Here's a bunch of pics from 12th October 2002

Love the way its making a big impact on Lonsdale St particularly.. still 14 floors to go on the front side!

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Oct2002/DSC00102.jpg

Considering its low overall height ~130m the bulk and mass of the tower go a long way to making up for it..

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Oct2002/DSC00104.jpg

And 10 stories to go on the core on the backside!

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Oct2002/DSC00105.jpg

I get the feeling the 140m QV resi tower is just waiting to sprout any minute!! The core is creeping up... I think the lower section is very complex which is why its taking time..

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Oct2002/DSC00106.jpg

I really like this next pic coz right now it looks like it could be any scruffy downtown in the US - complete with our most boring box buildings in the background :D.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Oct2002/DSC00109.jpg

I swear you could post that pic at skyscraperpage.com forum and convince them that is was Baltimore or wherever..

The west side of the complex is about up to ground level as well..

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Oct2002/DSC00111.jpg
http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Oct2002/DSC00112.jpg

Gosh I tell ya.. doing a complete lap walking right around the block is just really exhilirating!! Just so much construction and so much happening in the one spot.. its like a giant living growing entity much more so than even Eureka..

Anyone in Melbourne simply *must* take a walk around on a working day..

excellent pics

I only noticed yesterday when looking from the top level of this building (circled) just stole one of your pics sorry Adrian :

http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/qvrmit.jpg

that BHP was steadily growing, it seemed for a while it was well "stunted"

it is certainly one very impressive site, to do as you say, to walk around on a working day.... at a guess there'd be what, 300 or 400 people making those cores and floor plates rise everyday ?

BHP though, still got a fair way to go - it's just a little taller than Celcius House (from memory)

cheers

EDIT it'll be also super impressive to stand at the Corner of Swanston and Lonsdale or on the Skysbridge over Lonsdale street and look East and see nothing but a wall of high-rises & scrapers, especially when Urban Workshop starts bulking out between Telstra and Casselden ;)

00p 00p! :D

tays

QV is already making an impact on the skyline gap :-)

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~naharrison/shrine.jpg

whoa grollo! don't do that again (no really, AGAIN ;))

it'll also be a lot better when just to the left of that pic there, the 150m res. will pop up, again it'll close up that gap I hate so much...

when was that taken? today?

ah yes I knew I had some pics here of the old view:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/stevemelb/shrine_view2.jpg

and just to the right here...

http://users.bigpond.net.au/stevemelb/shrine_citylook.jpg

it's like Woodside in Perth's Skyline! (well similar stages :D)

über-cool pic :D

tays

Now just imagine Eureka & Freshwater Place at the stage that BHP is in that pic ;)

Someone will have to go back there in two or three months to take one of Eureka rising :D

tays

that is awsome. is it two towers or one. the two lift cores im reffering to

that shot from the shrine will look even better once some more southbank goes up. everything left of melbourne central will look really dence.

Originally posted by Dorgey
that is awsome. is it two towers or one. the two lift cores im reffering to oh, well there's actually 4 cores on the whole site (there's 4 towers u/c there), one will be 150m, the other (BHP - as shown above) will be about 127m.

certainly will make Melbourne a lot "bigger", I can just imagine how it'll look with Southern Cross, E&Y, Eureka, FWP in a few years time (maybe with the exception of SX)

yeah it should look great

is the residential building going to be 150m now?
i thought it was to be 132m

it's slightly taller than BHP, 140 - 150 metres from memory

tays

oh well, thats good enough for me!

actually it's just about 132m (QV Residential), and BHP is 127m.

thought the height was wrong... still pretty good considering when you look at the skyline there and the tallest is St Pauls!

I wonder if the Ansett Site will be visible from there?

Originally posted by SteveMelb
actually it's just about 132m (QV Residential), and BHP is 127m.

thought the height was wrong... still pretty good considering when you look at the skyline there and the tallest is St Pauls!

I wonder if the Ansett Site will be visible from there?

Verve 501 probably will be.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/verve501.jpg

tays

whered you find that picture tayser?

wait sorry, i just saw your thread in the other bit

do you guys reckon the BHP building will look transparent (other than the lift shaft)? since its glass is very clear, and from the south, the building isnt that thick

from the renderings I saw in the DOI's documents of it, probably not, the East and West facades are similar to that of Telstra HQ (maybe a few shades lighter) and the South Facade is a fair chunk lighter but as you said, blocked by the core, it'll definately be one of those buildings which changes colour with the Weather (Rialto, Casselden etc)

One's which will appear transperant will be Urban Workshop & Southern Cross Hotel redevelopment

cheers

tays

BHP Core up a another level

pic from silvermb's melbourne construction update thread:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/markspics/bhp2.jpg

latest pic from today soon - watch this space!

tays

ahh those cranes say enough by themselves
http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/markspics/qv1.jpg

I think I can see A-brain. Anyway Wills and 380 La Trobe in shot to left of MC while the core of Wills Court has sprung up as well.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/markspics/mcentral.jpg

did you notice if the Residential's core had gone up at all silvermb ?

also worth mentioning would be that the whole site is pretty much back up to ground level - after building up from, what was it ? 5 or 6 basement levels ?

anyhow - things are definitely, beyond doubt getting a whole lot more beefier at ye goold auld QV :D

tays

they were doing the 7th level of glass today, that means only one level of glass left of the bit of the building that sticks out a bit

they might halt on the glass a bit once thats done to let the levels go up a bit more more

The core of QV is slowly but surely rising, I think if they really are behind schedule with BHP and paying penalities then it will be all guns blazing with that at the moment (and it is!) ..

Duff: What level 7 are you talking about??? BHP has glass all the way up.. and which bit sticks out?

Originally posted by A-brain

Duff: What level 7 are you talking about??? BHP has glass all the way up.. and which bit sticks out?

i mean the 7th level of glass that theyve done, like in the last photo its got almost 6 done.

and what i mean about sticking out, is that below the glass thats there, the building inclines a bit, and 8 levels above that, in inclines to the same level as below. its not just a perfect rectangle i mean.

http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/transfer/6/2002/09/160210.jpg

Hey guys,

Of all the construction going on in Melbourne, I think the site I am most confused about is QV. Can someone please tell me what all the major buildings are going to be and their heights? I saw somethging about a 150m res tower?!?! I knew about the res tower(s) but had no idea they would be that tall.... closing the gap a little...

Thanks guys

MG2

just a simple question! what height is QV?? ive so far read 120m, 127m & 130m. I think its the 120m option, does anyone know exactly from architects plans?? rls?

cheers guys its looking fab!!:D

I think it was Tays who got the height of 126.65m for the BHP-Billiton tower off the plans.

The height of the residenital tower was 132m and this was from a phone call to DOI and they got the height off the plans (that was late last year I think).

These heights are from ground level, so unless there have been any changes to the plans these will be the heights.

Yup, forget BHP...I'm looking forward to the John Wardle resitower!

i thought this was about the Q1..dam!:D

Originally posted by Grollo
I think it was Tays who got the height of 126.65m for the BHP-Billiton tower off the plans.

The height of the residenital tower was 132m and this was from a phone call to DOI and they got the height off the plans (that was late last year I think).

These heights are from ground level, so unless there have been any changes to the plans these will be the heights.

thanks grollo, tays! i must be massive cause it looks stocky at 127m! wow!

cul.. you hit it on the head..

This BHP is a great example of how 127m isnt always 127m .. depending on its bulk..

Because the tower is so wide around the girth it really gives itself an extra sense of height that belies its rather paltry 127m ..

Have a look at that lift core for example! I'm sure its one of if not the widest we've ever seen in Oz, and the width of the building for that matter too..

As for QV, its ground level is more elevated than BHP so it should appear about 10m higher than BHP ..

http://www.hoogbouw.nl/OZforum/cgi-bin/topic.cgi?forum=2&topic=741

^^ that above has some other info (old QV thread from old forum)

tays

QV can be seen in the skyline from my house now. Standing on my balcony the core is quite visible but this is what you get when you try to take a shot from a digital camera looking down the lens of a Pentax 600mm camera, not a bad result. I'd estimate it at about 75m now, another 50m to go.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/markspics/bal1.jpg

Here's another pic taken at 8:30 tonight, with one half of the skyline visible form the back of my house while the other half from my driveway. I walk 50m to the end of the street for a full shot.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/markspics/bal2.jpg

I used the widest zoom out so you can see where Mondo is going, to the left where the two mid-rise buildings in Moonee Ponds are in front of the Mt. Dandenong. My house is about 10-13km from the city but the skyline sure does look closer than in that pic. It will be cool to see the CBD expanding while I also get to watch the the gradual birth of another mini skyline as the 55m Mondo and other projects are constructed out here. The big white blob just to the right is Essendon Hospital which will be converted to apartments; it's a spectacular curving multi split-level design for a hospital, ideal for apartments.

silvermb - can you take some pics of the Mondo site ?

cheers

tays

heres a pic i found on realestate.com.au

http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/3386/1513386ml1036389349.jpg

its shows how QV is going to reduce the size of the gap a bit

Melburnian Magnificence :D

Grollo's done a pano from the shrine as well

I dunno, couldn't see properly, but um the core may have gone up again at QV - "looked" taller than last time I looked, or might have been the floor plates catching up *shrug*

tays :d

na i dont think its gone up in a while, its still at 5 levels above the more greener bit (has to be explained by me) so it must be due for a rise very soon.

i think its only got a few more rises to go until its up to celcius house level

Duff,

You are right.

The building does kink inwards at level 7 or there abouts. You can see it in this pic below.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/markspics/bhp2.jpg
If you look at the left hand end or western side (south west corner), the building steps back a little from there on up.
Originally posted by Duff


i mean the 7th level of glass that theyve done, like in the last photo its got almost 6 done.

and what i mean about sticking out, is that below the glass thats there, the building inclines a bit, and 8 levels above that, in inclines to the same level as below. its not just a perfect rectangle i mean.

I'm still disappointed that the "peel back" that's currently visible on the facade that's already up looks so 2-dimensional!

they were doing the glass on the 8th level of the sticking out bit yesterday, so id assume the might be almost finishing off that level today

http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/markspics/bhpnew.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/tayser/markspics/bhp3new.jpg

less than 10 floors to go with the core and about 10 for the floorplates!

facade's coming up really well (when you're up close :D)

tays

hmm, is that a 22 on there? or something else? next guess would be 20

the cranes are all going sick on QV, what a sight

yer

22 exposed under corebox, 23 inside it etc ;)

it's either 27 or 29 stories (all up), no ?

tays

hmm, 26 floors all up? or did grollo/silver/someone else say it was different? *shrug*

it's probably at 100m right now to the top of the highest floor (not core box), fairly significant in that area of town since it has such tight height restrictions.

No way steve.. nowhere near 100m certaintly to built floors.

The top of the core box would be *just* on 100m right now, its easy to check, just compare to 150 Lonsdale right to the left in the last pic.. thats a 110m tower and as you can see BHP's core box in that pic is still about 10m short.

The actual floors would only be about 70m tall right now..

well the highest floor would only be what, 10m below the core box? no way it's 30m, unless you mean up the highest point of the glass part?

It's amazing how prominent it's going to be,despite its relatively small height;I was making a rare trip back towards the City along Nepean Hwy/Brighton Rd,when, as I neared St Kilda Junction,there it was already!I'd like to see a more recent rendering of the res.tower.

I'm just hanging out to see the Canopy constructed and finished, stuff the rest of the building, that Canopy is definitely going to bring something "interesting" to such a boring glass box!

tays

had a great view of the whole site today - level 10 from the RMIT Business building - was distracted from doing a boring "Organisation Development in Information Technology" exam by the look of BHP

it's grown!

SteveMelb's taken a great pic of it from Russel Street (up near Little Collins Street) if I had a digi-cam I'd be going there weekly from now on

it's rocketing along

and the cores of the 9 / 10 level buildings along Lonsdale and Swanston Street are gradually making a bigger appearance too

:rock: on QV :D

EDIT: this is the angle - SteveMelb's last pic:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/stevemelb/tour_20022011/pic_0028.JPG

the glass has gone up, so has the core (couldnt see the number from where I was) and so have the floors!

tays

Saw BHP today and the facade looks like it's climbed taller than Stevemelb's last pic.

Originally posted by Blabbyboy
Saw BHP today and the facade looks like it's climbed taller than Stevemelb's last pic.

definitely, gone up by at least two floors! (facade)

tays

is the facade any different? might have to check it out Friday!

Core is now exposed to Lvl 24 and box is at Lvl 25, so about 1 more rise to go according to the plans!

And the front facade now clearly has that diagonal 'step back' which actually looks kinda cool! This will be a rippa looking building from the front..

hrmmm... 27 levels ?

crap I dont think I had the plans for the tower anymore..............

I always thought 27 or 29 was the figure ???

tays

Hmm I thought 26 levels was the going rate at the moment..

Though seeing as it should appear about 10-15m taller than 150 Lonsdale, maybe 27 levels is right. The core is only nearly line ball with the top of 150 Lonsdale..

tops out at 126.5m, stepped down to the roof at about 110-115m, similar to 150 Lonsdale's height. So whatever the floors are, the actual core/structure rises above them to 126.5m

Another gem for melbourne

<a href="http://www.spedia.net/cgi-bin/tz.cgi?run=show_svc&fl=8&vid=2831415">
<img src="http://www.spedia.net/imgs/spb.gif" border=0 ></a>

silvermb got some great pics of QV today!

and I noticed myself, if you stand under clocks, the BHP core is now visible and making an impact over the top of RMIT Business building!

same goes from behind the shrine on St. Kilda Road - definitely a partial swanston gap filler!

tays

SteveMElb's pics:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/stevemelb/tour_20021130/pic07.jpg

gap's slowly, but not entirely, closing:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/stevemelb/tour_20021130/pic05.jpg

tays

get there you big bastard.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/bhp22.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/bhp21.JPG

did ya happen to count how many floors (approx) the Resi core is nowadays ?

think it's worth keeping tabs on its "growth" from now on ? I remember you were saying when I went around the city with ya last friday that you thought it had grown a fair few levels ? :?

tays

I think they are concentrating on BHP WHQ as they need to move in by sept/oct 2003 otherwise Grocon will have to pay up big time. So the other 3 or 4 towers are getting left behind at the moment.

Cheers

Dean - Melbourne

how long do you think it will be until they start working on the bottom levels, below where the glass starts?

How is the building supposed to look from the north side, the side where the core is also an outer wall? Are they going to attach glass to it eventually? :?

Originally posted by derf
How is the building supposed to look from the north side, the side where the core is also an outer wall? Are they going to attach glass to it eventually? :?

good question, silvermb's speculated about it (as I've asked him what he thinks) and as the residential tower is going to be very close to the BHP building, they're going to have to do "something" I think he said..... makes sense, who in their right mind would want to live looking at a Concrete wall with Green Triangles ? lol

the whole precinct is going to be very tight - networks of laneways running in between the buildings with a plaza in the middle, this time next year the whole complex will be looking complete with maby the Residential (tall one) still climbing / being fitted out.

tays

who in their right mind would want to live looking at a Concrete wall with Green Triangles


grey triangles tayser! they start off as green ones, but as the glass goes up, the tringles are changed to grey pretty much

Originally posted by Duff


grey triangles tayser! they start off as green ones, but as the glass goes up, the tringles are changed to grey pretty much

grey, green, eh it looks the same to me LOL (no I'm not colour-blind :D)

"same shit diff smell" :)

tays

I've probably said this before but don't have the Mbs left to look but am I the only one finding BHP-Billiton's facade bloody DULL ?


Cheers,

Adam

Originally posted by Adam from Oz
I've probably said this before but don't have the Mbs left to look but am I the only one finding BHP-Billiton's facade bloody DULL ?


Cheers,

Adam

once it's complete, and you get up close and personal with it it won't be as dull....

eh I dunno if I'm the first to admit, but it's primarily just gonna be a modern slab of a building, EXCEPT for the cooler than coolest things can coolingly be, canopy which will skirt over Lonsdale Street............................................................

tays

The facade has its moments.. from side on you can just make out the strip of about 1-2m where the front facade wraps around, and its very see through glass which is cool. Also the little angled setbacks make it interesting too..

I think when the big curtain overhang thing is done it will look better.

Also noticed today QV Residential is starting to show some shape.. you can see some interesting walls on the carpark level now with small rectangles cut out of it.. I think this will start to happen in the new year..

I'm counting the core rises on QV Resi now!

good stuff - the QV resi core isnt being labelled is it ??

I only noticed BHP's core was being labelled a month ago when I first got a "high-up" look at it (from top level of ma TAFE building)......

tays

Nice photos of it's construction. BHP Billtion is impacting on the mid city skyline.

Originally posted by Fabian
Nice photos of it's construction. BHP Billtion is impacting on the mid city skyline.

"derrr"

thanks for sharing the obvious with us, yet again.

tays

oh yeah this is a pic I took of BHP from "that" carpark rooftop on the day of the last Melb meet (30/11/2002)... forgot to post it!

http://users.bigpond.net.au/stevemelb/bhpworldhq.jpg

nice pic

i wonder how much it will change the look of the building when they paint or do whatever to the pillars inside

I dont know what to think. Spectacular and shocking all at once. Anyway 6 apartments of the hundreds initially offered remain for sale in both residentials. Grollo's are just too good. Took me long enough to find the little bugger as well.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvr4.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvr3.JPGhttp://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvr2.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvr1.JPG

It really does sit on a massive carpark and podium. Looks great from either side but the front/rear leaves alot to be desired. Am willing to wait until the final cladding appears, much like Crown 2 which came good.

hah, and the guy tried to sell you a one bedder facing BHP's wall *snort* :D

btw, for stats sake, the distance between BHP's North facade and the resi towers south facade is 30m, with the resi tower itself only 18 - 20m wide! - interesting "ends" but I agree, the North and South Facades, atm from that model, look somewhat lacking.... but eh, we'll have to wait and see what happens, much like BHP's Northern "exposed core" wall...

tays

That will look awesome, I have never seen a tower that is so long and thin. It's always hard to tell with plain white models but John Wardle is renowned for superb modern detailing so it should look pretty sweet. Thoses aprtments at the top will be fantastic, with 360 degree views over the top of the BHP-Billiton Tower.

Rember, the only time you will really see the inward facing walls of both towers is looking straight up from the glassed in laneway that will run between them. I think standing between these two slabs and looking up will be an awesome experience.

Who is that dodgy looking character lurking in the background behind the model? hehehe

Yeah the tower does look a bit more plain jane in the rendering than some of the initial impressions.. but I fully agree we have to wait till the whole facade is finished.

One thing I am almost certain of those is that whole block will be an amazing place when its finished with all the laneways going between this forest of towers..

Even the former Arthur Anderson building they are constructing on the SouthWest corner at Lonsdale & Swanston is looking quite imposing (given its only about 10 stories) ..

I'll tell you why the Grollo's are legends at selling these buildings - affordability !!! They didn't get greedy and try to price it out of the market at $800,000 each (like a few others).

Instead, their starting price was was about $195,000 without carpark and moved up gradually from there..

This thing about the apartment oversupply is crap, developers are simply getting too greedy..

God! What a dog this is!
I knew there was a reason they were keeping the renderings from the public.....it's secrecy like that that leads to mediocrity (no, actually, plain monstrosity) like this. It's a Housing Commission in a prime CBD location. Melbourne can be too wierd at times.
This is all a matter of personal taste, of course - so don't shoot me guys, but I really think Wardle's other tower is a dog as well (Dock 5 - looks like QV, but pink...I mean PINK!!!! - god it's gonna date before it's even finished). IMO the guy has no idea!
I've decided to now call him 'W***le'.
And, Grollo, not only WILL you be able to see the top half of the shockingly aweful inward facing walls from nearly all parts of town, but because of the part of town it's in - ie. the Swanston Gap- it will stick out like dog's balls (continuing on with the 'dog' theme). The uninterruted silohette of the Shrine from St. Kilda looking towards the city is already compromised by BHP, and this piece of shit is going to be almost double the height. Hopefully it will just encourage the council to now let high rise development run riot in the Swanston Gap to eventually cover it up.....
Ohhh, how terribly disappointing.

Well, my heart is definitely not beating any faster either.

A bit disappointed with BHP and now with the resi tower.

Before we hang, draw and quarter the architect, let's keep in mind that this is a colourless model. A bare canvas on which to place a stunning facade.

May give me the sort of "Surprise" I await from R.I.P.arian.

Cheers,

Adam

lol that's wha we wanna see - constructive criticism :D

tays

You got it in one Adrian. Selling agents Hocking Stuart tried to sell me a single room apartment with 360 degree views on the 41st floor for only $295,000. I nearly fell out of my tree (so to say). And the apartment was for resale, so imagine how cheap it was first up.

How recently was that silvermb?? Geez I might have to go and make them an offer!! Without carpark I assume..

Garmatt.. dont get *too* testy.. it certaintly *WONT* be double the height!! It will only be another 10-15m tallers and that will mostly be the plant level.. it wont really be sticking out like dogs balls. From the Shrine you'll barely see it.

Tough times have seen many originally grandiose designs scaled back to more conservative - cheaper to build - ones. SxC is another example.

The most important thing to be seen is if the complex as a whole still has a quality look and finish to it. If so I think this tower will work very well, along with BHP which althought plain in design is looking very Schmick in appearance in reality..

this was 3pm yesterday Adrain, and no carpark.

did they let ya take pics of the models no questions asked this time? surprised if they did knowing how secretive this whole project has been kept

love the shots, but damn how skinny is the tower? god I hope this doesn't end up being some H***y disgusting concrete-exposed facade... :puke:

but yer lets wait until it's built before we go knocking it, eh? :)

good work again, detectives.

Originally posted by Adam from Oz
I've probably said this before but don't have the Mbs left to look but am I the only one finding BHP-Billiton's facade bloody DULL ?


Cheers,

Adam

I've said that time and time again - BHP Billiton is bloody disappointing so far - canopy not up yet, but the lines on the facade that are suppossed to be part of the "canopy peel back" are so 2D it might as well be painted on. Very, very cheap looking. This one belongs in Toronto! Ugh...and it's doubly important that the facade is something really special as it covers up the boring front of Wardle's resitower!

As for Wardle's resitower, NOW I KNOW why all his renders were from the very dramatic side profile rather than the BLAND AND DEAD BORING front. Well, maybe it won't be too bad - at least it's a "Melbourn-ish" tower. Glad the State Library and EVEN BHP-Bill will cover it up so that you won't see much of it - you'll only get the dramatic sides (which are impressive) from the street level and hopefully from a distance. Luckily, it's not in the same "league" as Seidler's monstrosities (including Riparian).

Hey, if they say John Wardle is a master, who am I to argue? I'm just a Melburnian!

OK - replenish bile.:cheers:

Some news today.

The top of the lift core is now at level 26 which according to some people is the top floor of the building.

The only thing I have to doubt it is from the angles I saw today, it's still not really any taller than neighbouring 150 Lonsdale, whilst according to height figures it should be about 10m taller??

We shall soon find out.

ALSO .. for facade freaks.. the first cladding on the exposed rear core have gone up, and yes, they are simply mimicking the facade around the front with some fake windows..

Like it or lump it guys!! Hey.. there are far uglier towers going around.. look at 390 LaTrobe or the new one at County Court.. banal in the extreme!!

BHP-Billiton is a HUGE company.

The word banal should not be seen anywhere near its World Headquarters.

Where does it show up the possibilities of STEEL?

Looks more like AXA House (old National Mutual Centre).

Blah!

Cheers,

Adam

I was so excited about QV, but I have to say this all looks pretty average for such a great site. The BHP building looks very plain, even in the render......postmodern base with a 1950's office tower. The wardle res tower could be ok, but I do agree it is a shocker from the front. Very different the futuristic rendering I have seen published in magazines. I have to agree with Adamfromoz.......headquarters buildings are meant to be showpieces - they should have done something more structurally engaging

Finally today the QV core has risen again.. and finally they're now displaying level numbers!!

A big shiny white 19 now shows itself just below the core box :D

Amazing the difference in floor heights between an office tower and a Resi.. we have 19 levels of QV finished and its barely half the height of BHP which only has 6 more levels!

19 ? I read 10 just today :? :? :? :? :?

tays

YEP. I was in the CBD yesterday and saw the big white 19 on the QV residential tower.

I need to get my eyes checked! Or get some glasses lol :D

tays

some new angles, not too far for BHP to go now

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/201202qvup1.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/201202qv1.JPG

was just thinking "how the hell did he take a picture from the Myer building" then realised there's an airbridge ;)

top pics, the Little Lon pic will look gr8 this time next year! :D

tays

Yeah great angles! Its shots like those that show how much affect QV is having on that part of the city..

Another angle where it makes a *huge* difference is from the front lawns of the State Library opposite Melb Central.. previously it was probably the part of the city that felt the most low and empty like there is no skyline, with that huge gaping block of nothing..

But now its getting nicely filled up with QV..

Well I wasn't really expecting to do a quick photo tour on Boxing Day considering we are in hibernation mode..

But I just realised the other day walking past BHP that they have started to construct the awning at the base just before shutdown!!

Check it out..

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Cons/DSC00243.jpg
http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Cons/DSC00245.jpg

Gotta like the "I love QV" signs as well :D

Here's another pic viewed from the back.. I really like how they front glass is very transparent and wraps around slightly so you can see right through the right hand edge of the building.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/Cons/DSC00242.jpg

I wuv QV t00 ;)

hah!, great to finally see the canopy going up! :D

great pics :D

tays

I went past today and it's looking good.Under that conopy is going to be an awesome interior space, I think it will be better from the inside than on the outside.

I saw Daniel Grollo on the news the other day and he had a massive model of QV behind him which was almost as tall as he was. I didn't realise that it had such a huge LMR box on the roof. I looked to be around 3 levels high, so level 26 or 27 could be as high as the glass goes.

When you say 'QV' are you talking about the BHP tower having the big LMR box or the residential tower?

That might explain how BHP makes it to 120m+ coz it aint right now..

BHP-Billiton had the huge LMR box. The top of the core at the moment is about level with the adjoining Celcius House which is 110m so if it goes one floor higher and has a 3 storey high LMR then thats 127m.

the top of the QV Residental #1 has an integrated LMR & pool area - sounds strange yeah, but everyone in the apartments below has access to the rooftop - here the gym, pool and associated good shit is - wouldnt be a bad place to live actually! :D

tays

The I http://www.worldofboxes.com/images/goto/golove.gif Q V is very N.Y.C.

Only seems like yesterday when silvermb first posted a pic of the very first portion of glass cladding. I remember being excited.

The canopy has been under construction for about 2 weeks now. I saw it a few weeks ago, but very little has happened since :(

Yeah obviously they started building it before the shutdown a week or two ago.. I just hadn't noticed it till the other day and nobody had talked or photo'd about it!

Nice photos. I think the base of the tower is going to be superb.

OK - now the exciting stuff! Canopy time!!! IMHO the facade is boring as shit. Gimme the tearaway!!

yeah the base/canopy looks great already, here's 2 pics of what the canopy should look like when finished:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/stevemelb/bhp_new1.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/stevemelb/bhp_new3.jpg

I don't think this building will age very well. In 10 years its just going to look like a dirty box wearing a skirt.

Wow!! If those renderings are accurate.. then we definately have 1 or 2 core rises left to go!! I was fairly sure the core had topped out but I think I'm wrong..

As for ageing.. that may very well be so uwe .. but I think the QV precinct as a whole should save it .. some of the other great new architecture around the block should make the whole thing age well..

A-brain heh, "uwe" = amn.... look at my whole nick upside down, or just call me dan =)

BHP's core rose another level yesterday - taking it to LEVEL 26 exposed and LEVEL 27 inside the core..

Amazingly - being this close to finished - I still don't have any idea exactly how many floors there is total .. I've heard everything from 26-29 inclusive. Can someone post an accurate rendering or number?

I'm guessing that the box has topped out and once they do this pour that'll be it.. but I think there may be 1 or 2 plant levels also to construct..

The site was active this arvo after a stopwork meeting this morning.. but as posted in the Grocon thread in 'City Issues' .. looks like we are in for a lot more strikes at Grocon sites v.soon..

view from Cafe La, 17/01/03

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/bhpcla.JPG

oi silvermb, you can go and sit down in there - got get a drink or something next time ;)

great pics again.

tays

From The Age (and this pic is only half of the site):

http://www.theage.com.au/ffxMedia/urlmedia_id_1042520822353_/media/2003/01/18/Variables.type/19QV.jpg

Site looms as crowning glory for city's redevelopment
January 19 2003

Amid the dust and rubble, the CBD's newest redevelopment is taking shape. Claire Halliday reports.

"You're standing in the lobby of the BHP offices now," says Ari Petrov, 27, as he spreads his arms enthusiastically around the expanse of concrete and dust. To the eyes of a first-time visitor to the soon-to-be-completed QV site - the largest redevelopment in the Melbourne CBD - it is hard to imagine anything beyond the flurry of builders still labouring over power tools.

For QV's development manager, though, it is only a step away from the scheduled spring finish of the retail and commercial sectors of the former Queen Victoria Women's Hospital site.

When Mr Petrov moves around the development, he can already picture the bustling food court, the designer fashion boutiques, the slickness of the corporate office space and the spectacular views from the balconies of the 48-level residential towers that are due to be finished by mid-2004.

To him, it is as good as real. He has been on site since the project was won at the end of 1999. "Am I living and breathing it? Yeah, this is my life," Mr Petrov says.

To Melburnians wondering what is in store for them from the much-touted Grocon/ING Real Estate partnership, it is being revealed in stages as the buildings rise and rise from behind the hoardings that border it along Swanston, Russell, Lonsdale and Little Lonsdale Streets.

The main office block - the 28-level BHP Billiton Tower - has construction work completed past level 25 and facade work past level 20. The residential towers' 594 apartments, Mr Petrov says, are 99 per cent sold. Of the 46,000 square metres of retail, about 55 per cent is leased.

All the major players - Big W (6500 square metres in the basement), Safeway (3400 square metres), Space Health Club (2500 square metres), the two-level Carlton & United Breweries "brew bar" and furniture and homewares store Harvey Norman/Domayne - have long been locked in. Parking spaces will cater for 1500 cars.

On the ground level, the food court (trendily tagged "urban market") will have what Mr Petrov describes as "an organic feel". Think polished concrete and 15 to 20 food and beverage stalls with cheap eats, Mr Petrov says.

The central QV Square is one level above the food court and already structurally complete.

Then there are the lanes. Most of Melbourne's lanes are between four and eight metres wide. At QV, the six planned lanes, designed to extend the network north of the city, will be named to reflect the site's medical history. Artemis Lane, named for the Greek goddess of fertility and childbirth, is a nod to the development's proximity to the CBD's Greek precinct.

"This is as authentic to Melbourne as possible," Mr Petrov says. "If you look at it in plan, it's an extension of the grid."

With Melbourne's CBD population growing faster than any suburb, Mr Petrov believes the timing of QV is perfect.

He says he can't help but be excited by his involvement in a development he considers the crowning achievement of his working life.

He says: "This is such a big change from what we had before, which was a big hole in the ground."

Saw that in the Age as well.. it is a good picture! What a huge redevelopment!

Anyone remember staring at this big gaping hole in the ground ?

thanks to Tony P:

http://www.urbanphoto.org/melbourne/photos/cbd/103-0312_IMG.JPG
http://www.urbanphoto.org/melbourne/photos/cbd/103-0312_IMG.JPG

GOOD BYE! :D

tays

Au Revoir..

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/con11.jpg

Sayonara..

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/con10.jpg

God it seems like yesterday that hole in the ground was there.. and only the day before that it was a horrid skate park and car park..

For all the slackness of the Unions - you gotta hand it to Grocon for turning that block of nothing into a stunning showpiece for the city..

Can't wait for it to be finished!!

ahh was hoping some people would have "oldish" pics of the "hole"

still remember quite clearly how freaking huge it was.

EVERYTHING's back up to street level now yeah ? (they still had a little bit in the corner diagonally opposite M.C. to go last time I looked :?)

tays

I was in Melbourne just over 10 months ago for 2 weeks and saw the the "End-Of-Hole Period" where the cranes were just being put to use. It was like only yesterday and remember it very well. Shit!

Thats one very huge hole. It's nothing like I've ever seen.

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Fabian </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Thats one very huge hole. It's nothing like I've ever seen.</td></tr>
</table>
world square was probably Australia's largest ever hole for a skyscraper. nearly 30m deep x 130m along each side of the 4 st frontages.

The hole for QV was 210m X 100m and was around about 25m deep.

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by CULWULLA </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top><table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Fabian </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Thats one very huge hole. It's nothing like I've ever seen.</td></tr>
</table>
world square was probably Australia's largest ever hole for a skyscraper. nearly 30m deep x 130m along each side of the 4 st frontages.</td></tr>
</table>
What about Collins Place in the 70s? It was the biggest hole for a building at the time, and one of the largest to date. Also, what about the big bloody hole that is Australia's Federal Parliament in Canberra? They lifted the whole hill, built the building and put it back to the same contours! A huge hole! ;)

We had the benefit of hearing from John Wardle himself during the first semester of last year. By way of explanation, his focus to this point has been about fanatic attention to detail within much smaller residential settings. He's all about materiality of internal surfaces/edges and careful construction of volumes - about the experience of being lived in - rather than being about conveying a design philosophy through facade treatments.
Certainly the 'frayed edge' treatment, as he described it, can be seen in the heroic renderings which we all saw first, applied to the edges of the building form. They're the residential tower's signature mark, actually! Other than that, I'd agree the northern facade is disappointing, but having heard from the man about his priorities in a design sense, it's not quite so bad.

Oh yeah, and we heard that almost 600,000 cubic metres of earth was removed from that monstrous pit, and that four different architects are engaged on the site! Wardle, Lyons, but I can't remember who the others are.

Anyway, I'm sure Wardle's on a learning curve. Dock 5 is more promising; a bit more tectonics and such.

Blue

I'm really going to get shot to pieces for saying this... but I feel that Melbourne's the sort of city that is mature enough to take it.
"Wardle's on a learning curve".... OK, fine! Give the guy a break in his home territory - but, quite frankly, that's not what Melbourne needs right now.
If Melbourne were New York, or London or Paris, then - great, give all your architecture students all the practice they need. These cities have nothing to prove - they can afford to make a few mistakes as they are centres of excellence already. Melbourne faces a future of obscurity thanks to overpowering marketing of a certain city northwards called Sydney, and it needs to make a HUGE visual impact with it's architecture, just to compete!
I say this as maybe a knee-jerk reaction to a recent business trip to Paris, where I saw a MASSIVE poster advertising Australia as a holiday destination at almost every stop on their subway system. Invariably the picture was of Sydney / Sydney Harbour, and it made me think, "why are there none of Melbourne?" . The answer? Melbourne's just NOT impressive enough to get the message to people that it would be worth their while travelling all that way to get there. Believe me, I would LOVE that it were, but I have to face facts - IT"S NOT!! So, maybe the issue facing Melbourne now, is - what must we do, and where must we go?. Melbourne needs to decide that, if it wants to even consider itself as competing with Sydney, then it needs to reserve EVERY major piece of spare land within the CBD to be developed by some major international architect - or local genius (NONDA? DCM? - of which there are many - Melbourne's great for that sort of stuff) - or whatever - but not some "learning-local". Our city's not in a position right now for trial and error - we've experienced first-hand how much this can cost the city ("City Square", " Gas and Fuel", etc, etc).
Believe me, I love Melbourne with a passion, but if it wants to be considered in the same league as Sydney, then it needs to start looking at getting it ALL right - not just some of it - and Wardle is just using the city as a training ground. Believe me, the major commercial, the-stuff-that-leaves-a-lasting-legacy kind of architecture that he's coming out with now is just SHIT!! It'll be torn down in a few years time.
Anyway, I hope QV is good enough to absorp this dross....but, really, Melbourne needs to be aiming higher..
Disappointing!

PS. Obviously this is only my opinion, but the love of architectural debate is what sets Melbourne apart from other cities and makes it one of the world's great 'design' hotspots! Just ask "Wallpaper*" Magazine!

I agree wholeheartedly garmatt but I also think your overreacting slightly..

As I've said a lot of the factors in these new buildings being architecturally unadventurous is simply economic.. forget QV, a much bigger crime is both the new Southern Cross Office, HWT & UWT all be scaled down in height and design uniqueness - mainly I think due to economic reasons that its cheaper to build a box than a landmark ..

No matter how fancy QV is - it would never really be a photographed landmark, its too hidden within the CBD and not tall enough.

Rather it would serve to impress at ground level - and I think the QV precinct as a whole will *STILL* do that .. the design of the smaller residential building is a beauty as is the office building on the southwest corner ..

Where it's really gonna matter is the big ticket buildings in big ticket positions - and in those regards I think we cannot complain!! We have the Big E which will impress every single person that lays eyes on it and will probably overtake Rialto as our signature landmark showing Melbourne does style on a HUGE scale ..

The shot with Fed Sq in the foreground and Eureka rising in the background both with complimentary angled architecture could become a landmark view in itself..

To back that up we have the likes of Freshwater Place, Mirvac New Quay & Victoria Tower which are all great buildings in big locations..

So once again.. yes I do agree but Melbourne will never be the poster city for Australia anyway.. and what we have on the table is as reasonably good as we can hope given our economic potential .. and builds on Melbourne's strength as style capital of Oz ..

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Garmatt </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>I'm really going to get shot to pieces for saying this... but I feel that Melbourne's the sort of city that is mature enough to take it.
"Wardle's on a learning curve".... OK, fine! Give the guy a break in his home territory - but, quite frankly, that's not what Melbourne needs right now.
If Melbourne were New York, or London or Paris, then - great, give all your architecture students all the practice they need. These cities have nothing to prove - they can afford to make a few mistakes as they are centres of excellence already. Melbourne faces a future of obscurity thanks to overpowering marketing of a certain city northwards called Sydney, and it needs to make a HUGE visual impact with it's architecture, just to compete!
I say this as maybe a knee-jerk reaction to a recent business trip to Paris, where I saw a MASSIVE poster advertising Australia as a holiday destination at almost every stop on their subway system. Invariably the picture was of Sydney / Sydney Harbour, and it made me think, "why are there none of Melbourne?" . The answer? Melbourne's just NOT impressive enough to get the message to people that it would be worth their while travelling all that way to get there. Believe me, I would LOVE that it were, but I have to face facts - IT"S NOT!! So, maybe the issue facing Melbourne now, is - what must we do, and where must we go?. Melbourne needs to decide that, if it wants to even consider itself as competing with Sydney, then it needs to reserve EVERY major piece of spare land within the CBD to be developed by some major international architect - or local genius (NONDA? DCM? - of which there are many - Melbourne's great for that sort of stuff) - or whatever - but not some "learning-local". Our city's not in a position right now for trial and error - we've experienced first-hand how much this can cost the city ("City Square", " Gas and Fuel", etc, etc).
Believe me, I love Melbourne with a passion, but if it wants to be considered in the same league as Sydney, then it needs to start looking at getting it ALL right - not just some of it - and Wardle is just using the city as a training ground. Believe me, the major commercial, the-stuff-that-leaves-a-lasting-legacy kind of architecture that he's coming out with now is just SHIT!! It'll be torn down in a few years time.
Anyway, I hope QV is good enough to absorp this dross....but, really, Melbourne needs to be aiming higher..
Disappointing!

PS. Obviously this is only my opinion, but the love of architectural debate is what sets Melbourne apart from other cities and makes it one of the world's great 'design' hotspots! Just ask "Wallpaper*" Magazine!</td></tr>
</table>

Sydney has a more picturesque harbour with better known landmarks, thus it is easier to advertise Sydney as the face of Australia overseas. This does not mean Melbourne has a problem or that Sydney is too good to be even in the same league as Melbourne.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv300103.jpg

:rock:

tays

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Garmatt </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>I'm really going to get shot to pieces for saying this... but I feel that Melbourne's the sort of city that is mature enough to take it.
"Wardle's on a learning curve".... OK, fine! Give the guy a break in his home territory - but, quite frankly, that's not what Melbourne needs right now.
If Melbourne were New York, or London or Paris, then - great, give all your architecture students all the practice they need. These cities have nothing to prove - they can afford to make a few mistakes as they are centres of excellence already. Melbourne faces a future of obscurity thanks to overpowering marketing of a certain city northwards called Sydney, and it needs to make a HUGE visual impact with it's architecture, just to compete!
I say this as maybe a knee-jerk reaction to a recent business trip to Paris, where I saw a MASSIVE poster advertising Australia as a holiday destination at almost every stop on their subway system. Invariably the picture was of Sydney / Sydney Harbour, and it made me think, "why are there none of Melbourne?" . The answer? Melbourne's just NOT impressive enough to get the message to people that it would be worth their while travelling all that way to get there. Believe me, I would LOVE that it were, but I have to face facts - IT"S NOT!! So, maybe the issue facing Melbourne now, is - what must we do, and where must we go?. Melbourne needs to decide that, if it wants to even consider itself as competing with Sydney, then it needs to reserve EVERY major piece of spare land within the CBD to be developed by some major international architect - or local genius (NONDA? DCM? - of which there are many - Melbourne's great for that sort of stuff) - or whatever - but not some "learning-local". Our city's not in a position right now for trial and error - we've experienced first-hand how much this can cost the city ("City Square", " Gas and Fuel", etc, etc).
Believe me, I love Melbourne with a passion, but if it wants to be considered in the same league as Sydney, then it needs to start looking at getting it ALL right - not just some of it - and Wardle is just using the city as a training ground. Believe me, the major commercial, the-stuff-that-leaves-a-lasting-legacy kind of architecture that he's coming out with now is just SHIT!! It'll be torn down in a few years time.
Anyway, I hope QV is good enough to absorp this dross....but, really, Melbourne needs to be aiming higher..
Disappointing!

PS. Obviously this is only my opinion, but the love of architectural debate is what sets Melbourne apart from other cities and makes it one of the world's great 'design' hotspots! Just ask "Wallpaper*" Magazine!</td></tr>
</table>
HEAR HEAR!!! There is no margin for MEDIOCRITY!!! QV (and SXC, HWT, UWT) are ALL just NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! MElbourne deserves better!

But Garmatt, I don't have a problem with Melbourne's position in the world or our lack of tourism appeal. Don't care much for that - we're mature and confident enough to know that we (unlike Sydney) don't need tourism potential or a beautiful harbour to hide our inadequacies.

Melbourne leads in urban style and design in Australia - and that alone is reason why mediocre developments shouldn't be allowed to take up our prize locations - A-brain, it's not just the big ticket positions that count - surely QV, SXC, HWT are all big-ticket positions!!! More importantly, they're blowing some of the best potential sites and opportunities!

Another Core rise for BHP today..

Could this be the last one?? It's now showing Level 27 exposed with Level 28 inside the box.. I believe Level 29 is the highest floor but this may not have a core, just plant rooms ..

The facade is also rapidly climbing as well, this building is only months away from being open for business I'd say..

The main crane was also elevated on the weekend to accomodate the rise, it's the highest I've seen a crane above ground in Melbourne for a LOOOONG time!!! Looks awesome..

Also, the Office component on the Southwest corner near Swanston & Lonsdale has topped out, with the core box coming down over the weekend..

damnit! I was too early lol :D

should go into RMIT and sneak a pic from level 15 - great shots from up there.

anyhow great news.

tays

Whoa! Nice to hear some meaty viewpoints. Garmatt, thanks for opening things up in such an emphatic way.
I'm somewhat more enthusiastic about Melbourne's position relative to Sydney in terms of memorable architecture. The way I look at it...it all depends on HOW you look at it. The fact of the matter is, Sydney is always going to have more mainstream appeal than Melbourne on the basis of its harbour. Melbourne is probably not going to find a way to harness Port Phillip the way
Sydney can its harbour. In terms of basic (natural) aesthetics, it isn't even worth the comparison.
Unfortunately this factors into architectural standing because natural aesthetic beauty + harbour bridge + opera house = mainstream memorable tourism/popularity, = more international money = more international architectural prescence. Be that as it may, if you're talking purely about architecture, you'd have to say Melbourne and Sydney are both producing pearlers..and some dross. And that's ok.
More generally, Melbourne is only going to perpetuate a massive inferiority complex on itself by comparing itself to Sydney. This isn't to say that we should admit defeat and say that we'll always play second fiddle in every field - quite the opposite. Rather, we should simply not enter into comparison to begin with. Look, San Francisco, Chicago, Portland have carved out fantasic little niches for themselves in the US tourism industry, even though it will always clearly be dominated by New York and Los Angeles. They've had to re-invent themselves to do that, and Melbourne is just as capable if we can just stop doing this :wallbash: with regards to Sydney.
We have heaps to be proud of...not the least of which is a cultural/social/historical identity that is radically DIFFERENT to Sydney. We are calmer, more established, less uptight, more open-minded and safer, if you wish to insist on a direct comparison. We are the original capital and seat of political progressive thought. The finest educational institutions. We're at the forefront of biotechnology in oz. The busiest sea-port services the largest manufacturing industry..and we still have most of the 'old money', Telstra, BHP Billiton, NAB, ANZ, Coles Myer, Orica and the rest, based here.
So what if Sydney has the asesthetic veneer on every glossy tourist poster. I'm not fussed by that. Sydney and Melbourne will always go back and forth in comparision to each other - 100 years ago the roles were reversed! What i'm asking is...does it really matter? Let the babies have their collective tourism bottle..big deal. :D

Blue

Good picture Tays

It's looking very impressive.

tays is proving to be a great photographer with a nice camera. Loving this building.

In regard to the tireless Sydney vs Melbourne "thang", i've been bloody giving constructive opinions for ages about how both cities have so much to offer and that both should hold their own, yet maintain a constructive relationship.

Not many on the site have ever wanted to accept these things, instead choosing to still burden the rest of us with pointless conflict i.e. my pee-pee is bigger than yours type thing! :|

Thanks again for the pic tays!

OK, so I get carried away with myself from time to time - but please don't misunderstand this as a Melb vs. Sydney thing Museumb - I'm certainly not having a go at Sydney, or saying that I'm seething in jealousy that Melbourne's not plastered all over the Paris subway. It was just an observation.

What I am saying is that Melbourne has some very good things going for it right now that, if done well, in the future could make it a truely spectacular looking city - harbour or no harbour. It has a large, well planned CBD, a waterfront, a nicely developed river front and a more organic, messy style street pattern in it's second CBD, Southbank. It also has a bay, beaches and a few stunningly grand European style boulevards. Surrounded by hills and vineyards and with great parks and gardens you could say it has everything. It just looks a little 'patchy' at the moment, which is purely to do with it's age and the sheer size of it's development area. It's not confined like Sydney and so will take a lot longer to have the same visual impact that it's skline has at the moment. It just all needs to come together - fill all the holes. But let's not fill them with dull, unimaginative 'fillers' that will quickly date. It'd be a lost opportunity, that's all I'm saying.

(Basically, I was more having a go at 'Wardle' then either Sydney or Melbourne - and when it comes to individual architects I do acknowledge that it's all down to personal taste. I simply don't like his work)

I appreciate your thoughts Garmatt but I think youv'e been hypnotised a bit by those glossy and glitzy images . Melbourne's turning into a fantastic apple at the moment and Sydney's a grand orange . Fashions come and go and at the moment orange is the flavour of the month . Let's not become fashion victims blindly following whatever the ad industry ladles out on posters or on t.v. Let's look beyond this superficial marketing of "what's in now" and set our sights further along the horizon . Melbourne I believe is doing this right now and wardle's architecture and vibe is a step along the path towards the new horizon.

@ Garmatt. My last post re Sydney & Melbourne, was aimed at forumers in general. I understood what you were saying, but was more concerned about comments following that (and in other threads).

Anywho, i am openly envious but happy for Melbourne, that it is getting BHP Billiton - it is already one smart looking building. Grrrrrrr....

Well said, Museumb. It's human nature to resort to comparison, envy etc. No matter,contentment is more rewarding. With that its time for a guiness. :cheers:

Blue

Amidst all this constructive arguments.. thought I'd pop in a construction update..

QV Residental core has gone up another level.. its now showing Level 20 EXPOSED - ironically the same height as Eureka !!

The floor plates of QV Resi are still crawling - but they are definately doing work on them so this thing is S-L-O-W-L-Y getting there!

Meanwhile they were pouring Level 28 of BHP HQ today .. not sure if this will mean another core rise soon or that the core will be dismantled after it has set ...

level 20 exposed would put it not far from half-way point!

:rock:

tays

I think a core rise to expose 28, one more pour for 29, one more set, and then the core gantries will go.

Blue

Oh yeah, Derf, would it be possible to do a super slow time lapse sequence, say, 3 or 4 shots a day of that Port Melbourne view, spanning a period of months? That way you could actually SEE the cores rise out of the ground...
Oh yah, the Eureka core is now visible from Richmond Station.
:yes: :rock:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv1002031.jpg

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv1002032.jpg

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv1002033.jpg

From the base of 120 C:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/bhp1502031.jpg

From between RMIT Business, Council House and Historic CBA building ;)

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/bhp1502032.jpg

thought it was time for some different angles :D

tays

Once again, a reminder of the BHP Billiton HQ Render:

________http://www.skyscrapers.com/files/transfer/6/2002/09/160210.jpg

@ tayser,

This is one of my many faves of your's, if not my fave of your's todate. Initially you posted it under the heading of "Wall of Skyscrapers" in the Skyscraper & Skylines' section. I am even going to make it my desktop wallpaper.

Just a great angle termination @ the end of Lonsdale where Nicholson St meets Vic. Pde.....just beautiful architectural photography, you gifted guy/forumer:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv1002033.jpg

that is a great pic.

also by 2005/6 Urban Workshop(150m) will slide right in between Telstra Tower, which u can just see, and Casseldon Place.

Cheers

Dean - Melbourne

gifted ? lol - as I said in another thread, I just worked out where I've seen a pic like that taken before by silvermb :D

tays

more details on the "goods" of QV:

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,5989095%255E2862,00.html

QV lane to be a hub of fashion
By CHRIS TINKLER, Urban affairs reporter
16feb03

MELBOURNE'S city centre is to have a major new fashion strip showcasing clothes from some of the world's leading designers and brands.

The 80m-long fashion lane of about 25 shops is being developed as part of the $600 million QV development on the former Queen Victoria Hospital site.
Details of the strip and plans for a a major Melbourne pub at the new retail, commercial and residential hub on the city block bounded by Swanston, Lonsdale, Russell and Little Lonsdale streets were revealed this week.

The fashion lane will run east from Swanston St, above the intersection with Lonsdale St, into the centre of the sprawling site.

Prestige names such as Wayne Cooper, Burberry stockist Christensen Copenhagen and shirt designer Herringbone had signed in-principle agreements to move into the lane, QV retail manager Paul Tuddenham said.

Another world-renowned name should soon be confirmed for the lane's gateway store in Swanston St.

Deals were expected to be locked in for 11 chains or designers by the end of March, he said.

The fashion strip, expected to open in September, will be named Albert Coates Lane in honour of a World War I stretcher-bearer who became a leading Melbourne surgeon.

Mr Coates' contribution to the medical profession has been described as rivalling that of World War II hero Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop.

"As a fashion centre, we expect Albert Coates Lane to rival Chapel St here and Oxford St in Sydney," Mr Tuddenham said.

CUB has lifted the lid on plans for a two-level upmarket brew bar at QV.

Stewart Wheeler, manager of Young and Jackson's and the QV project, said CUB's hospitality arm, ALH, was pumping $3 million into the bar, outdoor areas on both levels and a towering brewery.

The unnamed venue, being developed as one of CUB's key national hotels, would sell about 20 brews.

Its function rooms would be equipped with conference technology, including Internet access.

"It will be the beer connoisseur's bar," Mr Wheeler said.

The ground level bar will extend into QV Square public open space in the centre of the development.

The Grocon/ING Real Estate development will include six laneways, a giant food court, the almost complete 28-level BHP Billiton Tower and 44-storey and 12-storey apartment towers.

Of 46,000 sq m of retail space, about 55 per cent is leased. Other major tenants include Big W, Safeway and Harvey Norman/Domayne.

Initially, 1900 construction workers will tackle the project, with 6000 expected to have been employed when the project is completed by mid next year.

Well its finally happened! One last core rise on Friday/Saturday and we have now reached Level 29 - which almost certaintly means the core has finished rising..

They will probably pour the actual Level 29 then start removing the core box this week..

People keep talking about plant levels rising up further over this but from all renderings I've seen looks to have a fairly flat roof ..

Anyway as I was saying to the guys on friday.. for a 130m tower it certaintly makes a huge impact from many angles around the city! Quite the gap filler ..

The closer that the BHP Biliton building gets to completion, the more it reminds me of the ICI building in Nicholson Street. So 1950s retro.

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by A-brain </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Well its finally happened! One last core rise on Friday/Saturday and we have now reached Level 29 - which almost certaintly means the core has finished rising..

They will probably pour the actual Level 29 then start removing the core box this week..

People keep talking about plant levels rising up further over this but from all renderings I've seen looks to have a fairly flat roof ..

Anyway as I was saying to the guys on friday.. for a 130m tower it certaintly makes a huge impact from many angles around the city! Quite the gap filler ..</td></tr>
</table>

I don't think it will see the core rise any more level, but the LMR which is level 29 will be a large single storey box on the roof, from what I saw of the model that was on TV.

At the moment the top of level 28 is only slightly higher than Celcius House which is 110m (probably around 112m for 28 levels at 4 metres per floor). so the level 29 LMR will have to be around 15 metres higher than the roof of level 28 to reach 127m.

Maybe old news to melbournians, but I noticed that the www.qv.com.au website has been upgraded from when I last saw it. Finally, I understand what is actually going into this project:) Of all the melbourne mega projects underway, from an outsiders view, this has been the most frustrating one to understand EXACTLY what they are doing there, considering its massive size....... but I still can't tell what the whole thing will look like!!

http://www.qv.com.au/photos/18.jpg

presumably, there is more information at the on site displays, but this is about the best I have seen on what the whole project is about:

http://www.qv.com.au/images/3dlanemap.gif

.....not very descriptive - does anybody know what the other low rise residential / commercial buildings look like?? Is there a model or renderings anywhere of the whole development???

i seem the remember brisbane copping alot of shit from victorians when a big W opened at mcarthur central, them saying oh its so stingy melbourne will never get one of those, were so classy, now look big W is coming to QV !!!

btw i though there were like 4 resi towers ?
also the lanes within a shopping mall seem to be the lattest hit in melb with this and melb central !

will the core be always exposed on BHP on the side ?
i thought all buildings had the core in the middle ?

i seem the remember brisbane copping alot of shit from victorians when a big W opened at mcarthur central, them saying oh its so stingy melbourne will never get one of those, were so classy, now look big W is coming to QV !!!

Troll elsewhere please. No-one cares, go look for a reaction somewhere else would be my advice.

btw i though there were like 4 resi towers ?

Nope only two.

also the lanes within a shopping mall seem to be the lattest hit in melb with this and melb central !

Depends on how you define a "mall" there's been lanes in shopping precincts here, umm... years ? They're just keeping to the tradition by building them in the new centres....

will the core be always exposed on BHP on the side ?

No-one knows

i thought all buildings had the core in the middle ?

well obviously not.

_______________

Fountainhead: thanks for that, they must have done the website update recently, I certainly havent seen it.

moreover the lanes are coming along ( from the site)

Albert Coates Lane
http://www.qv.com.au/images/photos/Albert%20Coates.jpg

Jane Bell Lane
http://www.qv.com.au/images/photos/Jane%20Bell.jpg

tays

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by tayser </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Troll elsewhere please. No-one cares, go look for a reaction somewhere else would be my advice.
tays</td></tr>
</table>

pffffffft double standards
one set of rules for the victorians and one set of rules for the rest
abit like the VF opps AFL
:rotf:

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by chrisaus </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top><table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by tayser </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Troll elsewhere please. No-one cares, go look for a reaction somewhere else would be my advice.
tays</td></tr>
</table>

pffffffft double standards
one set of rules for the victorians and one set of rules for the rest
abit like the VF opps AFL
:rotf:</td></tr>
</table>

wrong again.

What level is QV1 at?? and how high is that going to get to? It is going to be higher then BHP isn't it??

thanks

QV's core is currently showing Level 20 exposed and 1 more in the core.. with about 44 floors in total.

It will be a bit taller than BHP in official height and also sits higher up the slope so should stand a few stories taller..

how many shops in total ?

any renders of the melb central upgrade ?

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by A-brain </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>QV's core is currently showing Level 20 exposed and 1 more in the core.. with about 44 floors in total.

It will be a bit taller than BHP in official height and also sits higher up the slope so should stand a few stories taller..</td></tr>
</table>

Thanks for the info A-brain! I love this forum the question is always anwered! So many people know what they are talking about!

can anyone tell me how high in metres the each building will be....44 floors sounds very high

my guess would be
BHP @ 130m
QV1 @ 130m
QV2 @ 38m

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by chrisaus </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>my guess would be
BHP @ 130m
QV1 @ 130m
QV2 @ 38m</td></tr>
</table>

QV2 at 38 meters? Are you sure? Oh darn it's my bad eye, I could have sworn I saw it at like 37 meters!! :rant:

QV from Queen Vic Market

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_2003_02_17=9.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_2003_02_17.JPG

QV2 with 250E in the background starting to get its new colours
http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_2003_02_17=2.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_2003_02_17=4.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_2003_02_17=6.JPG

BHP appears really tall close up.

aye, was looking very very large (not height but BULK) from level 15 of RMIT Business today :)

great pics silvermb!

tays

I love that first shot, particularly with Nonda's lowrise building in the foreground lining up his argus building and with melb central in the background:D

The new QV web-site is up and running now with some great development pics. Check it out at http://www.qv.com.au/.

Cheers
Homer

thanks for that homer, I just went to John Wardles site from the QV site, and got his profile.pdf........ got a few nice renderings of towers that are U/C atm too (mainly UW!)

tays

I had a look at the photo's on the website. I can say they are very good and show the construction of the site pretty well.

Too true Fabian - nice 'n clear. Alsmost 20 construction pics in all.

The Psycho House on the Hill look:

http://www.qv.com.au/photos/9.jpg

Was in Fitzroy today...Skyline to the north! I could see all the talls! And guess who was poking its big head up! Yes QV! I was amazed I could see it above all the houses trees etc!

The new QV site is great with those constuction shots! They should update the ones on other constuction sites..eg Eureka..Althought we have quite a few photos ourselves.

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Fabian </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>I had a look at the photo's on the website. I can say they are very good and show the construction of the site pretty well.</td></tr>
</table>

wow, i learn so many new things from your posts:D

i just had a good look at the website
looks like an impressive project, though i think the lanes might have a 'fake' feeling to them compared to the current lanes...
is coles express and the new safeways the CBD's only supermarkets ?

BHP-Billiton has really taken its place in the skyline. This is the view from the new massive Edgewater estate looking past Vue Apartments in Flemington- the best views in Melbourne!

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/edgewater_2003_02_23.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/edgewater_2003_02_23=2.JPG

BHP and QVR have plugged a big hole and SX will really give the area more height. In five years the skyline would be just about doubled. Im only disappointed the Bunnings 50L tower never got up, would have given 387 Collins a friend in the middle.

nice....

what's the Edgewater estate include ? just normal houses or a mix ?

tays

Edgewater estate, mostly houses but there are some apartments. Also includes a man-made lake to allow for ferries and there are 2 restaurants planned. The average house is about 500-600k so it's not cheap but the views are sensational.

The whole area around Maribrynong is really taking shape. It looks great. Plus there's an $18 million Gym being bulit close by.

Homer

woo hoo
i just got the QV magazine in the mail
it has some renderings inside
:)

great pic from realestate.com.au:

http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/9514/1609514bl1044854716.jpg

even though it's unrelated an accompanying pic looking the other way:

http://www.realestate.com.au/objects/props/9514/1609514cl1044854716.jpg

tays

Went past QV today it certainly starting to look massive also looking along Russel St from Bourke you can get a better perspective of the size of BHP.
Im a little disapointed with the design though, not much flair could have been built in the 1970s

Hi Guys..

Slow but sure progress down at QV Residential. The Core has just risen again to Level 22 (I think thats in the core) ..

Meanwhile the floorplates are ever so slowly rising, but I tell you I don't blame them for the lethargy.. already looking at it you can start to see the really tricky angles and bits that stick out ..

I think the Resi might just be a looker of a building!

yep re: core rise, took heaps of pics yesterday of it, anyhow did a stitch and came up with this:

sorry, it's a large pic :D

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/testest.jpg

tays

V.V.Nice stich there tays! Captures both main cores beautifully ...

You can see there the first 'regular' (though irregular in shape) residental floor of QV, above the 7 floors of retail/carpark below it (inc ground and an invisible 1st floor) ..

The BHP core box really should be coming off any day now methinks.. always a bittersweet day to see the corebox come off a tower !!

So there was a core rise in the tower next to BHP?

Indeed yes. The core of the Wardle Tower is finally on its way up, now that the podium floorplates below are nearing completion, getting ready for the residential floorplates themselves. Here comes fun!

Blue the Bracksie hater

this pic was dark to begin with, so why the hell not make it greyscale (B/W) ? :)

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv0303031.jpg

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv0303032.jpg

I'm walking past it every day on my way to work, I think it's fantastic, very impossing, I love it...

What are they going to do with the concrete sides of the core? Simply paint? or something else?

I am gonna so have to get into the city and check all this out... I think some time early next week a hike around town is in order :)

MG2

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by kasperluke </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>What are they going to do with the concrete sides of the core? Simply paint? or something else?</td></tr>
</table>

If you look *really* closely at the bottom of the core next to the base of the crane you'll see some glass cladding exactly like the rest of the exterior! So in other words we'll most likely see all of the core clad in fake glass..

D'oh, just dawned on me, I keep confusing myself with the resi and commercial tower, I always think of the "balcony-like" things sticking out the Northern Facade of BHP as actual balconies, then I just realised they're T-HQ-like sunshades

bwahah *slaps himself*

anyhow...

carry on ;)

tays

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Bluestar </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Indeed yes. The core of the Wardle Tower is finally on its way up, now that the podium floorplates below are nearing completion, getting ready for the residential floorplates themselves. Here comes fun!

Blue the Bracksie hater</td></tr>
</table>

Wardle tower mixed use?

How tall will this be?

The Wardle Tower (Not its real name of course) is all residential - John Wardle's first fair dinkum foray into the highrise market, at least here in Melbourne. It's going to be a fraction taller than BHPHQ next door, but is actually 48 floors opposed to BHP's 29 (30?), thanks to the smaller FL to CL distances.

Blue

It's 132m to roof.

BHP is 127m

The other three buildings on the site are around 40m/13 levels or so.

Cheers

Dean - Melbourne

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/sx_qvsite_2003_03_06.JPG

knew it was going to be a fair whack taller than Celcius house ;)

anyhow, more press:

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/02/1046540069354.html

Council to reap $53m from Queen Victoria deal
March 3 2003
By William Birnbauer
City Editor



Cash-rich Melbourne City Council stands to reap more than $53 million soon from the sale of the mid-city Queen Victoria Hospital site to developer Grocon.

Even though the $600 million development of the city block is well advanced, Grocon will not own the site until May under a deal with the council.

Grocon agreed to pay the council a bank-guaranteed interest rate of about 9 to 9.5 per cent from May 2000 rather than take immediate title to the land. The interest payments total about $13 million.

The Grocon payment will boost the council's cash holdings to an estimated $157.3 mil-lion by the end of the financial year.

"It was a strategic move by the previous council that has secured the council's financial position," the chairman of the council's finance committee, Kevin Chamberlin, said.

Lord Mayor John So said: "It is a very good return for the ratepayers, you would never be able to get that sort of return with money in the bank."

One option being considered by the council is to use $46 million to build new, environmentally leading edge offices in Little Collins Street for 900 staff.

But some property experts question whether the council should be involved in property development, particularly when office space and competitive leases are available in the city.

The experts, who did not want to be identified, pointed to previous property developments by councils in Frankston and Maribyrnong which have been financial disasters. They say the money from the Queen Victoria site could be used to hold rates and provide services.

"Why build more space when you could absorb some space in the city and not put taxpayers' money at risk," one said.

But Cr Chamberlin said the only people critical of the proposal were developers who had office space to lease in the city. "Their criticisms clearly are not objective," he said.

Cr So said the council had financial analysis that showed the new council headquarters would "return positively back to the ratepayers".

The council plans to house most of its employees in new $85 million offices at the site of Collins House in Little Collins Street, where staff are now in an ageing building. The five-star energy-rated building is planned to be a showcase of the latest environmentally sustainable innovations.

The council is also believed to be examining options involving Council House, a nearby car park and the Commonwealth Bank building it owns in Bourke Street. These include selling, refurbishing or developing these properties.

The Queen Victoria block, bordered by Lonsdale, Swanston, Little Lonsdale and Russell streets, has been a bombsite for years. It was vacated in 1988 after the relocation of the Queen Victoria Hospital to the Monash Medical Centre in Clayton.

In a complicated deal, the council bought the 1.8-hectare site from the Republic of Nauru for about $39 million in 1997 and took possession in 1999.

Melbourne City Council anticipates collecting about $2.5 million in rates from the QV development once it is fully occupied, expected to be in the third quarter of this year.

The QV development will include 59,000 square metres of office space, incorporating the new BHP Billiton head office, and 45,000 square metres of retail space, with Woolworths, Big W, Harvey Norman/Domayne and Collins Bookstores. There will be 2000 car spaces and 594 apartments.

for mine, QV is at its most interesting stage

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030312=7.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030312=2.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030312=3.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030312.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030313.JPG

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030313=01.JPG

framing for the glass lips over the sidewalk taking shape
http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030313=10.JPG

first floor of the uneven residential levels has been poured, slightly different 2nd level taking shape. The changes will be more visible as the tower increases.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030313=09.JPG

The current rendering from the QV web site @ www.qv.com.au of John Wardle Architects' QV1 residential tower:

___________http://www.qv.com.au/images/qv1.jpg

fairly safe to say that that current render you posted museumb is what's actually going up - the model is just the same.... I think whatever "myth" that everyone was talking about re: designs of QV are pretty much dispelled now.

A Slab with a mad-arsed canopy & a err "different" 40 or so level residential tower lol :D

tays

wow, for over 400ft high The BHP tower sure does look massive! whats its dimensions.?
Its sad that the QV res tower will now never be the tallest residential tower in Melbourne as its now at level 22, and Eureka is now at lv 24. Do you think it will open before Eureka?

Fantastic shots Tayser.

Love the look of the new lanes in QV - soooo Melbourne. And I can't help but keep noticing the similarity between BHP Biliton building and one of our oldest skyscrapers - the ICI Building on the corner of Nicholson Street.

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by CULWULLA </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>wow, for over 400ft high The BHP tower sure does look massive! whats its dimensions.?
Its sad that the QV res tower will now never be the tallest residential tower in Melbourne as its now at level 22, and Eureka is now at lv 24. Do you think it will open before Eureka?</td></tr>
</table>

easily! :guns1:

Phillip: I'm flattered, but they're silvermb's pics LOL :D

tays

EDIT: took this today - note: dont use digital zoom in future:

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv1703031.jpg

BHP is barely making an impact on the skyline. Thats disappointing. It looks pretty tall close-up.

I'm sure this has been asked many a times, but out of all the towers part of QV is the BHP building to tallest?

And secondly, will the towers be joined in anyway? or only at plinth level.

I love going past the development when I'm in the city, it's at a really interesting/exciting stage.


James.

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Fabian </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>BHP is barely making an impact on the skyline. Thats disappointing. It looks pretty tall close-up.</td></tr>
</table>

It is actually making a huge impact from some angles! From the south it makes a bump in that 'gap' you keep talking about! It does look dwarfed with the other talls! But is is far from lost!!!

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Fabian </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>BHP is barely making an impact on the skyline. Thats disappointing. It looks pretty tall close-up.</td></tr>
</table>

It is actually making a huge impact from some angles! From the south it makes a bump in that 'gap' you keep talking about! It does look dwarfed with the other talls! But is is far from lost!!!

Have a look at this thread and you'll see what i mean by bump!http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27277

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Fabian </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>BHP is barely making an impact on the skyline. Thats disappointing. It looks pretty tall close-up.</td></tr>
</table>
I was just about to say the same thing. When I look at it from Toorak, you can't see it at all. It will nto make a huge impact to the skyline. It should have been twice the present height. Oh well. Something is better then nothing I guess.

Depends on your angle. There seems to be a decent impact from Coburg - I would say that both towers will impact most effectively in two broad arcs from say, Epping to Sunbury, and an equivalent arc on the other side.

Joed: Wardles tower will end up being a fraction taller than BHP. The two towers are only connected structurally by the podium, which appears to be carparking anyway.

Blue

Thanks Bluestar.

Sword fights galore! :D :guns1: :)

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv1803031.jpg

btw, look at the BHP core in that pic - no more green triangles, not far from corebox being removed you reckon ?

tays

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by CULWULLA </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>wow, for over 400ft high The BHP tower sure does look massive! whats its dimensions.?
Its sad that the QV res tower will now never be the tallest residential tower in Melbourne as its now at level 22, and Eureka is now at lv 24. Do you think it will open before Eureka?</td></tr>
</table>
What do you mean? Republic Tower is way taller than either at the moment. And it's clear to us now that the BHP peel back canopy is a massive con...looks pretty bloody boring to me, and the "peel back" isn't going to be real...it's going to be drawn onto the canopy (at least that's what they've done on the facade bit). I hope that they prove me wrong...but that steel frame for the canopy looks dodgy as...BHP is a shit design IMHO. They've gone from 140 William to 120 Collins and Bourke Place...and now this disappointing piece of crapology.

Re impact on skyline...GO TO CARLTON and have a look at the city from Melb Uni (try, for instance, the new law building...go up to levels 3 and 6 and check out the window in the lift foyer or any of the classrooms. From there, BHP makes a MASSIVE difference...for all youse who lurve gap filling.

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by tayser </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Sword fights galore! :D :guns1: :)
btw, look at the BHP core in that pic - no more green triangles, not far from corebox being removed you reckon ?
tays</td></tr>
</table>
Sorry Tays, there are still 3 green triangles there today as I walked outside for lunch.

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Blabbyboy </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top><table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by CULWULLA </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>wow, for over 400ft high The BHP tower sure does look massive! whats its dimensions.?
Its sad that the QV res tower will now never be the tallest residential tower in Melbourne as its now at level 22, and Eureka is now at lv 24. Do you think it will open before Eureka?</td></tr>
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What do you mean? Republic Tower is way taller than either at the moment. And it's clear to us now that the BHP peel back canopy is a massive con...looks pretty bloody boring to me, and the "peel back" isn't going to be real...it's going to be drawn onto the canopy (at least that's what they've done on the facade bit). I hope that they prove me wrong...but that steel frame for the canopy looks dodgy as...BHP is a shit design IMHO. They've gone from 140 William to 120 Collins and Bourke Place...and now this disappointing piece of crapology.

Re impact on skyline...GO TO CARLTON and have a look at the city from Melb Uni (try, for instance, the new law building...go up to levels 3 and 6 and check out the window in the lift foyer or any of the classrooms. From there, BHP makes a MASSIVE difference...for all youse who lurve gap filling.</td></tr>
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yeah i understand Blabby! The 120m Republic Tower has been tallest residential tower since 1999 but it will loose its "tallest residential in melb" to the 132m QV residential tower!! this year sometime! yes?
or is Eurekas core counted as the bldg which means QV will never be the tallest?
I think what ever bldg is first to open is the next title holder, which will be QV!!

Also i think 127m BHP has topped out? so its taller than the 120m Republic tower ! yes?.

:)

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Blabbyboy </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top><table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by CULWULLA </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>wow, for over 400ft high The BHP tower sure does look massive! whats its dimensions.?
Its sad that the QV res tower will now never be the tallest residential tower in Melbourne as its now at level 22, and Eureka is now at lv 24. Do you think it will open before Eureka?</td></tr>
</table>
What do you mean? Republic Tower is way taller than either at the moment. And it's clear to us now that the BHP peel back canopy is a massive con...looks pretty bloody boring to me, and the "peel back" isn't going to be real...it's going to be drawn onto the canopy (at least that's what they've done on the facade bit). I hope that they prove me wrong...but that steel frame for the canopy looks dodgy as...BHP is a shit design IMHO. They've gone from 140 William to 120 Collins and Bourke Place...and now this disappointing piece of crapology.

Re impact on skyline...GO TO CARLTON and have a look at the city from Melb Uni (try, for instance, the new law building...go up to levels 3 and 6 and check out the window in the lift foyer or any of the classrooms. From there, BHP makes a MASSIVE difference...for all youse who lurve gap filling.</td></tr>
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I think that we still have to wait and see how BHP turns out, it is still U/C. At the moment it looks dirty and untidy. The second, inner, layer of glass has not yet been installed, the subfloor areas can still be seen from outside the building and the internal coulums and fittings are still unfinished so it looks pretty crap right now.

The second layer of glass, along with the canopy, will make a huge difference and they are the key features of the building.

<img src="http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/dandaman/scrapers/naurutop (2).jpg">

holy fuck that came out well!

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<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by tayser </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>holy fuck that came out well!</td></tr>
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yeah i agree! one of the best shots of the site ive seen

This week's new wallpaper dan :okay: (maybe fornight's)!

:) I've got a higher resolution one if you want it for background.
<a href="http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/dandaman/scrapers/nauru (8).jpg">Its here.</a> 700k! eek

Check out the protestors infront of the state libary!
<img src="http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/dandaman/scrapers/protestors.jpg">

Will somebody please get up Metier 3's new law building in Carlton (take a tram up Swanston from Melb Central or RMIT, get off at Lincoln Square and walk across to it), go up to level 6 and take some digi photos to see the impact from the north...you guys are missing out on this FREE and unique skyline view BIG-TIME! QV stands out huge from the north, and you get total skyline panorama. Best views from the lift foyer and classrooms on level 6 (when there aren't any classes). Even if there are, just walk in like you own the place...it's a uni ffs!

There is more work being undertaken on the BHP WHQ canopy over Lonsdale Street. Its taking shape rather well in my opinion.

Blabbyboy: you in town next week ? I'm less busy that week, perhaps meet up and you can show us to the spot ? ;)

tays

"Density Mate... Density" (in the voice of Farouk from The Castle in those Commonwealth Bank ads..)

http://users.bigpond.net.au/speckled10/DSC00406.jpg

so true A-brain ;)

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv3103031.jpg

sorry silvermb, I stole another vantage point, can see why you took from there though...

I wont do it again, I PROMISE! lol :D

tays

FWIW the Wardle tower (Not its real name) rose another level in the past day, and what's the story with the office tower, has it's core risen or are they just getting ready to drop the core box off 'cos more concrete (and green traingles) got exposed the other day!
The retails section is starting to feel big now too, not tall but "Big" in a Swanston street way if that makes any sense.

yeah it does make sense ;)

they were also pouring the footpath (very wide) into the lane closest to the intersection of Swanno & Lonsdale today too.

This place is going to turn into miniature Tokyo...pedestrian density (maaate). This will become Melbourne's signature retail showpiece.

Blue

Well, between MC and QV, it's going to be great!

a bit crowded on Lt Lonsdale today

http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030403.JPG

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by BigVman </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>FWIW the Wardle tower (Not its real name) rose another level in the past day, and what's the story with the office tower, has it's core risen or are they just getting ready to drop the core box off 'cos more concrete (and green traingles) got exposed the other day!
The retails section is starting to feel big now too, not tall but "Big" in a Swanston street way if that makes any sense.</td></tr>
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Yeah I'll third that comment as well.... in fact looking at it yesterday I couldn't believe how big & even tall the middle section facing Swanston St is ... it looks almost as tall now as I thought John Wardle would be .. so John Wardle is definately gonna make a *huge* impact from the Swanston St perspective .. next to State library and all..

Can't wait for floorplates on Wardle tower to go up. BHP is a stinker IMHO, a real disappointment. Melb town could do without it!

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Blabbyboy </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Can't wait for floorplates on Wardle tower to go up. BHP is a stinker IMHO, a real disappointment. Melb town could do without it!</td></tr>
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I agree totally the more I see of it (BHP) the more I find it disappointing just another boring stumpy box! I dont know how our biggest and most prestigious company could be conned into renting this piece of crap.Their old building shits all over it.

begining to make an impact from the north...

http://home.iprimus.com.au/gnahas/bhp_qv.jpg

http://home.iprimus.com.au/gnahas/qv_exhibitionst-north.jpg

http://home.iprimus.com.au/gnahas/bhp_vicst.jpg

great pics stav!

tays

whats going to happen to the core ? will it be covered by glass :?

I think the plan is to cover it in Panda fur. They are stitching the pelts together as we speak.

Either that or most of the core will disappear behind the resi tower and the rest will be coated in glass.

Not sure which I'd prefer...

Cheers,

Adam

:dj: :banana:

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by Blabbyboy </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Can't wait for floorplates on Wardle tower to go up. BHP is a stinker IMHO, a real disappointment. Melb town could do without it!</td></tr>
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I still reserve judgement until it is capped off and finished with foyer in place as well.. and *also* when the rest of the precinct is finsihed..

We won't really be able to judge it until we see how it fits into the complex as a whole..

I can see BHP minus half a core box from my house this morning.

yarp - was only half there this morning at 8:30, I'll take some pics after this test I'm supposed to be doing right now

mahuah ;)

tays

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv0704031.jpg

http://members.iinet.net.au/~tayser/qv0704032.jpg

<table cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=98% class="quoteBox">
<td align=left valign=center> <smallfont> <b>Quote</B> <I>originally posted by tayser </i></b> </smallfont> </td>
<tr><td align=left valign=top>Blabbyboy: you in town next week ? I'm less busy that week, perhaps meet up and you can show us to the spot ? ;)

tays</td></tr>
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Oops, didn't read this post till now! You know how to contact me...!

So I assume BHP has topped out and they are getting rid of the corebox?

thats as wide as QV residential levels will get, now just add another 115m.
http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_200304081.JPG

glass up the middle of the core
http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030408=09.JPG

last time we'll see three cores
http://home.iprimus.com.au/revlis81/qvsite_20030408=17.JPG

Luv those shots silvermb - particularly your first one. I've never seen it from that vantage point before. Which building did you get it from? Was it the bureau of meteorology?