Fender Katsalidis has designed a 22-storey office tower for a corner site in central Brisbane that will feature an open ground plane.
Located at the intersection of Mary Street and Edward Street, the 133 Mary Street tower will sit along a key pedestrian thoroughfare, near the new Albert Street Station a block away and the Eagle Street Pier ferry terminal.
The design of the building provides an open, landscaped space which will be accessible to the public and widens streetscape view lines.
“At the important lower levels that are more immediately viewed and experienced by those walking along the streets, the proposed façade expression is one of heightened richness in materiality,” state the architects in planning documents. “This richness tapers to a more abstracted form in the upper levels of the building where the building is predominantly perceived in more distant views and relates more to the broader urban fabric.”
133 Mary Street by Fender Katsalidis.
The building’s façade will be made with terracotta in reference the historical fabric of the city, and in particular the Edward Street streetscape, where terracotta is a common material.
Inspired by the typical brise soliel of the tropics, the design includes a terracotta lattice to sculpt the open volume in between the building proper and the street.
“From the open ground plane, the geometric terracotta framework extends up the building embracing the tower with its intricately crafted latticework,” the architects say. “As it rises, this lattice transforms into a more open expression, becoming a delicate glass tower with lush green balconies.”
Lat 27 is the landscape architect for the project, responsible for the subtropical planting and foliage running from the ground level to the sky terraces, inspired by the nearby City Botanical Gardens precinct.
In addition to the office levels, there will be a rooftop terrace on level 22 complete with a bar and function space and a cafe on the ground level.
A development application submitted by developer ARA Private Funds is currently before council.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
