Probuild, Golden Age Group announce topping out of Victoria One in Melbourne

Posted on November 26, 2017 by danieldschell

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Probuild's Victoria One project has topped out.

A post shared by Probuild (@probuildconstructions) on Nov 26, 2017 at 3:56pm PST

Three weeks ago, we took a look at Victoria One, the 75-story, 629-unit apartment tower being built in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. And now we get word via the Instagram photo above from Probuild that Victoria One has topped out at 452 Elizabeth street in the Central Business District.

That means hearty congratulations are in order for the Victoria One team, including Probuild, developer Golden Age Group, and design architects Elenberg Fraser.

Golden Age Group celebrated via Instagram as well:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb3gXnzlnEU/

**UPDATE: Probuild has issued a press release on the topping out:

Probuild’s Victoria One has successfully topped out as the tallest tower in the Melbourne’s CBD.

Victoria One’s structure commenced in April 2015 and after 699 working days and 18,800m³ of concrete, the level 77 slab was completed on the 23rd of November 2017.

This milestone continues the success and achievements previously set by the team after completing and handing over 232 apartments in June 2017. A further 98 apartments are to be handed over to the client before the end of 2017, which will take the total amount of completed and settled apartments to 330. Our team has been committed to delivering a high quality build, despite the complexity of this construction project.

Once completed, the project will feature 643 residential apartments, the largest car stacker in the southern hemisphere, 11.5km of façade fins and 22,500m² of glass façade with the total weight of the structure estimated to be around 54,000 tonnes.

: Victoria One rendering from Elenberg Fraser.

: Construction progress back in October, looking close to topping out.

: Victoria One, center, has just topped out.

The Best of Already-Built Melbourne: Light House

Posted on November 23, 2017 by danieldschell

Light House, right, and next-door neighbor Victoria One, left, combine for Melbourne’s finest one-two punch.

You’ve seen a lot of Australian construction photos here lately. But there comes a time when things need to be shaken up. Will I stop posting construction photos from other countries? Oh, heavens no, don’t be silly. I still have 100s of them to go through. What I mean is, it’s time you see the best of what Australia has already built.

And I mean The Best. I’m going straight to the best building from the first city we visited in Australia: Melbourne. This is Light House. What makes it my favorite? It’s tall (natch) and slender and shiny, with vertical striping that creates diagonal waves along the facades, and on clear days it’s bluer than the bluest seas.

Light House is a 69-story tower at 442 Elizabeth Street in the Central Business District. (“CBD” is a little redundant; I didn’t get out much beyond Melbourne’s CBD, so 99% of what I saw of the city is in the CBD.) Designed by (no surprise here) Elenberg Fraser, its 627 apartments overlook Queen Victoria Market, making it a fabulously convenient location. Light House is a development from Hengyi — we just took a look at their Swanston Central project — and was built by Multiplex. Work wrapped up in August, less than two months before our visit, so we just missed the grand opening.

13/10 would live here

Avant another skyscraper in Melbourne! And I always get what Avant.

Posted on November 22, 2017 by danieldschell

Avant reaches for sunlight in the high-rise forest of Melbourne’s CBD.

May Melbourne never stop building.

In a city that seems to have skyscrapers rising on every block, the especially-busy northwest section of Melbourne’s Central Business District is a construction lover’s dream. Let’s take a look at another project in the neighborhood.

Avant is a 55-story apartment tower at 54 A’Beckett Street (I need someone to explain the derivation of that street name; specifically, why there’s an initial, then an apostrophe.) Developed by the Singapore (talk about another bucket-list destination for me!) firm of World Class Global, Avant is yet another sparkling design by Elenberg Fraser, who keep cranking out one stunning building after another.

Avant will feature 456 apartments, with amenities included on floors 10 and 55. Probuild is the builder on this one. We’ve seen their work in Sydney and Gold Coast, too.

I don’t usually include a whole mess of renderings, but the images on Elenberg Fraser’s website of Avant are gorgeous, so here they all are: (construction photos in the 2nd gallery)

All renderings belong to www.pointilism.com.au

And now, the construction shots, which all belong to me 🙂

Swanston Central adds two tower cranes and 1,039 apartments to Melbourne’s skyline

Posted on November 16, 2017 by danieldschell

Swanston Central will deliver 1,039 new apartments to Melbourne.

We’re taking a flight back to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia today for a look at another big apartment tower.

Swanston Central will rise 72 stories at 168 Victoria Street in the Central Business District. It is being developed by Hengyi, a hometown Melbourne company with headquarters just a few blocks from the Swanston Central site. (On a side note, Hengyi developed one of my favorite towers from our entire Australian visit — Light House — which I hope to feature in a post soon.)

A couple familiar names are also involved on this project. One is architecture firm Elenberg Fraser, whose work we’ve seen at Victoria One and Aurora Melbourne Central. The other is builder Multiplex, who I haven’t stopped talking about since seeing their work at Jewel Residences in Gold Coast, and also saw at London’s One Blackfriars.

Swanston Central will contain a whopping 1,039 one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences, and will include parking and retail space.

: Swanston Central render from Elenberg Fraser.

: Swanston Central render from Elenberg Fraser.

Victoria One tower climbs into Melbourne’s CBD Skyline

Posted on November 7, 2017 by danieldschell

Victoria One, flanked by Vision Apartments (left) and Light House (right)

There’s a cluster of skyscrapers adjacent to Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market that I’d love to have in my own back yard. In our 4-city tour of Australia, Melbourne stands out for its willingness to build creative structures, especially tall ones. One such tower is Victoria One, at 452 Elizabeth Street in the Central Business District.

Victoria One rendering from Elenberg Fraser.

Developed by Golden Age Group, which has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Shanghai, Victoria One will be 75 stories high, with 629 apartments to both rent and own. Another design by Elenberg Fraser, an architecture firm we “met’ when profiling Aurora Melbourne Central, Victoria One is being built by Probuild, providing yet another connection to Aurora.

**As for those other tower I mentioned in the “cluster”? Vision Apartments and Light House. Vision, I hear from local scuttlebutt, gets mixed reviews. (I happen to be a fan.) But Light House stands as one of my favorite buildings from our entire Australian visit.

: Victoria One rendering from Elenberg Fraser.

Aurora Melbourne Central will light up the sky with a 92-story mixed-use tower

Posted on October 20, 2017 by danieldschell

Aurora Melbourne Central rises at 250 La Trobe Street in Melbourne’s CBD.

Seeing an aurora in the sky is always a special experience.

Seeing Aurora Melbourne Central in the Melbourne, Victoria sky will mean mixed-use architecture has climbed to new heights.

Being billed as the tallest residential tower in Melbourne’s Central Business District, Aurora Melbourne Central will include office space on the first seven floors (where car parking will also be located) to go along with its nearly 1200 rental and serviced apartments.

UEM Sunrise, a developer from Malaysia, is making its first foray into Australia with Aurora Melbourne Central. It is a design by Elenberg Fraser. Probuild is the general contractor. Opening is scheduled for 2019.