Landmark Office Tower – 343 Albert Street, Brisbane City

A development application has been lodged for an Office Tower, located at 343 Albert Street, Brisbane City.

Designed by GMB Architects, the proposal seeks an office tower and centre activities (retail, food and beverage, gym, conference and childcare facilities) integrated into a mixed use development.

The building is located on corner of Albert and Turbot Street and considered to be a prominent landmark building based on its location to King George Square and Brisbane Live proposal within the City Centre.

The proposal will be integrated into a four (4) storey podium, with twenty six (26) stories of office space in the tower above. The proposal will have a maximum building height of 30 storey (147m in height) with the main building access from Albert and Turbot Street, with new plaza created between the Albert Street Uniting Church.

A 6 storey triangular feature truncation has been made to the building on the church frontage, seeking to retain views through a transparent podium design and finish.

Development Mix
– Retail 954sqm
– Child Centre (indoor) 390sqm
– Conference 1,093sqm
– Gym 502sqm
– Office 39,911sqm

The Design Report, prepared by GMB Architects states, “the redevelopment of the site will encompass the demolition of the existing 24 Storey tower and replacement with a new landmark 30 storey tower with multiple basement parking levels. The new tower will provide Premium grade office accommodation together with podium level public activity by way of retail, food & beverage, gymnasium, conference and childcare facilities.

 The new development will activate the street frontages along Turbot St and Albert St, including an extension of the existing green park from the west into the landscaped interior foyer, and a generous landscaped plaza shared with the adjacent heritage listed Albert Street Uniting Church. Together these new public spaces will activate the public realm and create a unique sense of place that compliments the existing Church and city context”.

Basements
The proposed development includes three (3) basement levels to accommodate access, parking and servicing requirements. 165 car park spaces (including 2 PWD) and 20 motorcycle spaces are provided as well as lift lobby areas, storage and services. Access is proposed via a retained existing vehicle access to Roma Street on Basement Level 1.

Podium
The inverted podium is presented as four (4) storeys, with all levels accessed via lifts/escalator from Albert Street public lobby entrance. Access is also provided from Turbot Street.

Retail is proposed on the Ground (First) and Second Floor, with a new public plaza connection between the Albert Street Uniting Church generating retail activation. Landscaping is provided, seeking to soften the building to the public plaza by retaining the boundary ramp, constructed green wall and street trees.

224 bicycle storage and end of trip facilities are provided to the rear of the Ground (First) floor, conference / training rooms are provided to the rear of the Second Floor and Floor 3 provides a child care centre.

Tower
The proposal seeks twenty six (26) levels of office space (1,700sqm floor plate).
The tower is broken into office level types
– Low Rise – Levels 5 – 10 (6 Levels)
– High Rise – Levels 11 – 20 (10 Levels)
– Sky Rise – Levels 21 – 30 (10 levels)

The planners at Urbis state, “the lower levels of the proposal include a significant chamfer which retains views of the Albert Street Uniting Church, and the use of a largely transparent first 4 levels of the building to introduce new views between the Albert Street Uniting Church and Brisbane Dental Hospital and College. Additionally, the diagonal elements within the façade treatment are a response of the adjoining gothic architecture in a modern form and create a uniform backdrop against which to celebrate the adjoining heritage element, rather than compete with it.”

The proposal is for a total gross floor area of 42,652sqm, with a total site cover of (54.8%) on the 3,520sqm site.

The Application Information and References
– Date Lodged 17 August 2017
– Council Reference: A004722828
– Address: 343 Albert Street, Brisbane City
– Zone: PC1 Principal centre (City centre)
– Neighbourhood Plan: City Centre
– Town Planning Report: Urbis
– Architecture Drawings: GMB Architects
– Landscape Concept Plan: Urbis

Source: Information, Drawings and Images
All article information is sourced and available for review from BCC pdonline or other referenced locations.