the BMW Southbank site last year.

The development, which will sit on the corner of Southbank Boulevard and City Rd, was conceived as an extension of the City of Melbourne’s new Southbank Boulevard linear park currently under construction.

At 356.2 metres tall the proposed building would become Australia’s tallest tower. The mixed-use residential and commercial development also proposes space for public programs, a 5-star hotel, an entertainment centre and technological display centres.