Plans have been lodged to build Australia’s tallest building in Southport, Gold Coast.
Located within a low-density, priority development area, the project is proposed on the site of an approved 60-storey building called the Au Tower, designed by Cox Architecture (formerly Cox Rayner Architects).
The revised proposal for One Park Lane – initially prepared in 2022 by BKK Architects – has been further developed by Cottee Parker for a development application lodged by a Melbourne-based consortium, led by developer Tony Goss and development partner Baracon. Their application to the Gold Coast City Council outlines plans for two buildings: a 60-storey commercial office tower and a 101-storey, 197-apartment residential tower that would reach nearly 400 metres high.
The proposed pair of towers are connected via a skybridge on the twenty-second floor that includes dining spaces and landscaped areas that, according to the project’s architectural statement, offer “spectacular 360-degree views, creating a unique communal experience for residents.”
At the ground level, the towers are perched on an elevated, splayed podium structure that draws inspiration from the root structure of the Moreton Bay fig tree. Landscape architecture practice TCL has contributed to the design of the project’s landscaping, which includes a landscaped forecourt beneath the podium canopy that links together the ground floor entry atriums of both buildings.
Likewise, landscaping has been employed across various amenity levels, designed to break the massing of the taller of the two buildings into quadrants that are defined by distinct apartment types. According to the design statement, these amenity floors “are conveyed as ‘slices’ through the building, expressing the sculpted trusses.”
“Planting has been selected that is found within both the immediate area and wider Queensland, and which can work with both indoor and outdoor environments to provide a sense of scale, shelter, shade and vibrancy to the scheme,” the statement notes.
At each level, apartments are afforded balconies and wintergardens that are designed to capture easterly summer breezes. The statement notes that “the shallow footprint and spacious nature of the building footprint means that many apartments benefit from dual facade access and cross ventilation. On the levels where wind conditions allow, balconies are intended to be fully operable to maximise the temperate climate on the Gold Coast.”
In an attempt to minimise solar heat gain, both of the proposed buildings have been designed with high-performing glazed facades that are dark blue-grey in colour, except at public levels, where the envelope is more transparent. Building-integrated photovoltaic panel technology is planned for the western facades and at each spandrel level.
According to the architectural statement, the “modern design creates a sleek, elegant appearance, reflecting the natural surroundings and seamlessly integrating into the coastal landscape.”
Source: Architecture - architectureau
