Final height is yet unknown but we do know it will be 50 storeys tall and all office. Designed by local architects Denton Corker Marshall it is the result of a design competition held by developer Grocon (Eureka, Rialto, QV etc.) and forms part of the large Carlton Brewery redevelopment to the north of the Melbourne CBD.

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/8666/cubuy8.jpg

And thanks to Dean:

Hey Boys & Girls.... Check this out.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5582918,00.jpg
Building
Towering: the proposal for the Carlton brewery site, unused for two decades. Picture: Grocon

From: Herald Sun 26/7/2007: Mary Bolling

A TOWERING cluster of contrasting buildings will complete the city's distinctive perimeter, with a healthy nod to Melbourne's beer-drinking heritage.

Developer Grocon has unveiled challenging plans for the old CUB brewery site on Swanston St, empty for nearly two decades.

Five architectural firms have designed five distinct buildings for the 1.6ha site, including a 50-storey tower and striking glass archways.

Grocon has dubbed the $1 billion development "the Carlton Brewery", and plans to enshrine the site's important history.

Grocon chief executive Daniel Grollo said the plans, which are waiting on a council planning permit, were sensitive to heritage concerns.

"We think the heritage of the site is very important, hence the name of the site," Mr Grollo said.

He said spaces and monuments in the development would pay tribute to historical features.

The development will also preserve the historic bluestone walls and malthouse that were part of the brewery, built in 1862.

NHArchitecture will oversee the master plan. Firms Denton Corker Marshall, Ashton Raggatt McDougall, McBride Charles Ryan, Minifie Nixon will each be responsible for a building.

NHA principal Roger Nelson said the uses of each building were yet to be decided, but the project would deliver 120,000sq m of offices and 600 apartments.

There will be 150 underground parking spaces.

Mr Nelson said it would be the fourth major landmark on the city's circumference, completing the points of the compass.

"On the south, there's the Yarra River and the railways; to the east, you've got Parliament House and the gardens," he said.

"And. . . the west side is Docklands and Spencer St, which adds a whole new topology.

"That's what the Carlton Brewery will do. It will become an icon, like Federation Square."

Mr Grollo said work would start on the site halfway through next year, once preliminary tenants had been found.
Share this article What is this?

...and this shit too...

THE AGE.
By Clay Lucas
July 26, 2007

A RADICAL $800 million plan for the derelict Carlton and United Breweries site will give Melbourne's civic centre a fitting counterbalance to the Shrine of Remembrance.

Developer Grocon, which last year bought the 1.6-hectare site from RMIT for $39 million, yesterday unveiled its designs for the Swanston Street site.

Five of Melbourne's most progressive architects have been selected to design a mix of offices, shops and apartments for the site, which has lain dormant since the 1980s. The brewery was demolished in 1989.

The plans released yesterday are only preliminary drawings, but are likely to closely resemble final designs for buildings that will begin rising by late 2008, Grocon chief executive Daniel Grollo said yesterday.

Grocon's previous projects include Crown Casino, the QV Centre and the Rialto.

Among the designs is a plan by leading Melbourne architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall for the site's pivotal building: a 20- storey office tower facing down Swanston Street towards the Shrine of Remembrance in St Kilda Road.

Architect Howard Raggatt said the building would be a new gateway to Melbourne, akin to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Shrine of Remembrance was a "profoundly symbolic element" of Melbourne's city centre, Mr Raggatt said, and it was crucial a significant building at the other end of the city faced the Shrine.

"The old brewery on the CUB site told a very iconic Aussie story about Melbourne: a brewery at one end of the city, and the Anzac march and the death-and-glory material at the other," he said. "The brewery was a little bit ocker, but maybe there's now an opportunity for something more significant on this site."

Architectural firms Denton Corker Marshall, McBride Charles Ryan, Minifie Nixon and NHArchitecture will also work on the site.

The taller buildings - including Denton Corker Marshall's 50-storey tower - will be built near the city end of the site, with lower structures tapering off towards Melbourne University.

The Royal Australian Institute of Architect's Victorian president Philip Goad welcomed the plans. But he warned that the "wonderful monumental gestures" in the designs could be harmed if market forces pushed the development the wrong way. "We can only hope these great ideas do not fall victim to a speculative property play," he said.

The plans will now go to the Government, with Planning Minister Justin Madden expected to make a judgement by the end of the year.

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/07/25/cub3_2507_gallery__256x400,0.jpg
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/07/25/cub2_2507_gallery__295x400.jpg
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/07/25/cub1_2507_gallery__418x400.jpg
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/07/25/cub4_2507_gallery__298x400.jpg

Vic forum thread can be found here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=138296&page=21)

150 parking bays for a 50 story commercial tower?? seems way to little

I guess it might be due to the site's proximity to public transport. Melbourne Central station's about 200m away and a tram line runs past the site.

It's served by a large number of tram routes (about 60 per hour) and is a block away from a railway station.

A lot of new developments are also adding facilities to encourage people to cycle to work.


edit: beaten

Cool!

I would build this one at CUB site in Sydney to give all local NIMBYs a really hard time! :lol:

Some more info:

Denton Corker Marshall wins design competition for new tower in the heart of Melbourne
Denton Corker Marshall’s design for a signature commercial tower on the Carlton Brewery site, a prime inner-city
Melbourne block, has been declared a winner in an architectural ideas competition run by Australian developer
Grocon.
Building 4 will be the largest building in Grocon’s masterplan of the Carlton Brewery site on the corner of
Swanston and Victoria Streets.
Envisaged as a tall flanking element, it will provide a new long distance marker for Melbourne’s civic spine which
stretches from the Shrine of Remembrance through the heart of the city.
Speaking today, Partner Bill Corker said:
“We are delighted to be working with Grocon on another landmark building in our home town of Melbourne. We
hope to create an interesting and dynamic tower that will contribute effectively to the city’s urban design and
skyline.”
At around 50 stories, the building will provide approximately 85,000 sq m of commercial office space with the
potential for a hotel and/or apartments on the upper floors, subject to planning approval.
The design features a simple language of ‘sticks’ to create a series of closely spaced slender towers that will
generate startling views from the surrounding streets and public spaces.
By eroding the tops of select sticks, a distinctive crown to the tower will be created providing a highly memorable
silhouette to the northern city skyline.
The design will undergo further development and will be submitted for planning approval at a later date.
For further information on the practice go to www.dentoncorkermarshall.com. For further information on Grocon
go to www.grocon.com.au

Fantastic design, the tower looks really futuristic.

It has been a bit quiet over the last 2 years in Australia when it comes to the release of new projects (except QLD of course). I hope this will be the beginning of a new boom in Melbourne and Sydney.

fantastic, its a brilliant design. Couldn't expect any less of melbourne of course :)

breathtaking!

Clearer Render:

http://www.dentoncorkermarshall.com/resources.ashx/NewsChildDataImages/76/fileName/43693B9C821C0F3A7694881CF8280862/7306_V04_20070726_W.jpg

Nice design it'll suit Melbourne nicely. The taller segment of the tower looks more like it belongs in Supertall territory.
This building will have loads of floorspace it's like five towers in one.

espectacular muy moderno

looks like a hand from this view .

It is good.

looks like a hand from this view .

yeah, and it's giving me the finger!

hey, i love it. it'll be great, of course, but i'm a bit jaded from all the proposals for that site over the years. when they break ground i'll get excited, i promise.

This will be a grand addition to Melbourne's already impressive skyline. Good luck with it being built.

Here is a 'render' by Bronteboy of what it might look like from the Melbourne University tram stop.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/Bronteboy/uniend3.jpg

(mostly speculation)

It's nice!The floorplates of the main "finger" won't be too large,I suppose.

It's nice!The floorplates of the main "finger" won't be too large,I suppose.It won't hold floorplates. Apparently it will be a beacon. Check the renders.

i spoke with DCM architect stoday and they said the DA will be lodged at end of year. It could change from above render.the 50storeys will be mixed use. not all office.maybe 200m-250m overall height is all he said.

250m would be awesome! Probably the most exciting tower in Melb after Rialto and Eureka...

Could a mod please change the title to read 229m and 52 fl?

The calculation of building height does NOT include architectural features, building services, communications equipment or similar roof mounted structures, A permit is NOT required for these structures to exceed the maximum building height!

A permit can be issued to exceed ANY of the building heights in the comprehensive development plan

Building 1: 57.5m
Building 2: 66m
Building 3: 56m
Building 4: 229m
Building 5: 99m
RMIT Building: 81m

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub6.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub1.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub2.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub3.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub4.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub5.jpg

286,000sqm of floor area in total.
Building 4 (the tower) will have 88,705sqm.

Building 4 and the RMIT building will commence construction first in 2008 followed by building 5 and then buildings 2 and 1 and then building 3. Building 4 will take 4 years to complete and the other buildings 3 years.

Some news, height may be increased further:

Telco plans giant HQ in Melbourne

Cameron Houston
November 23, 2007
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/telco-plans-giant-hq-in-melbourne/2007/11/22/1195321951517.html

TELSTRA will build Australia's largest office building in Melbourne, consolidating most of its 11,000 local employees under one, enormous roof.

The telecommunications giant has named at least three prominent developers to bid for the massive project, costing almost $1 billion.

The company's quest for 140,000 square metres of office space will be the biggest property deal in Australian history and is expected to a bonanza for the Victorian construction industry.

The Age is aware of four sites that are in contention for the headquarters.

Participants in the tendering have signed confidentiality contracts, but plans are believed to range from a multi-level campus-style development to an 80-storey building that could rival Eureka Tower as the city's tallest structure.

The building will eclipse the Rialto building and Sydney's Governor Phillip and Governor Macquarie Towers, which both have about 85,000 square metres of office space.

But Telstra's modest request of just 4.5 stars under the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating Scheme is likely to draw criticism from supporters of sustainable development. Most of Telstra's employees will have to depend on public transport, however, with the brief to developers requesting fewer than 1000 car parking spaces.

Grocon is one of the shortlisted bidders and, if successful, will build on the derelict Carlton and United Breweries site on Swanston Street, which it bought last year for $39 million. Grocon already has planning approval for a 120,000-square-metre building on that site and has approached several of Melbourne's most progressive architects, including Ashton Raggatt McDougall and Denton Corker Marshall.

Sydney-based developer Lend Lease is also in contention and has earmarked a large site at its Docklands precinct, Victoria Harbour, that will abut the ANZ Bank's new premises.

The riverfront land is more suited to a lower campus-style development or cluster of buildings and could be similar to ANZ's 80,000-square-metre headquarters that is under construction. Lend Lease is believed to have an internal design group working on the proposal, but plans to collaborate with local architects, according to a property industry source.

Salta Property Group is the final bidder and is believed to have acquired options on two substantial CBD sites — the former power station in Spencer Street, and the Schiavello showroom on Queensbridge Street opposite the Crown Casino complex. Salta has appointed leading Sydney architect Bates Smart.

The shortlisted developers will present preliminary plans to Telstra property director Vito Chiodo next week, with a decision expected early next year. Telstra hopes the new premises will be completed by 2011, when the lease on its Lonsdale Street headquarters expires.

A Telstra spokeswoman said the company was "always looking at opportunities in our property portfolio, but no decisions have been made". A new headquarters in Melbourne would follow a similar move in Brisbane.

An 80 storey office tower is a minimum of 320m high :)

Nice and thin; it will look great.

Bump.

Replicating a 'Summing up' post on the Vic forum's CUB thread for those who don't go there:

From earlier posts by Archi, Culwulla,Curtain. Edward, melbournee12, and maybe some others I've missed.

The project site and building designations:


http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/cub61.jpg



The DCM tower, building 4 at the corner of Victoria St and Bouverie, the first building to be constructed, starting later this year. Originally proposed at 51 levels office with roof height of 229m plus 50m light column as counterpoint to the Shrine Axis, giving it RL of 300m, same as Eureka.

Its now to be 66 levels, but we're unsure if it is now to be mixed use, and therefore at the same height, or if a height increase is in store. Archi thinks it might remain the same, but we're all still hoping for more...

Curtain added these height markers. The 140 or so levels of little window-like dots in this first and only real render are a bit misleading, but it's an exciting design.
The MCC requirement for this building demanded it have exceptional landmark architectural qualities.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/cub279hx01.jpg.

.

The ARM treble arch, Building 5, 21 levels on one side, rising to 25 levels on the other, it's in the project's extension of the Swanston Street axis facing The Shrine.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/bridgehqnb21.jpg



The side notes on this post by Edward off the ARM
website in part answers Gappa's question below on just how the CUB buildings reference and acknowledge The Shrine. The DCM tower, we expect, will also do this with its light column feature.



http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/picture17gu31.png



BUILDING 3, proposed at 10 levels on Swanston Street near the corner of Queensberry, but with the historic hotel on the corner to be retained. It's the Queensberry Hotel.

Architects Minifie Nixon on their website describe Building 3 as a 10-level, 1,000sq m building with two floorplates, retail on the lower levels and/or commercial and apartments on the upper levels. The internal elevation (below) makes this green building and those it joins to look more interesting.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/cub4_2507_gallery__298x4001.jpg


http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/fetch1.jpg



BUILDING 2, proposed at 13 levels, it's the center building on Queensbury. Skybridges will link it to building 3, and maybe building one on the other side. It has a supermarket and carparking below ground.



http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/nhbreweryxw31.jpg



BUILDING 1, corner of Queensberry and Bouverie Streets closest to Melbourne Uni, it was the mystery McBride Charles Ryan render posted by melbournee12 this week. Proposed at 11 levels.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/cubpo31.jpg




THE RMIT Design Hub, think that's what it's to be called, is proposed at 20 levels reducing to 5, at the corner of Swanston and Victoria Streets. I think that's also scheduled for an early start. No render yet.

THE HERITAGE MALT STORE behind it on Swanston Street is to be retained. As are the old bluestone CUB offices on Bouverie Street, incorporated into the base of the DCM tower with columns creating a tall void above as I recall.

The site: an aerial posted by Culwulla


http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/1005425214_42d2306271_b1-1.jpg





Finally, superimposed on the aerial here is a restrained but new impression of the complex at max 279m height by multi-talented local artist, P. La Bront.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/MrMukherjee/impression4.jpg



That's it. Bronte.
__________________

Can a mod please change the title to MELBOURNE | Carlton Brewery Tower | 229m+ | 66 fl | App?

http://www.grocon.com.au/pdfs/mediareleases/MediaRelease_060308.pdf

Thursday, March 6, 2008


MINISTER APPROVES PLANNING PERMIT FOR CARLTON BREWERY


Planning Minister Justin Madden has approved Grocon’s plans for the redevelopment of the Carlton
Brewery site at the top end of Swanston Street.

Grocon bought the site from RMIT for $39 million in late 2006 and takes possession on March 31.

Grocon CEO Daniel Grollo welcomed the Government’s decision and said the company was now
looking forward to getting on with design and construction.

“We will be moving on to the site next month and work will be underway by the end of the year,”
he said.

The site will include a mix of commercial, residential and retail areas with about 30 per cent
devoted to public open space.

The civic spine leading up Swanston Street from the Shrine of Remembrance will be celebrated and
extended well into the site.

Coles has already committed to between 4000 and 6000 square metres of retail space in the
development.

Following an architectural ideas competition last year, five architectural firms were chosen to
design buildings –Ashton Raggatt McDougall, Denton Corker Marshall, Minifie Nixon, McBride
Charles Ryan and NH Architecture.

Their buildings will range in height from 66 stories at the Victoria St end down to 11 stories at the
Queensberry Street end.

Mr Grollo also announced an archaeological investigation will begin on site in May and will be
conducted in conjunction with Heritage Victoria.

“We want to look at the use of the site over time,” he said. “We know there was a brewery on site
from 1854 to 1989 but we’re unsure of what other uses the site has been subject to over the years.”

Mr Grollo also said Grocon had been in discussions with Fosters over ways of celebrating its
previous association with the site. “We’ll continue those discussions as we’re very keen to preserve
the history and heritage of Carlton Brewery,” he said.

RMIT University is also planning a Design Hub on the site at the corner of Swanston and Victoria
Streets, with architect Sean Godsell currently working on that project.


Media Contact: Jane Wilson on 0407 831456

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/cub-development-gets-green-light/2008/03/05/1204402560580.html

CUB development gets green light

Cameron Houston
March 6, 2008

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2008/03/05/rgn_cub_narrowweb__300x412,0.jpg

An artist's view of the plan.

A RADICAL $800 million scheme to transform the derelict Carlton and United Breweries site has been given the green light by Planning Minister Justin Madden, despite opposition from Melbourne City Council.

Developer Grocon will build more than 280,000 square metres of offices, shops, apartments, student accommodation and public space on the 1.6-hectare site in Carlton.

Five separate buildings will range in height from 66 storeys at Victoria Street to 11 storeys near Queensberry Street.

Grocon chief executive Daniel Grollo said the project would commemorate and extend Melbourne's traditional spine running from the former brewery to the Shrine of Remembrance.

The development will have a minimum five-star rating under the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating.

Construction is expected to begin this year.

But the scale and intensity of the plan has angered the council. Planning spokeswoman Catherine Ng said the height of the buildings — particularly towards the Melbourne University end of the site — was inappropriate and at odds with council planning provisions.

"The council is pleased to see the last bombsite being developed, but it is less than desirable that there is no public process to enable an independent review of this significant development," she said.

Mr Madden said the dilapidated site was of "genuine state significance" and due for renewal. He seized planning control of the development last July.

^Disregard that previous request. This keeps getting taller. Can a mod please change the title to MELBOURNE | Carlton Brewery Tower | 281m+ | 66 fl | App? The height is to roof but there's likely to be an architectural feature so it may end up over 300m and may need to be moved to the the Supertalls section.

Wow! This is Incredible! Melbourne should be very happy with this! Its amazing! Lets hope it keeps getting taller until we have to move this thread to the supertall section :D

This is damned exciting.

i hope they build up a bit more density around that northern part of the CBD to balance this developement, in it's current stage won't it look a bit remote from some angles? but other than that, I think it'll look pretty awesome!! any chance it will overtake the Eureka as the tallest in melbourne?

Isn't this site a long-running saga ? I thought I remembered that, even in the run-up to the time I spent in Melbourne, in 1991, redev was being discussed even back then.

^^^^
The design seems dependent on quite a substantial spire/beacon, and to roof (as Archi has told us) will be 281 meters to roof. Only 15 meters more and it will overtake Eureka Tower as tallest building (to roof) in the Southern Hemisphere. So with the spire feature, it should easily push the 300 mark-- potentially eclipsing Q1's spire with a solid structure.


With the square at the base and arch on axis with Swanston/St. Kilda Rd/The Shrine --- the development will have a real La Defense charisma to it.

Isn't this site a long-running saga ? I thought I remembered that, even in the run-up to the time I spent in Melbourne, in 1991, redev was being discussed even back then.

The Carlton United complex was closed in the late 1980's, and pretty much since 1989 the site has been a collection of ruins of abandoned historic buildings, some of which will be incorporated into this development.

You are probably thinking of RMIT University and their intention to take over the site.

This current proposal has been floating around since 2006.

The Carlton United complex was closed in the late 1980's, and pretty much since 1989 the site has been a collection of ruins of abandoned historic buildings, some of which will be incorporated into this development.

You are probably thinking of RMIT University and their intention to take over the site.

This current proposal has been floating around since 2006.

Gotcha, thanks.

Updated massing diagrams:

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub%20final%201.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub%20final%202.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub%20final%203.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub%20final%204.jpg

http://web.aanet.com.au/nmharrison/cub%20final%205.jpg

--- the development will have a real La Defense charisma to it.

i was thinking the exact same thing.

Slim, slick, great design. Hey Melbourne, I love it

Hello,

Obviously I am a little late coming to this thread..

but hey this is great work guys! It's excellent how into this site you all are, and well yeah so you should be..this site has always been so pivotal to Melbourne and its northern suburbs! Pity it has sat here for so long..all that aside..I am keenly awaiting!

I should intro myself..I am tim, and currently doing my final year in architecture and construction management.

I am actually doing my thesis on Memory and Place within Carlton with relation to the CBD, and for my final design project will be undertaking the CUB site as a design competition.

Hence reading all this is undoubtedly been the best source I can find. Obviously I have had conversations with Grocon and NH...but this thread is pretty unbeatable!

Anyways..on the topic, I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations for me? in terms of the site from more an urban level..some perspectives on that, as well as the topic of gentrification...

i.e how the people that gave carlton its character, were not there anymore once all the development occured as they could no longer afford it..sites like the CUB can have very dramatic effects... a little off topic I know, but any help or direction would be much appreciated!

Also CULWULLA, the models you make of the city, I was wondering where these now sit? I'd love to have a look.. I will be making similar models obviously when i come to next semester..

Lastly, if anyone has any resources that would be much appreciated? where could I get a sketch up model of the site and surrounds with proposed building envelopes!


hope this all makes sense and cheers!

tim

Update.

Contacted Grocon and got some renders, I don't think we've seen these ones. The blue one is a recent render from DCM and the colored ones are conceptuals of the use of space in the tower. No further confirmation on height etc, design is still "work in progress".

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1528/breweytg9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9210/brewery2ou9.png (http://imageshack.us)

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1528/breweytg9.9e1bd101fc.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=135&i=breweytg9.jpg)

Looks well over 300m, now. Once we get a height confirmation, the thread will probably need to be moved to the Supertalls section.

This is going to be epic.

Any news?

Scan c/o Fred Stolle

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/9626/mg1637.jpg

Please change title to

MELBOURNE | Carlton Brewery Tower | 280m | 90 fl | Pro

Here it is, courtesy of dockman.

http://i318.photobucket.com/albums/mm410/raz188/1222-1.jpg

Can a mod PLEASE change the thread title already?e

Shouldn't it be:

MELBOURNE | Carlton Brewery Tower | +280m | 90 fl | Pro

As the final height is yet to be confirmed and it's a possibility that the height will be increased.

Didn't know where to put this. This will do:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/window-on-the-world/story-e6frf7jo-1225917634140


Window on the world

* Shelley Hadfield
* From: Herald Sun
* September 11, 2010 12:00AM


Daniel Grollo, chief executive of Grocon Pty Ltd, relaxes in an apartment in the Eureka Tower. Picture: Craig Borrow Source: Herald Sun
http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2010/09/10/1225917/641565-daniel-grollo.jpg
THE man who has helped shape Melbourne's skyline thinks the city needs an overhaul at ground level, specifically its parks.

We should be making better use of our green open spaces, says Daniel Grollo, chief executive of Grocon.

The building giant believes some of our parks are "almost impenetrable".

He sees great potential in such parks as Treasury Gardens, Flagstaff Gardens and Carlton Gardens. "There's a goldmine there for the community of Melbourne," he says.

Investment in amenities - running tracks, playing equipment, cafes and walking tracks, like those in New York's Central Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens - would make them much more of an attraction.

Mr Grollo is about to unveil his latest project - he's very excited about the design for an apartment tower on the old Carlton Brewery site at the top end of Swanston St.

"I have been sitting on it for a month and a half and I'm not very good at sitting on secrets," he says.

The building would make a significant statement and generate discussion.

It is part of a $1 billion-plus site redevelopment expected to finish by 2016. Building on the new tower would start by the year's end.

Grocon already has plans for a 90-storey residential tower on the site, which will be slightly shorter than the Eureka Tower but it will be the highest point on the city skyline because of the site's elevation.

Mr Grollo also:

EXPECTS a building taller than Eureka to grace the city skyline within 10 years.

LAMENTS the failure of the proposed 560m Grollo Tower, which would have been the world's tallest building, at Docklands.

STILL wants to build over the Jolimont railyards.

THINKS the dome, part of the original plan for Parliament House, should be completed.

SAYS the ferris wheel at Docklands is one of his least favourite structures.

BELIEVES the city needs new transport infrastructure to promote growth and density.

SUGGESTS sustainability and the environment will be the biggest drivers of Grocon's future business.

As he sits in his apartment high in the Eureka Tower, there is no doubting Mr Grollo has the world at his feet.

He has a favourite spot where he can sit looking out at the city lights, but he doesn't afford himself the luxury of self-praise.

It's a family trait, he says, passed down from his father, Bruno, and grandfather, Luigi, who started the family business as a concreting firm more than 60 years ago.

Mr Grollo says he comes from tough Italian stock that would be more concerned with making sure he kept his feet on the ground than dishing out praise.

There would be plenty of time for reflection once he'd retired.

Until then there's no rest for Mr Grollo. He's up sometime from 4-5am every morning - usually for a run or some gym time - before heading to the office from 6-8am.

"I don't sleep in," he says. "I work on the philosophy that every hour before midnight is worth two after.

"So for me a sleep-in is the reverse. I try to get myself to bed really early and on occasions I have been known to be racing the children to sleep."

The children are Finn, 11, and Matilda, 7, and time with them is at a premium since they set up house in New York.

Mr Grollo and his wife, Kat, had a deal that when they turned 40 they would spend a year in New York and he would take a sabbatical from work. But it was not as easy as it sounded.

So, Kat and the children moved to an apartment overlooking Central Park and Mr Grollo commutes, spending about three weeks in Melbourne for every week in New York.

He says Skype allows him to help the kids with homework and watch them play while he sits in Melbourne.

"I travel very regularly regardless, so it's not like it's that much of a burden on me," he says. "For me it's great. When I'm there ... I'm just there as part of the family with not much else to do."

When in Melbourne, he just loves developing property.

"I think you are only as good as your last achievement and you are always judged by your last achievement," he says.

"So despite what we've done in the past, if we're not focused on the future and continuing to do well, it will all go backwards."

Big things coming for Melbourne? I posted this here because it mentions the tower and Grocon are developing this site.

http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2010/09/15/1225923/494617-new-grocon-building.jpg
http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2010/09/15/1225923/493681-new-grocon-building.jpg
http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2010/09/15/1225923/493706-new-grocon-building.jpg
http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2010/09/15/1225923/494641-new-grocon-building.jpg
http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2010/09/15/1225923/495739-new-grocon-building.jpg
http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2010/09/15/1225923/495747-new-grocon-building.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/4991469516_13c16b3e57_b.jpg
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/apartment-building-featuring-portrait-of-aboriginal-leader-to-become-melbournes-newest-landmark/story-e6frf7kx-1225923026503

Building with portrait of leader to become Melbourne's newest landmark

A HIGH-rise apartment building bearing the image of an Aboriginal leader is set to become one of Melbourne's most dramatic landmarks.

The proposed Portrait building, earmarked for the old Carlton brewery site, features a 32-storey portrait of Wurundjeri tribal leader and artist William Barak.

Developer Grocon says the apartment block will be a symbolic "bookend" for the city, paired with the Shrine of Remembrance in St Kilda Rd.

What do you think of Melbourne's latest landmark? Tell us below

Wurundjeri elders have welcomed the plans, saying such a prominent tribute to Melbourne's first inhabitants had been a long time coming.

Grocon chief executive Daniel Grollo said the building's design was intended to "pay respect to both Barak and the Wurundjeri people", and was not a political statement. "(But) I suspect a lot of people will read a whole lot of things into this," he said.

Mr Grollo said Barak's image would be visible along much of Swanston St, but difficult to make out close up.

"The beauty is that depending on where you see the building from ... sometimes you will see (the face) and sometimes you won't. That makes it very special," he said.

Barak's great granddaughter and Wurundjeri elder Doreen Garvey-Wandin said she had been involved in the consultation process, and was very emotional about the result.

"Something like this has been a long time waiting, and I think it's wonderful," she said.

"My great-grandfather would be so proud. I am so proud. He was such a strong, powerful man, but also a very gentle and humble man.

"So why shouldn't he be recognised? Why shouldn't his head be up there over everybody else's, protecting the Wurundjeri territory, which he fought for, for many years."

Barak, renowned for working to bridge the divide between black and white Australia, died in 1903.

The Portrait building was designed by architecture firm Ashton Raggatt McDougall, which also created some of Melbourne's most controversial buildings, including Federation Square and the Docklands' master plan.

Grocon's Carlton Brewery general manager David Waldren said the building, which is awaiting a permit by Planning Minister Justin Madden, would hold 530 apartments priced between $295,000 and $1 million when complete in 2014.

He said the horizontal white panels creating the illusion of the face would be distanced from residents' balconies.

"Do we expect to see beach towels hanging over the edge? No," Mr Waldren said.


The article wrongly lists ARM as the architects of Fed Square...

Good design but will be obscured from a large part of Swanston Street by the Design Hub.


Absolutely incredible project.

yeah should be 280+ not 229

yeah should be 280+ not 229
Thats been posted about 7 times and I even e-mailed a mod but still it hasn't been changed.

They'll get around to it eventually. A lot of the time they just wait until there's a whole bunch to do at once.


Anyway, don't know that "Portrait" should be in this thread but I do think if constructed to match the renders it could become iconic to Melbourne. Really, there's nothing like it. I hope it gets built asap.

I've created a separate thread in the highrise section for the above rendered Portrait building.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1215689

http://www.rs.realestate.com.au/objects/props/3887/5703887,20100920150339,p,600x800,Main@20Feature.jpg

I think this image was the inspiration for the interiors of the arm shared spaces?

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5369/thefacadethentheinterio.jpg

WOW! Melbourne leads the way with kooky and innovative design in this country.