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