The winning design for a new tower in Melbourne’s Southbank has been revealed. Dutch architecture practice UNStudio, together with local practice Cox Architecture have designed the winning project titled Green Spine. 

The design features two towers that twist and turn, expertly creating desirable views for a complex combination of mixed-use requirements. When commenting on the design, UNStudio co-founder Caroline Bos shares, “We tried to break through the density of the area and create different viewpoints, both towards the city but also the city looking back at the building. We have tried to create a very healthy building. Health and well-being are big themes for us. So that’s what we would like to achieve, more than anything else. And we think that’s the most important thing for this location.”

What impressed the judges about Green Spine is the strong collaborative, multidisciplined approach taken. By bringing a considered team of experts together, the project is set to add a context-driven landmark to Melbourne’s skyline.

“At the macro scale, the two-tower silhouettes with twisting forms provide a new, site responsive and elegant visual beacon in the precinct.

“In its details, the scheme displays a strong intent for well-considered public and private amenity, and at street level, the proposal displays qualities that will truly transform the public realm by eroding the hard edges that is prevalent in Southbank,” says Adelene Teh, executive director, Beulah International.

Green Spine connects pedestrians at street level through a series of stairs and terraces, inviting the public to engage with the building while extending up vertically. 

The ground-breaking development by Beulah International brought together six international architecture teams, each paired with a local practice for an unconventional competition. The six-month-long global search culminates in today’s winning announcement. 

See all six of the proposals for Southbank by Beulah here, and read our interview with Caroline Bos of UNStudio here.

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