The Building will feature Anodised highlight panels in Matt Envy and will add to the skyline of quality buildings in Melbourne’s CBD that feature Sapphire’s striking anodised finishes including RMIT’s SAB Building, Federation Square and Yarra Edge Tower 5.
A new home for the Institute
The redevelopment of 41 Exhibition Street, the Institute’s premises in Melbourne, began late last year with the demolition of the existing building, and will continue throughout 2012 as the new building rises on the site. While essentially a simple commercial office tower, 41 Exhibition Street will be a fundamental statement about the Institute and Australian architecture and will be exemplar in form, function and sustainability.
The project’s inception dates back to 2006, when National Council commissioned consultants to prepare a detailed feasibility study for the site, encompassing a range of potential options for its future. These options varied from renovation to relocation and were debated at length. In 2008, after extensive and rigorous consultation, National Council decided that the site would be redeveloped into a small office tower that would set the standards in Australian architecture.
Following a two-stage design competition, the commission to design the building was awarded to Lyons with a concept that explored ideas about the hybrid public/commercial building, the engagement of the Institute with the public and creating a benchmark sustainability project. Hickory Group, one of Australia’s largest building companies, is managing the build. They have been involved in some of Melbourne’s most recent innovative projects, including 50 Albert Rd in South Melbourne, Vogue in South Yarra, ARK in Richmond and Little Hero Apartments in Melbourne’s CBD.
41 Exhibition Street is an exemplar redevelopment that will lead the market by showing how a very small CBD site can be transformed to deliver a high quality, highly sustainable, innovative commercial building. It will be a centre for architecture in Victoria, both literally as the Institute’s headquarters, and symbolically.
