Creating an exclusive office building for Melbourne’s CBD, this project creates approximately 58,000 square metres of PCA Premium Grade commercial space while integrating with its urban and heritage setting.

Set back from three heritage-listed buildings in Collins Street, collectively known as the ‘Olderfleet Buildings’, the 40-storey office tower rises in a configuration of modules that express the internal organisation of the building.

The tenant-focused design incorporates a ‘vertical village’ concept, with the tower split into three separate neighbourhoods which respond to specific tenant requirements providing them with a unique identity within the overall building.

Three expansive client floors with generous floor to floor heights and recessed external terraces are introduced between the neighbourhoods, further breaking down the mass of the tower and delineating vertical tenant neighbourhoods within the building.

At ground level, a permeable face to Collins Street creates an active urban frontage that leads to a soaring 25-metre high light-filled lobby and atrium while providing a through-site connection to Flinders Lane.

The resulting high-performance, thoughtful design is a valuable asset to Melbourne’s workplace architecture.

The initial design for Olderfleet was the result of an internal design charrette, which produced four distinct concepts from Grimshaw’s London, New York, Melbourne and Sydney offices.

Olderfleet is targeting a 5 Star Green Star rating, a 5 Star NABERS energy rating and a Platinum WELL Certification.

It was a two week design process and was a great chance to showcase Grimshaw’s international reach and diverse architectural solutions. Four very different designs were generated from the same practice and all held true to Grimshaw ideologies.

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw