New curving tower embraces Melbourne's Wurundjeri Way

The Woods Bagot-designed Melbourne Quarter Tower has opened, marking the completion of the third and final commercial tower in the Melbourne Quarter precinct.

Sited across from the Southern Cross Station, the objective behind the precinct is to activate and connect a previously underutilised gap between the CBD grid and Docklands. The Melbourne Quarter Tower (MQT), at 426 feet tall, is the largest of five office and residential towers in the precinct.

The tower form responds to its context, adopting a concave on one face of the building to echo the curve of Wurundjeri Way. Woods Bagot principal Hazel Porter said the tower's embrace of Wurundjeri Way responds to one of the primary objectives of the masterplan, which aimed to tie together the built form along Collins Street.

"Maximising the volumetric titles, the tower rises directly over the freeway, returning valuable inner-city space back to the public," Porter said.

Internally, the commercial levels of the building, which accommodate offices and workspaces, are approximately 2,000 square metres in size, with the upper floors gradually tapering as the building curves in. The double-height lobby features a verdant vertical wall that contrasts with the neutral tones of the sandstone flooring and timber wall battens. The interior of the topmost level features a sweeping modular timber ceiling that conceals the building's plant room.

The Melbourne Quarter precinct is among one of the largest mixed-use urban regeneration developments to occur in the city. More than 50 percent of the 2.5 hectare precinct has been dedicated to public open space. At the heart of the hub is a central park, named the Sky Park, which the new buildings revolve around.