They rise like roman columns – symbols of power and money – from Melbourne's busy streets and herald not just new office towers, but a shift from the traditional and preferred city design.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Two new buildings soon be unveiled in the CBD have open, grand entrances where the street flows in, compared with traditional solid street facade and revolving doors.
At 567 Collins Street, eight stainless steel columns stretch four-storeys skywards to support the new $500-million Leighton Properties commercial and retail development and create a veranda or loft effect.
The 26-storey office tower is curved inwards like a funnel to draw in the street with arcade-style retail space surrounding the building's formal commercial entrance.
The aim of the joint collaboration from architecture firms Spowers and Cox was to create a "vibrant town-square atmosphere" connecting the street, the forecourt and the foyer.
"A city within a city," Robert Pahor from Spowers said.
The immense columns also allow for more office space.
"We wanted to maximise the footprint of the building in terms of the area, so the actual podium levels were brought out to the street as far as we could. It is pretty close to on the boundary in the corners," he said.
Philip Rowe, a director at Cox Architecture, said the design was about "bringing the city in" and moving a way from an "us and them" mentality with imposing buildings and glass walls disconnected from the street.
Mr Rowe said the steps of Roman and Greek temples were often public meeting places.
He said the arcade design was about incorporating coffee shops and restaurants – the new work spaces – where staff in a digitally connected world retreated to get things done or hold meetings.
Around the corner at 313 Spencer Street, the soon to open 15-storey, $268 million City West police complex, has a similar theme with soaring columns and open entrance.
Woods Bagot principal Simon Dick said the design intent was to create a public space at the front of the building for police to symbolically welcome in the public.
Security was also a factor in the set-back location of the building. The columns at the front of the CBUS owned police centre building rise about 13 metres, or three storeys, from the street.
"What were looking to do was to make it as open and inviting as possible underneath there," he said.
Australian Institute of Architects Victorian chapter president, Peter Malatt, said the new designs were about achieving "civic presence".
He said column based buildings were representative of traditional powerful public buildings.
"They're adopting in an abstract way the language of Greco-Roman architecture," he said.
He said the design approach was historically applied to public buildings such as banks, parliaments and libraries.
"The setback from the street, similarly gives an impression of it being a place of public importance," he said.
RMIT Professor of architecture and director at Lyons Architects, Carey Lyon, said the new design trend was about more permeable designs and "gifting back into the city at least a small idea of public space".
"The idea of holding the building line back, expanding the footpath adding some seating space on to the street under cover, is a really positive idea about expanding the public realm of the city," he said.
Melbourne City Council said although it welcomed developments that provided outcomes such as increased public space, the council would assess applications on existing planning controls regarding height, setbacks and shading.
