Australia 108

Australia 108
The redesigned building
General information
Status	Proposed
Location	70 Southbank Boulevard, Melbourne, Australia
Estimated completion	~2018[2]
Cost	AUD$600 million[3]
Height
Roof	312 m (1,024 ft)[2]
Technical details
Floor count	TBC
Design and construction
Architect	Fender Katsalidis Architects

Australia 108 is a proposed supertall skyscraper located in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. If originally built, the building would have been 388 metres (1,273 ft) high and comprised 108 storeys. The development gained approval in March, 2013,^[3] however it was subsequently shelved four months later after it struggled to meet numerous conditions imposed by various government authorities, including VicRoads and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. ^[4]

The project has now been modified and is currently 312m high. 270m to rooftop. ^[5]

Site

The 70 Southbank Boulevard site is situated on the corner of City Road and Southbank Boulevard in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne. The land currently comprises two separately titled buildings, both of which are two levels. The buildings have a total net lettable area of 2,828m², on a land area of 2,642m².^[6]

The site was purchased by architecture firm Fender Katsalidis Architects in April 2008, for $14.2 million, after the original tenancies ran an expression of interest campaign.^[7]

Initial proposal

Design

A gold strip from the bottom of the building to the top would complement Eureka Tower's gold crown.^[1]

In 2009, plans were submitted by Fender Katsalidis Architects to the City of Melbourne, for a a A$400 million residential building to be built on the 70 Southbank Boulevard site. In its original proposal, the building was planned to be 226 metres in height and consist of 532 residential apartments, six levels of office space, a fresh food market and other retail amenities, spanning across 72 floors.^[1] The building was designed to replicate the nearby Eureka Tower, also a Fender Katsalidis development. Nonda Katsalidis noted the similarities with the Eureka Tower:

Approval

The building development had been approved by then–Victorian Planning Minister, Justin Madden, on 21 April 2010;^[8] a decision which received backlash from the City of Melbourne council, dubbing the development as "excessively high" and "at odds with the City of Melbourne's height guidelines for the area." In May 2010, the council lodged an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to have the building permit overturned, asserting that the building surpassed the 100-metre height limit in the area's planning scheme.^[9] VCAT rejected the appeal; and noted that the planning scheme did not specify a maximum height.^[10]

In July 2012, the site was put up for sale through an international public expression of interest campaign and was listed at A$25 million, to allow the Fender Katsalidis partners time to "go in different directions."^[1][11]

Subsequent proposal

Design

In November 2012, Katsalidis revealed revised plans for the building which would have seen it "super-sized" to 388 metres in height, with 108 floors. The new proposal incorporated the previous plans, nevertheless went onto include 50 more residential apartments (totalling 600), a six-star hotel with 288 rooms, a two-storey star shaped sky lobby with restaurants and bars.^[12][13][14]

A render of the approved design of Australia 108 on the 70 Southbank Boulevard site in Melbourne.

The hotel would have occupied levels 83–102; with the 83rd and 84th floors having a star-shaped sky lobby which would have "burst" 9 metres outside of the building, similar to the Eureka Tower's Edge, only larger.^[15] The Commonwealth Star on the Flag of Australia was used as inspiration for the 'starburst'.^[16][17]

Fender Katsalidis Architects incorporated the Chinese system of geomancy, known as Feng shui, when developing the new proposal. The building's name, height and top floor, all contain the number 8, which "relates to prosperity, abundance and security."^[18]

The initial floor plan of Australia 108, as documented by the Future Melbourne Planning Committee report:^[19]

Approval

The new proposal was subjected to a second planning application process for approval.^[12] On the 5 March, 2013, the City of Melbourne council voted to oppose the development, citing it as an "over-development of the site."^[20] The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, a Shrine of Remembrance trustee, argued that the building would exceed the council's planning scheme in the area by almost 300 metres and it could potentially create a 1.7 kilometre shadow over the Shrine of Remembrance; However, the Shrine's CEO, Denis Baguley believed otherwise, stating, "I don't believe there are issues of overshadowing that will concern us." VCAT had already approved the project, but the final decision was up to Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy.^[21]

Despite concerns, the project received its final approval from Guy on 18 March 2013, who went onto describe the development as "a magnificent addition to Melbourne's skyline. Australia 108 will be a signature development that will define Melbourne for decades to come."^[3][22][23]

The project was put on the market on 20 April, 2013.^[24]

Construction

Construction on the $600 million development^[3][25] was to have commenced in 2014, and would have taken three to four years to build, with completion around 2018.^[2][26] The construction was expected to have created 300 jobs in construction and hospitality industries.^[3][27] Upon completion, Australia 108 would have become the tallest building in Australia – surpassing The Gold Coast's Q1 (323 m / 1,058 ft) and Melbourne's Eureka Tower (297 m / 975 ft)^[28] – and would have therefore been the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere,^[3] and the only building to have over 100 floors.

Cancellation and redesign

In April, 2013, it was reported that Australia 108 would have infringed on federal regulations protecting aircraft safety, known as PANS-OPS, particularly in regard to aircraft departing and arriving at Essendon Airport, located some 13 kilometres to the north of the project site. ^[29] At the time, it was claimed that the tower would have extended 13 metres into Essendon Airport's flight path 'envelope', whose southerly approach requires a 373 metre height limit to any potential obstruction within 15 kilometres of the airfield. ^[30] When asked about this situation, architect Nonda Katsilidis claimed that the flight paths would not be a problem, and that a technical solution could be drawn up if required. He also stressed that any design changes would be "minimal". ^[31]

Despite this however, the project (in its current form) was officially shelved in July, 2013 following its inability to meet a "hybrid of requirements" from authorities such as VicRoads and CASA - the latter of whom stated that there was "no flexibility" to approve a building that breached height restrictions. ^[32] It was also acknowledged that the PANS-OPS restrictions enforced by CASA had limited the building's potential height to just 312 metres - 61 metres shorter than previously thought. ^[33]

As a result of this, the project is currently being redesigned to accommodate flight path and other restrictions, and is likely to comprise a single scaled down tower, or two 50+ storey towers. ^[34] It is also expected that the proposed hotel component will be incorporated into any new development. ^[35]

See also

• Eureka Tower
• List of tallest buildings in Melbourne
• List of tallest buildings in Australia

References

External links

• Australia 108 website - Home
• Australia 108 - on CTBUH Skyscraper Center