In addition to much applause from the design industry, the public effectively judged this project a success, with large numbers of people utilising the new precinct. The design successfully intertwines public and private areas, drawing people in to make use of the new spaces and features in and around the buildings.

IN BRIEF

As the base building architects for this project, redevelop the tower podium and adjacent retail precinct. The brief called for a series of strategies to activate the site, a new linkage between the Bourke Street and Little Bourke Street frontages and a rejuvenated address for the NAB tower.

ARCHITECT’S WORDS

500 Bourke Street Melbourne is a key urban site within Melbourne’s CBD Law District. The office tower constructed in the 1970s, now the headquarters for NAB is a strong presence on the site with its expressive structural concrete column and beam arrangement. To the north of the tower, the existing site also included a series of retail tenancies below street level within a landscaped garden setting fronting Little Bourke Street.

The sites relationship with the adjacent Supreme Court Dome to the north on Little Bourke Street presented a distinct characteristic and urban setting for this new proposal.

Place-making was a key theme explored for the project with the aspiration to create a rich and enlivened series of new public spaces within the centre of Melbourne CBD. An activated ground plane condition was explored to enable connectivity and activity across the site.

A new commercial program of varying functions was inserted into the existing fabric of the site as well as the refurbishment of key interior spaces.

Key aspects of the project included the addition of new steel and fritted glass canopy to the existing tower façade, presenting a new building identity to the Bourke Street frontage.

The significant upgrade and refurbishment works to the existing tower foyer included custom designed finishes such as the plaster glass ceiling panels with integrated lighting and new joinery elements.
The existing tower foyer to the east was extended through the addition of a new fritted glass canopy structure providing a new setting for a foyer café fitout by others.

ACCOLADES

  • AIA (VIC Chapter) 2011 Joseph Reed Award for Urban Design
  • AIA (VIC Chapter) 2011 Award for Commercial Architecture

PRODUCTS

TIMBER
FETHERS VENEER, FSC AMERICAN MAPLE
WOODFORM ARCHITECTURAL, SORRENTO EXPRESSION CLADDING

WALL/CEILING PANELLING
HOPKINS PLASTER STUDIO, CUSTOM PRECAST PLASTER-GLASS PANELS

ROOFING
BLUESCOPE LYSAGHT

CLADDING
ANTHRA ZINC 

INSULATION
'ECOPINK' WALL BATTS, BIOSOLUBLE GLASSWOOL, 80MM THICK OR EQUAL EQUIVALENT 

FLOORS
NATIONAL TILES, CERAMIC TILES
SIGNORINO TILE GALLERY, CERAMIC TILES

STONE CLADDING
APEX BLUESTONE TILES

STONE SLAB
QUANTAM, RECONSTRUCTED STONE 

STONE
MELOCCO, DEER PARK BASALT
ROCK EMPORIO, TABACCO SERENA WOOD BROWN BASALT
ARTEDOMUS, ELBA MARBLE

PLASTER
HOPKINS PLASTER STUDIO, CUSTOM PRECAST PLASTER-GLASS PANELS

CARPET
INTERFACE AUST, CONTINUUM CARPET TILES 

PAINT 
DULUX, PROFESSIONAL ENVIRO 2 FLAT ACRYLIC 

PAINT - METALWORK
DULUX, WEATHERMAX
DULUX POWDER COATINGS, COATING SYSTEMS DUSPEC 

PAVING
MELOCCO DIAMOND 
BITUMEN
CONCRETE 

ENTRY MATTING
CLASSIC ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTS

TACTILE INDICATORS
DTAC, INDIVIDUAL INDICATORS WITH STUD

LINOLEUM
DESKTOP ELEGANZA

SOLID SURFACE
MARBLO AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND, LIFT CALL INDICATOR PANELS

RUBBER
DALSOUPLE