Architects Design Statement: 2-26 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne

Architect’s Design Statement Second Tower, Apartments and Display Signs Constructed in the late 1960’s, the building on corner of Flinders and Elizabeth Streets was originally known as the home of the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) in Melbourne.  The original design by architects Godfrey & Spowers has its roots in the modern movement, conceived as a horizontal podium form with two precast concrete and glass towers rising from its northern and southern ends.

Although the building was designed for the two towers, and with sufficient structural capacity built-in,  the second (northern) tower was never built.

The bank has occupied the majority of the ground floor, and the 3 podium/12 office floors for most of the ensuing years.  A small ribbon of retail skirted the bank at ground floor level, with basements for cars, safety deposits, and building services.

In the late 1990’s following construction of its new Melbourne headquarters at 385 Bourke Street, the CBA relocated many of it’s departments, and reduced the size of the ground floor branch.  This allowed for the introduction of a new Coles City Supermarket, which has greatly enhanced the retail performance of the building and significantly changed the character of the pedestrian environment.

In 2001 Fivex Commercial Property purchased 2-26 Elizabeth Street, re-naming the building “Riverview”, and proceeded to undertake major building improvements to redress several design shortfalls, including:

–       The office tower’s concrete façade had been decaying, and was subject to a Council Notice requiring rectification works

–       Ground floor retail areas were substandard and not properly catering to the large volume of pedestrian traffic, and

–       The building had not seen any interior upgrade of note in its life.

These projects have been tackled progressively over the past 8 years, and the building now provides a high quality, retail and office presence in the lower end of the CBD.

However three important potential enhancements still remain:

–       The failure to construct the second tower has left a large “gap-tooth” in Elizabeth St.  The fulfilment of this original design intent would significantly improve the streetscape.

–       The building extends over 65 metres, making it one of the most distinctive on the city skyline, but the top two floors only accommodate plant rooms, making it dark and poorly capped.

–       The corner of Flinders and Elizabeth Streets is in the top three pedestrian intersections in Melbourne, a significant un-realised opportunity for display of information to the community

The second tower is a distinctive office building.  It’s design attains a contemporary resolution of the numerous physical and environmental influences which are outlined as follows:

–       The planning scheme’s 40 metre limit on height of new structures, and load limits defined through analysis of inherent structural capacity, have resulted in a seven storey – 1,030 square metre floor plate potential building envelope.

–       These seven storeys are located at the northern end of the existing podium, and extend just past grid line 5 (refer drawings), which is where the structural capacity exists.  This results in a distinct building superstructure with no connection possible to the existing tower.

–       A separate building entry is therefore required, which has created a unique 26 Elizabeth Street address without the need for significant sacrifice of retail space.  A new metal and glass canopy is proposed for emphasis.

–       The new building is primarily oriented west, and is shielded on the north by the adjacent ANA House for its full height.  Solar angles are problematic from the west, so rather than limiting façade glazing, a series of fixed vertical blades and horizontal louvres is proposed.  Computer modelling has demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach in eliminating direct solar penetration.

–       To accommodate this band of solar-control measures and allow access for cleaning, an non-habitable extension beyond the usable floor area (and the property boundary) is proposed.

–       User-friendliness is key a strategy in the design of the building, and the ability to open windows and move external screens is seen a major part of this approach.

–       The building is conceived as a three dimensional form.  West façade treatments are transposed around to the south and east facades, providing further environmental benefit as well as performing a privacy function in relation to adjacent buildings.

–       Internally, the floor plates are divided into office suites, accessed off a central corridor.  The core is located against the north wall against ANA House – the only elevation with no external aspect – providing good accessibility from the ground floor and amenity to each of the office levels.  The core provides central facilities including an accessible toilet and shower at each level.

–       No additional carparking is proposed.  A bicycle parking facility will be provided in the building’s basement, and proximity to all forms of public transport will allow a high level of accessibility.

–       A suite of environmental measures in proposed.  A separate report has been prepared to cover these, but in summary:

The result is a distinctive new building which sits well between the two adjacent structures.

Its projection beyond the property allows a subtle glimpse from Elizabeth Street without impacting views of the Flinders Street Station tower beyond.

The façade design with its geometric façade composition provides variety to the streetscape and a strong visual link between the historic ANA House and the 1960’s modern Riverview Tower.

2-26 Elizabeth Street still contains most of its original mechanical plant and equipment, which was designed in the 1960’s, an era of cheap and plentiful energy.

This equipment is located throughout the building, with much of it spread over the top floor (level 16) and rooftop (level 17).  An analysis of existing plant areas has been carried out by the owner to identify equipment which may be redundant or should otherwise be replaced to improve the environmental performance of the building.

As a result of this exercise, a significant amount of space was “found’.   Attention was therefore drawn to the question:  how to use this space to enhance the performance and presentation of this building.

The building extends over approximately 65 metres fro m the street.  Its physical size in comparison to surrounding buildings, and its unusual coloured precast concrete façade make it one of the most distinctive on the city skyline, particularly when viewed from south of the river.

The top of the building however is dark and utilised, detracting from its visual presentation, particularly at night-time.  The addition of quality residential accommodation provides an opportunity to significantly improve the building top, without adding to its height.

The apartments are conceived as simple geometric glass elements inter-woven with the existing concrete façade.  This provides a high level of transparency (in the day) and a “lantern” effect at night.

Care has been taken to avoid increasing the mass of the building by setting back the new superstructure, which in turn minimises any increased over-shadowing.

The result is two residential apartments, one over two levels (16 & 17) at the south, and the other over one level (17/roof) oriented to the north.  A new shuttle lift is proposed internally to provide access.

The building is well positioned at one of the top 3 pedestrian intersections (by volume) in Melbourne, and with significant vehicular movements along Flinders Street.

There is currently no significant building identification or advertising signage on the building.

New advertising and consumer information signage is therefore proposed taking into account the following issues:

–       Integration of signage design with the existing building facade

–       Preservation of views both to and from the existing building

–       Concealment of any signage from south of the river

–       Exposure to the significant pedestrian traffic volume

The new signage panel is proposed to wrap around the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth Streets, providing a three-dimensional articulation of the corner.  The sign itself forms part of a larger translucent screen element with its frame design generated from the existing façade geometry.

The sign is conceived in two parts – a larger static LED electronic sign with changing displays of advertising material and consumer information, and a smaller ribbon “news feed” as the base which provides continuous updates in s scrolling text format.

Care has been taken to position the sign to preserve vision from the internal office areas.

Baldasso Cortese

Murray Brassington

Partner

14 April, 2010