A development application has been approved for an ultra-skinny mixed use tower located in Brisbane’s CBD.
The 30-storey development, lodged by Sydney-based Lionmar Holdings, will sit atop the heritage-listed Grosvenor Hotel on the corner of George and Ann Streets.
Lionmar, who purchased the site for $4.4 million in November 2010, submitted the development application to council in December 2016.
The office development, located in Brisbane’s legal precinct, will be just nine and a half metres wide and 30 stories tall, making the tower the narrowest building of a comparable height in Brisbane.
The building, designed by Hames Sharley, will feature 9,100sq m of boutique commercial office space, three levels of restaurant space, two apartments and 17 carparks.
The development will also feature a rooftop bar on level 29 with views across the Brisbane River to South Brisbane and through the CBD as well as a 400sq m city room and garden on level 14.
Hames Sharley principal Jason Preston said the building’s narrowness meant the design needed to be innovative in dealing with the challenges of structural tension, compression and stability.
“At just nine and a half metres wide and 30 stories tall, we believe this would be the narrowest building of a comparable height in Brisbane,” Preston said.
“Given the building’s four lifts are designed as a ‘side core’ to the west boundary wall, a building of this kind will twist and sway differently to a traditional tower, which is usually anchored by a number of central lifts, stair cores and a larger floor plate.”
The building will feature a hybrid ‘exo-skeleton’ bracing system, both as a structural necessity and to visually anchor the building.
Last year, council outlined several concerns about the height and scale of the proposed tower as well as the need for construction details compromising the heritage value of the 140-year-old hotel.
The developer agreed to reduce the tower site coverage from the initially proposed 68.5 per cent to 67.9 per cen and enlisted expert guidance of heritage architect Malcolm Elliot from Vault Heritage Consulting.
Preston said Hames Sharley’s design incorporated the client’s desire for a grand entrance that honoured the heritage status of the existing building.
Construction of the development is expected to start December and once complete the building is expected to earn premium A-grade commercial development status due to its sustainability characteristics, high-end lobby finishes, express lifts and high-performing services.
Source: theurbandeveloper.com