Contentious second tower at Harry Seidler's Shell House approved

Victoria's planning minister Sonya Kilkenny has approved a proposal to construct a second tower on the site of the Harry Seidler-designed Shell House at 1 Spring Street in Melbourne's CBD.

The proposed 33-storey tower designed by Ingenhoven and Architectus will occupy part of the existing northern plaza of Shell House on Flinders Lane and would require the partial demolition the existing Shell House.

The architects were selected through international design competition. Christopher Ingenhoven said in a presentation to the City of Melbourne's Future Melbourne Committee on 5 April 2022 that the proposed tower had been designed in coordination with Penelope Seidler and Greg Holman, who had originally worked on Shell House.

Ingenhoven described the proposal as "a well-integrated, non-dominant, and an elegant addition," as well as "a friendly neighbour."

Shell House was added to the Victorian Heritage Register in 2017. Heritage Victoria had originally refused to grant a permit for the redevelopment proposal in August 2021.

In December 2021, the then planning minister Richard Wynne called in the development application prior to a scheduled Heritage Council hearing to review the application, which led to the cancellation of the hearing.

In April 2022, the proposal was unanimously supported by City of Melbourne councillors. Then deputy lord mayor Nicholas Reece, "The design of this tower is striking in sculptural form and elegant in the way it adds to the skyline of the city. And if it is approved by the minister [it would become] an important addition to Melbourne's skyline and one which will come to be considered of architectural significance to the city."

However, the National Trust of Australia (Victorian branch) and the Victorian chapter of the Australian Institute of Architect have both had reservations about the proposal. The Institute said in a submission that a second tower on the site "would result in irreversible damage to a significant heritage place that actually helps define the high quality environment of Melbourne."

The National Trust criticised the minister's use of call-in powers. "There has been a concerning increase of recent ministerial call-ins pre-empting the outcome of appeals before the state's independent Heritage Council which undermines the integrity of the state heritage register," said Samantha Westbrooke, executive manager - conservation and advocacy at the National Trust of Australia (Victoria).

"Decisions about our most important places should not be made behind closed doors. This approval sets a dangerous precedent for other state listed sites with refused 'highest and best use' development proposals that have also been called-in by the Minister for Planning."