Occupying an entire city block, and standing at over 300 metres tall, Eureka Tower, designed by our sister studios, Fender Katsalidis, is one of the tallest residential buildings in the world — and a Melbourne icon.
Drawing on local history
Eureka Tower comprises 576 apartments, and has a five-level podium featuring a hotel, boutique office space, additional apartments, commercial car parking, hospitality facilities and retail tenancies, while a north-south arcade and adjoining garden plaza connect pedestrians to the Yarra River and the Melbourne CBD beyond. The tower is named after the Eureka Stockade, a rebellion during the Victorian gold rush in 1854. This local history has been incorporated into the design, with the building's gold crown signifying the gold rush, and the red stripe blood spilt during the revolt. The blue glass cladding to the majority of the building represents the blue background of the stockade's flag, and the white lines the Eureka Stockade flag, while the white horizontal stripes are used to represent markings on a surveyor's measuring staff.
A sculptural centrepiece
Contemporary art is infused into the building's fabric and includes a monumental Richard Stringer installation at the base of the tower, containing bees inside a white box, resembling a manmade beehive. The gold colour of the bees complements the golden top of the tower, and is also a metaphor the building as a 'hive' of frenetic activity and harmonious high-density city living. The tower's form is also informed by art and the ambition to create an ever-changing sculptural marker for Melbourne
. The building’s asymmetric shoulders relate to the different scale of the east and west; and create a dramatic contrast to the recesses and rakes of the building, which terminates in a tapering gold crown.
Living the heart of the city's arts district
The building's angular orientation and footprint creates an inordinately high proportion of corner apartments, which offer expansive views over the river and over the city’s arts and cultural precinct. The building's prominent position also creates a new focal point and marker for this important cultural district, reaffirming the sense of art and culture as important ingredient in contemporary Melbourne.
A civic purpose
Eureka Tower makes a notable civic contribution to Melbourne due to the significant public observatory at its peak, which reveals dramatic vistas and previously unseen aspects of the city. In the years since its completion, Eureka Tower has become a magnet and new destination for Melburnians and tourists alike.
