Brisbane City Council has granted Development Approval for the transformation of a 135-year old heritage building at Brisbane’s 320 George Street, Brisbane into a multi-use 30-storey commercial tower.
Owned by Lionmar Holdings, 320 George Street will boast 9,100 square metres of boutique commercial office space, three levels of restaurant space, apartments and 17 car parks, with a rooftop bar above.
At the building’s base, the fine dining restaurant will feature a three-storey open view to the city that provides diners with an indoor and outdoor experience.
Meanwhile, atop 320 George Street, the rooftop bar will boast prominent views across the Brisbane River to South Brisbane and through the CBD.
The development will also include an expansive 400 square metre city room and garden on level 14 – something which is becoming a normal integrated part of key CBD developments since the inception of BCC’s Building’s that Breathe Guide.
According to international multidisciplinary firm, Hames Sharley, the architects in charge of the redevelopment’s design, 320 George Street will likely be one of the narrowest high-rise buildings in the CBD.
Hames Sharley Principal, Jason Preston, who heads up the firm’s Brisbane studio, said the building’s narrowness meant the design needed to be innovative in dealing with the challenges of structural tension, compression and stability.
“At just nine and a half metres wide and 30 stories tall, we believe this would be the narrowest building of a comparable height in Brisbane,” Mr Preston said.
The building’s four lifts have been designed as a ‘side core’ to the west boundary wall. This means that 320 George Street will twist and sway differently to a traditional tower – which is usually anchored by a number of central lifts, stair cores and a larger floor plate.
Working closely in collaboration with Currie and Brown (project managers) and ADG (structural and façade engineers), Hames Sharley proposed a hybrid ‘exo-skeleton’ bracing system for the building, both as a structural necessity and to visually anchor the building, whilst retaining a typical continuous glazed curtain wall as the external skin.
The Grosvenor Hotel was originally built between 1881 and 1882. It was heritage listed due to its rarity, representativeness and special association.
Due to the building’s heritage listing, the façade will remain as a vital acknowledgement to the city’s history and will be restored appropriately.
Mr Preston said most of the interior heritage features were gutted in the 1980s when 320 George Street was rebuilt internally.
“There is existing original brickwork which has been covered in plaster during one of the past renovations,” he said.
“We are proposing to peel back the layers of render to expose the original brickwork internally in the lobby.”
Once complete, the tower is expected to earn a premium A-grade commercial development status due to its sustainability characteristics, high-end lobby finishes, express lifts and high performing services.
The design incorporates nationally recognised sustainability characteristics to ensure its long-term viability and performance in the Brisbane CBD.
Construction on the development is expected to commence before Christmas 2019.