The 356m high skyscraper, which seems to wrap itself up, is expected to be built as from 2020.

The Australian city will have its own architectural sensation. In just over a year, the Green Spine should become the new emblem of the Australian city of Melbourne. The 356-metre-high skyscraper will extend 30 metres beyond the current highest building in Oceania, Q1, at Gold Coast, Queensland, on the Pacific Coast. Green Spine is part of the make-over of Southbank. This neighbourhood has the most cultural sites of Melbourne and is being transformed into a vibrant, liveable and healthy area.

Designed by the Dutch architectural firm UNStudio, in association with the Australian firm Cox Architecture, the building will be used for housing. A smaller tower (252m), but of the same design, will house offices, a hotel and restaurants. What’s unique, is that the two buildings will look as if they’re wrapping themselves up, which makes them look like a corkscrew. “This spine, which gives the towers a sculptural torsional silhouette, has been designed as an architectural element that can integrate a multitude of functions, explains Ben van Berkel, the founder of architecture firm UNStudio. In addition to apartments, we wanted to integrate nature into the building, in vertical steps. The building is crowned by a botanical garden accessible to the public.” The park will be accessible to the towers’ residents, but also to visitors. To emphasize its public character, the agency has planned a stage on the roof with a market, shops and entertainment.

In the line of plant towers

The two towers are part of an extensive development plan in the south of the city that organises the Australian Open. Both buildings will have facades mainly made of metal and glass. The spine will have balconies, terraces and tree gardens. Hanging parks and a botanical garden on top of the building will be open to the public.

Green Spine has a lot in common with the plant towers that have been built in recent years, such as the skyscrapers of The “Vertical Forest” designed by the Italian architect Stefano Boeri in Milan, Italy, or the White Tree, by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto in Montpellier, France.

Tags: Botanical Garden, Green Spine, Melbourne, plant towers, UNStudio