Collins House, now the fourth-skinniest tower in the world and the skinniest in Australia, has been completed in Melbourne.

Designed by Bates Smart, the 198m, 60-storey tower manages to house 259 luxury apartments while having a footprint equivalent to the size of a single netball court.

Collins House skinny skyscraper

“It is an elegant superslim skyscraper and the first residential tower in Australia designed using modular components, two solutions that enabled construction on a site that was previously deemed undevelopable,” says Bates Smart managing director Simon Swaney.

“This makes it an extremely unique building. As superslim towers rise in the world’s best cities, Collins House reflects how our firm harnesses innovation and strong collaborative relationships to set new global architecture benchmarks.”

Collins House features a mixture of lofts and single-level apartments, each designed with floor-to-ceiling doubled-glazed windows that offer panoramic city skyline views while bringing light and warmth into the apartments.

The building also manages to blend with its surrounds, including the heritage-listed Makers Mark building. For example, original Art Nouvaeu detailing from the 1908 Makers Mark building has been incorporated into the facade and grand entrance hall of Collins House as a way to pay respect to the site’s heritage.

Collins House heritage detail

According to developers Golden Age Group and Deague Group, the project represents an opportunity to make inner-city, small footprint sites viable for redevelopment.

“As urban density across the city increases, sites viable for redevelopment are becoming increasingly more difficult to find and Collins House is a true architectural icon,” says Golden Age Group managing director Jeff Xu.

“It is the result of the brightest minds in the industry coming together to take a leap of faith, and push the boundaries of what is perceived as possible.”

Photography by Peter Clarke

Collins House joins the ranks of the world’s skinniest skyscrapers such as 432 Park Avenue in Manhattan and Hong Kong’s Highcliff tower.

Stephanie Stefanovic

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