Malaysian developer OSK Property has revealed Aura, the next stage of its $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct in Melbourne’s Southbank, with the 67-storey, $800-million residential building designed around wellness-driven living, Japanese-inspired architecture and Australian materiality.

Located at 7 Hoff Boulevard, Aura is designed by Cox Architecture with interiors by DKO Architecture and landscaping by OCULUS. The development, which will deliver 673 residences, is structured around four key pillars: homes informed by Japanese spatial philosophy centred on calm, clarity and simplicity, and the use of natural materials; multi-level social amenities from private dining to music rooms; Japanese-inspired gardens featuring BBQ, lounge, fire pit and a tea house pavilion; and an extensive suite of wellness facilities designed to support physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

Central to the concept is a ‘vertical wellness ecosystem’, a tiered architectural approach intended to elevate the health and lifestyle experiences of residents within a high-density urban setting.

Wellness amenities will be anchored by the Aura Club on level 7, featuring an indoor pool, spa, gym, Reformer Pilates studio, yoga room, games and music rooms, sauna and steam facilities, alongside work-from-home spaces, a library, outdoor terraces and restorative spaces.

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Upper-level amenity spaces will include the Cumulus Club across levels 66 and 67, offering private dining, lounges, outdoor terrace and premium wellness facilities such as salon and treatment rooms, private spa bath, sauna and meditation, and sound therapy spaces, all oriented to capture views across the Arts Precinct and CBD skyline. The Meridian Club on levels 49 and 50 will provide additional social and entertaining spaces, including a lounge bar, conservatory, and private dining rooms for Aura residents.

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“Melbourne Square’s newest tower, Aura, will act as a gateway between the thriving mixed-use precinct and the bustling surrounds of Melbourne,” says Cox Director Paul Curry. “Anchored by a park, retail and a welcoming boulevard of trees, Aura will complete the east end of the aspirational Melbourne Square precinct, which began almost ten years ago.”

Curry describes the architectural approach as one of “minimalism and timelessness”.

“With careful consideration of craft and detail, Aura will represent its own identity within the Melbourne Square skyline,” he adds.

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For the tower, Cox Architecture’s design adopts a refined rectangular grid form, drawing inspiration from both New York’s classic high-rises and Tokyo’s contemporary skyline.

The project will also include approximately 1,600sqm of retail space across ground and podium levels, while most residences will feature balconies, combining outdoor space access with views spanning the CBD, Kennedy Park, Docklands, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Arts Precinct.

According to DKO Architecture Director Isabel Munro, the interior spaces draw on the quiet precision of Japanese design and the raw, untamed elegance of the Australian landscape.

“Seasonal rhythms inform every decision: the materials chosen, the light considered, the moments of stillness designed in. Rather than a fixed aesthetic, what emerges is a living environment, one that shifts subtly with the hours and the seasons, inviting those within it to slow down and pay attention,” she explains.

“This is the meeting point of two powerful design philosophies. The refined restraint of Japanese aesthetics, its mastery of proportion, material and silence, finds its counterpart in the elemental beauty of the Australian landscape. The result is a place shaped by deep material knowledge and a genuine appreciation for how people inhabit space over time.”

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With vibrant flowering gardens and native plants, Aura residents can look forward to a warm and inviting arrival experience, informs OCULUS Associate Director, Claire Martin.

“Aura’s landscape is quintessentially Melbourne. The project seamlessly connects to Melbourne Square’s established park, delivering a range of elevated landscape spaces including a curated atrium and an immersive terrace with a series of outdoor rooms and sweeping views of the Domain parklands beyond,” she elaborates.

“On level 66, an open-to-sky glasshouse centres on a single native Wollemi Pine, one of the world’s oldest and rarest tree species. Underplanted with native groundcovers, the space has a calm, tranquil quality, drawing on Japanese garden principles of minimalism and natural beauty.”

Existing public amenities within Melbourne Square include the 3,745sqm Kennedy Park, a full-line Woolworths, childcare facilities and a mix of retail and hospitality offerings.

Aura builds on the strong market performance of the precinct’s earlier BLVD tower, which is now 80% sold, says OSK Property CEO Chong Boon Woon.

“We know there is a strong demand for the level of amenity, service and design that the Melbourne Square precinct is known for. Aura stands tall as an exemplar of holistic wellness – its focus on social, physical and mental health culminates in a building that is calming, restorative and relaxing, where residents will have their own sanctuary within the well-connected and sought-after Southbank,” he adds.

Aura’s construction is expected to commence later this year.

All images supplied

Cox Architecture designs $800M wellness-focused residential tower in Melbourne’s Southbank

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