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Beulah Internationl, Australian property developer, has announced that the ‘Green Spine’ design proposal by Dutch architecture firm UNStudio and Melbourne-based Cox Architecture has been selected as the chosen proposal for the company’s latest project, Southbank by Beulah.
The more than $2 billion mixed-used proposal is set to build the tallest tower in Australia and will be located at the heart of Melbourne. The winning proposal was selected from designs submitted by six of the world’s leading architecture firms, including BIG, Coop Himmelb(I)au, MAD, MVRDV and OMA, and was chosen by a seven-member jury.
UNStudio’s proposal aims to establish a new destination for the area, as it organises the entirety into one cluster: a ‘Green Spine’ of vertically networked platforms, terraces and verandas, encompassed by two large towers with vertical gardens and geometric glass facades. The taller of the two towers will be residential, protruding to a height of 356.2metres, with a publically accessible garden at its peak. The second and lower tower plans to stand at 252.2metres, and will house a hotel, bars, restaurants and commercial office space.
Designed as a mixed-use building in the centre of an existing hub of culture, entertainment, leisure and commercial venues, the Green Spine will host various programmes – this includes recreation, retail offices, residential, hotel and exhibition spaces, which will be integrated on the public areas, formed by indoor-outdoor spatial frames embedded with greenery.
Ben van Berkel, founder of UNStudio, says in the company’s press release: “In addition to providing the towers with a twisting, sculptural silhouette, the Green Spine is an architectural element that incorporates a multitude of function in one fluid gesture.”
“We are truly delighted that our design has been selected as the winning proposal for this very exciting project! For our proposal to be selected by Beulah – such a forward-focused developer – and from entries by such an exceptional group of our peers is a true honour. From the outset we worked with a fantastic team of cultural placemakers, sustainability consultants, landscape designers, artists and engineers to achieve a fully integrated design. This truly is a great result for everybody involved.”
UNStudio has been selected to design Australia’s tallest tower in Melbourne, and will reach a mammoth height of 356.2metres
