Building Australia’s Tallest Skyscraper – Melbourne’s Southbank by Beulah

Melbourne’s Southbank by Beulah Tower is poised to become the tallest building in the southern hemisphere once completed.  The two-tower megadevelopment will eventually rise to 366 meters (1,200 feet) and transform Australia’s ‘garden city.’ 

The project was born out of an international competition held back in 2018 which was eventually won by a co-authored design by UN Studio and Cox Architecture.  Their proposal, dubbed ‘Green Spine,’ integrates green space vertically using biophilic design strategies to bring vegetation up into the tower.

The following video by the B1M showcases the history of the project’s conception along with glimpses inside what is truly a fascinating design process.  At the forefront, is how powerfully digital technology’s impact has been on the architectural profession.  Given the tight site conditions in a dense urban setting along with the towers’ definitive volumetric twists, delivering and constructing such a bold design proposal provided ample challenges to the design and engineering team.  The video delves into how the structural engineers have utilized computational models to support an iterative design process that is able to test and manifest myriad potential solutions in a quick and efficient way. 

Tower twists aside, what is most exciting about the design to me is the interface between the public ground level and the building’s connecting podium.  I have always been far more intrigued by how a building hits the ground rather than the way it meets the sky, and this project does so in such a beautiful way – offering an exciting diversity of public and commercial space for residents of Melbourne to enjoy.