Construction is underway for a 20-storey office tower designed by Woods Bagot that proponents say will help rejuvenate Adelaide’s Pirie Street.
Located on the corner of Pirie Street and Freemasons Lane, the tower will deliver around 30,000 square metres of commercial office space, along with outdoor terraces on the rooftop, a wellness centre, and end-of-trip facilities plus retail and hospitality tenancies on the ground floor.
Woods Bagot’s design sees the podium divided into three “blocks,” with each block’s scale and materiality informed by the streetscape and adjacent buildings. In particular, the design seeks to respond to the architectural language of the “People’s Palace” at 87–95 Pirie Street, a French Renaissance-style building designed by G. R. Johnson in 1878 for the local German Club, which served as Salvation Army accommodation until 1979.
“The building’s bold form has been broken down and articulated through close analysis of existing site conditions and analysis of adjacent buildings,” states the architect.
“A transparent facade, generous ground-level setback, outdoor dining and landscaping provides opportunities for public to dwell. Through transparency and continuity of finishes, [the] public are invited to enter the building via Pirie street and Freemasons lane.”
Aspect Studios is the project’s landscape architect.
Above the podium, the tower rises as a seamless glass block. According to the architect, “A purposeful and restrained approach has informed the design of the tower component, with repetition of angled glass panels creating an elegant and sophisticated design aesthetic.”
The site of the tower, at 83 Pirie Street, was once home to the Planet Nightclub, which stood empty for 16 years before its demolition. South Australia’s Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure is expected to lease 18,500 square metres of office space in the tower, taking up the majority of the floors.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
