MVRDV has revealed its design proposal "Stack" for the Southbank By Beulah tower competition, which includes six top international firms on the shortlist. 

MVRDV, in collaboration with Woods Bagot, proposes a "new kind of skyscraper" that can be a public interface from all sides. The 77-floor tower features different types of façade arrangements upwards, connecting visitors from the bottom to the top and with lifts, stairs and escalators.

MVRDV & Woods Bagot are on the strong shortlist among other international firms, including Bjarke Ingels Group, Coop Himmelb(l)au, MAD, OMA and UNStudio. 

The $2 billion competition is seeking the best project that fits to the site and proposes a new mixed-use lifestyle precinct of over 220,000-square-metre with 23,000-square-metre of public programs. The proposed project will include luxury apartments, commercial offices, 5 star hotel, an entertainment centre, technological display centres (including BMW Experience Centre), world class retail, cultural precinct and public green spaces.

The six firms have shared their final proposals on Friday at the Future Cities Symposium held by Southbank By Beulah. The proposals show that each entry has distinct features and qualities for Melbourne’s Southbank.

MVRDV & Woods Bagot's proposal defies a typical Southbank’s model of podium and tower as it is a common typology, the Stack is designed as a confident prism with a public interface on all sides. 

"Stacked neighbourhoods are connected from the bottom to the top and vice versa by lifts, stairs and escalators – these interconnections create a true vertical city. It’s diverse, mixed, green, sustainable, human and open. The Stack is a manifesto showing that urban density is great and can contribute to our planet's survival," said Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV. 

"The single mono typology towers that have plagued Southbank in recent years don’t offer the richness that Melbourne is known for. We’ve endeavoured to unlock that, infusing public offering as an extension of the city, to dramatically enhance and future-proof high rise living," added Maas.

Woods Bagot principal Will Hosikian described the competition as a shakeup for development in cities under increasing demand for higher density and good living.

"What makes our proposal different is how we’ve created a Melbourne-centric vertical urbanity. All of Melbourne’s great qualities and amenities are integrated through a sequence of interconnected public spaces, from the ground level all the way to its 359-metre peak," said Hosikian.

In their proposal, MVRDV and Woods Bagot assert that as well as all the noble ambitions, the "next" skyscraper should be beautiful, if not wonderful. Maas calls the Stack "mind-blowing and elegant".

The Stack, from the edge of the Yarra River, Southbank Boulevard will be transformed into an urban promenade. A wide pedestrian area with greenery, cafes and terraces becomes the welcoming heart of the district. The new building, the Stack, is located right at the starting point of this urban promenade. Footpaths are wide so that people can walk, wait and sit on the terraces. "It becomes a nice street," added Maas.

From the street all the way to the seventy-sixth floor, the site will be developed as a lifestyle precinct, with apartments, offices, a hotel, entertainment centre, technological display centres, retail, cultural precinct and public green spaces.

Woods Bagot’s design leader Ivan Turcinov described the strength of the MVRDV and Woods Bagot partnership as the main factor in the innovation and design quality of the Stack.

"In another magnificent example of international collaboration, our studios have worked together with a spirit of generosity and mutual respect," Turcinov said.

The proposed schemes are on display at the Beulah Pavilion in Melbourne until August 1, 2018. The winner of the competition will be announced on August 8th, 2018.

Project facts

Lead Architect: MVRDV and Woods Bagot 

Project: Southbank by Beulah

Location: Southbank, Melbourne, Australia

Client: Beulah International

Status: Competition entry

Value: AUD 2 billion

GFA/ Area: 265,000m2 

Height: 77 levels (ground + 76 above ground)

Consultant team

Arup: Structures, Sustainability, Vertical Transportation, Traffic, Services, Fire Engineering, Wind, Geotechnical

Ratio: Planning

Slattery: Quantity Surveyor

McGregor Coxall: Landscape Architect

All images © MVRDV & Woods Bagot 

> via MVRDV