The unique sloping roof is made of prefabricated connected modules, each roof bay comprised of modules assembled offsite, the panels sized to fit the trailer of a truck for maximum efficiency. The panels will be installed from top of the slope to the bottom, with the first bays successfully completed.

Once installed, the final portion of the roof will soar high above the last habitable floor, leaving a quadruple-height space on the top-floor tenancy.

“The roof modules had to be craned from Wurundjeri Way, several levels below actual ground, all the way to level 34,” says Woods Bagot Principal and project leader Hazel Porter. “Each panel is placed by crane with extreme precision under very tight tolerance –it’s quite an incredible feat.”

The top of the tower has seven cascading tenant levels with eight-metre-wide skylights overhead. Each skylight has tiny louvres installed in the air gap of the double glazing to prevent direct sunlight from overheating the space.

“The sweeping roof design is fitted with six giant skylights, embedded with custom louvres for maximum natural light,” says Associate Principal David Christie. “Beneath the curved roof, the terraced floorplates provide dramatic volumes with unparalleled views of the CBD –it’s truly a space like nothing else in Melbourne.”

A specialised building maintenance unit (BMU) needed to be developed to navigate the steep, helical twist of the roof surface. The unit will drive down the centre the roof on running gear similar to the coaster wheels of a rollercoaster on a track, complete with a self-levelling platform.  

“Reaching the final heights of Melbourne Quarter Tower brings us one step closer to completing the third and final next-generation commercial building of the vibrant Melbourne Quarter precinct that has been regenerating this area of Docklands for nearly ten years,” says Lendlease project director Christopher Munn. 

“Located on Collins Street and opposite Southern Cross Station, Melbourne Quarter Tower offers excellent connectivity and is being built to target the highest international standards in wellness and sustainability with highly flexible workspaces and an environment where progressive organisations and their people can thrive.

“The delivery of Melbourne Quarter Tower will see the completion of exceptional public amenity and activated places in the precinct, including the city’s first elevated sky park – a spectacular green space for office workers and visitors to enjoy.”

Melbourne Quarter Tower completes the 2.5-hectare urban regeneration precinct at the west end of Melbourne’s CBD. Straddling Wurundjeri Way, Melbourne Quarter Tower realises one of the key urban objectives of the master plan, bridging a gap in the built form on Collins Street, which connects the CBD and Docklands, continuing the city grain.

“The precinct bridges Collins Street as both a destination and a passageway, connecting Docklands with the heart of the city,” says Porter.

“We made great use of the site’s volumetric titles, building the tower directly over a freeway that was taking up valuable inner-city space,” Christie adds. 

The curved, west-facing façade distinguishes the latest tower from One Melbourne Quarter and Two Melbourne Quarter, the curvilinear form responding to the site conditions. Its concave face addresses the ‘village’ of Melbourne Square, carving out a sheltered cove for the heart of the precinct, and the convex face expresses a robust form back towards the city.

The podium – comprising the retail base build and the Sky Park – creates a visually varied composition with an activated street edge, while in the tower component, a textured facade is designed to present a different appearance on each elevation. Above Melbourne Quarter Tower’s arrival space – a double-height glazed lobby set between retail outlets – the building will house 69,000 square metres of workspace.

Melbourne Quarter Tower, the third and final commercial tower in the precinct, will complete the final phase of the elevated Sky Park. The precinct also includes two residential towers (one completed and the other proposed) and a mixed-use wellness annex.  

With the addition of Melbourne Quarter Tower, the Melbourne Quarter precinct will be home to over 14,000 employees workers. The completion of Melbourne Quarter Tower will also facilitate the opening of the precinct’s Wellness Building, public square, and Sky Park.

Melbourne Quarter Tower is forecast for completion in mid-2024.

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Isla Sutherland
Content and Communications Specialist (Australia & New Zealand)