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<p>Almost all buildings today are built using similar conventional technologies and manufacturing and construction processes. These processes use a lot of energy and produce huge carbon emissions.</p><p>This is hardly sustainable. Perhaps the only way to truly construct sustainable buildings is by connecting them with nature, not isolating them from it. This is where the field of bioarchitecture emerges. It draws on principles from nature to help solve technological questions and address global challenges.</p><p>Take desert organisms, for example. How do they survive and thrive under extreme conditions?</p><p>One such desert species is the Saharan silver ant, named for its shiny mirror-like body. Its reflective body reflects and dissipates heat. It’s an adaptation we can apply in buildings as reflective walls, or to pavements that don’t heat up.</p><div id="HJ9RGK0tp95qaGXvC1SBS"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6VnY7i5VUqp021IrnICVw3/a2581e38991f58ea7d7a6d822f8d18f5/2.jpg" alt="Saharan desert ants have highly developed adaptations to stay cool in the desert heat, which can inspire better building design." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6VnY7i5VUqp021IrnICVw3/a2581e38991f58ea7d7a6d822f8d18f5/2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Saharan desert ants have highly developed adaptations to stay cool in the desert heat. Image: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, Wikimedia Commons <br><br></span></div></div><p>There are so many aspects of nature we can draw on. Picture cities with shopping centres based on water lilies, stadiums resembling seashells, and lightweight bridges inspired by cells.</p><p>Water lilies can teach us how to design large buildings efficiently with smooth pedestrian circulation. Seashells can inspire the walls of large-span buildings without the need for columns. Cells can show us how to develop lightweight suspending structures.</p><h2>Bioarchitecture works with nature, not against it</h2><p><br>Bioarchitecture can reinvent the natural environment in the form of our built environment, to provide the ultimate and somehow obvious solutions for the threats Earth is facing.</p><p>Most industry-led and research-based approaches focus on the “technology to save us” from climate change. In contrast, bioarchitecture offers a more sustainable approach that aims to develop a positive relationship between buildings and nature.</p><p>Living organisms constantly communicate with the natural world. They move around their environment, employ chemical processes and undergo complex reactions, patterning their habitat. This means living systems constantly model and organise the environment around them. They are able to adapt and, in doing so, they change their environment too.</p><p>Can buildings do the same in cities? If buildings could grow, self-repair and adapt to climate, they might ultimately become truly sustainable.</p><p>Early examples of bioarchitecture can be found in traditional and early modern buildings. Their architects observed nature to copy its principles and design more habitable, locally made and environmentally friendly buildings. For example, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, is inspired by natural shapes that give the church its organic form.</p><div id="4aHVncazVX801Niieo10Oy"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5MIjQ2NWEFEAK5VXKhQNws/c13f76ab1a88679cd5467ff1956f6ce1/3.jpg" alt="Gaudi's Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona is an early example of Bioarchitecture." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5MIjQ2NWEFEAK5VXKhQNws/c13f76ab1a88679cd5467ff1956f6ce1/3.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is an early modern example of bioarchitecture. Image: Sung Jin Cho, Unsplash <br><br></span></div></div><p>More recent works showcase bioarchitecture that learnt from nature coupled with technology and innovation. Examples include using bio-based materials such as wood, hemp and bamboo, applying biophilia through using greenery on external walls and plants indoors to boost our connection with nature, and restoring the environment by making buildings part of it.</p><p>Considering the climate emergency, we should strengthen buildings’ coherence with nature. Bioarchitecture can do this.</p><h2>What can a butterfly teach us?</h2><p><br>The blue Menelaus butterfly offers another striking example of design solutions from nature. Despite its radiant blue colour, it is not actually blue and does not have any pigments. Producing and maintaining pigments is expensive in nature, as it requires a lot of energy.</p><p>The Menelaus butterfly has an ingenious way to achieve its unique colour without pigments. Its brilliant blue shine comes from scattering light, similar to soap bubbles glimmering in rainbow colours under the sun, despite being completely transparent. The light is scattered by micro-grooves on the butterfly’s wings—so small that they can only be seen with an ultra-high-resolution microscope.</p><div id="3BoHkxhnORxOEnwfoiHd5R"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4FRa8I0mwy3QqDmBRKPjCu/04aa984c721142c9b049ef542d061ddb/4.jpg" alt="The Menelaus blue butterfly on a big green leaf inspires bioarchitecture." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/4FRa8I0mwy3QqDmBRKPjCu/04aa984c721142c9b049ef542d061ddb/4.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The Menelaus blue butterfly has lessons to teach in bioarchitecture. <br><br></span></div></div><p>This is nature’s way to achieve high performance with cheap forms instead of costly materials. Learning from the Menelaus butterfly, we can have windows with climate-adaptable properties—changing their colour and scattering light according to the position of the sun. Butterfly wings have already inspired the development of new materials, and the next step is to use these on buildings.</p><p>In this way, we can design biobuildings that reflect excessive radiation and reduce cooling needs and glare. And the beautiful part is that this may all be done without obstructing views and without the need for shading devices or tinted windows.</p><h2>What does a pot plant have to do with buildings?</h2><p><br>Then there is Monstera, a sought-after indoor plant that climbs up the walls. It’s also called the “Swiss cheese plant” for the holes on its leaves. Have you ever thought about how it thrives and grows like no other plant indoors?</p><div id="3SIyeUSbpQUnJhiGPyPRh7"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7sq2DBi9iX1LBy7iFsCEl9/ae208171128cb792e54567af34c7c461/1.jpg" alt="The popular indoor plant Monstera has lessons for architectural design." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7sq2DBi9iX1LBy7iFsCEl9/ae208171128cb792e54567af34c7c461/1.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The popular indoor plant Monstera has lessons for architectural design.<br><br> </span></div></div><p>Monstera simply needs to sustain fewer cells to maintain extra large leaves because of their holes. This enables it to capture more of the sunlight it needs to grow and spread out over a bigger area.</p><p>Now imagine if we designed hollow building structures such as columns and beams. This could help minimise the need for materials and cut carbon emissions by reducing the embodied energy that goes into making these materials.</p><h2>Nature offers a vast design catalogue</h2><p><br>We can look at nature as a catalogue of designs and solutions to be reimagined as bioarchitecture. So, we could have shiny silver pavements like the silver ant, metallic-coloured but transparent windows like the Menelaus butterfly, and buildings that use the minimum of materials like Monstera’s leaves.</p><p>Nature is wealthy, nature is generous. Through bioarchitecture, buildings can dive into that wealth and become a part of the generosity. Truly sustainable biobuildings can be constructed that work with nature and reverse the harm our conventional building technologies have done to the planet.<br><br></p><hr><p><br><strong>Author</strong><br><br>Aysu Kuru<br>Lecturer in Architecture and Construction, University of Sydney<br><br>This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-mirrored-ants-vivid-blue-butterflies-and-monstera-house-plants-can-teach-us-about-designing-buildings-194636" data-mce-href="https://theconversation.com/what-mirrored-ants-vivid-blue-butterflies-and-monstera-house-plants-can-teach-us-about-designing-buildings-194636" target="_blank">original article</a>. </p>

By strengthening buildings’ coherence with nature, bioarchitecture can provide truly sustainable solutions…

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<p>The City of Melbourne’s Greenline Project is making strides after landscape designers were appointed and its first concept designs were put to the public.&nbsp;</p><p>A design consortium led by TCL and Aspect Studios was appointed to design all five precincts and deliver the Greenline Project Masterplan.</p><p>Councillors endorsed the team to design the five inter-connected precincts—Birrarung Marr, The Falls, River Park, Maritime and Saltwater Wharf.&nbsp;</p><p>In addition to rejuvenating the area for events, they have also been tasked with ensuring that the area’s Aboriginal heritage is included in future plans.&nbsp;</p><p>TCL has worked on Elizabeth Quay redevelopment in Perth and the National Arboretum in Canberra, while Aspect designed the Bondi-to-Bronte coastal walk in Sydney and the Caulfield-to-Dandenong skyrail linear park.</p><p>The City of Melbourne’s Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) last night also were told the outcomes of stakeholder engagement into the concept designs for Site 1 of the project at Birrarung Marr.&nbsp;</p><p>The first stage will create 450m of boardwalk and a 6m-wide promenade, connecting native habitats along the Yarra River.&nbsp;</p><p>According to the report presented to the FMC, the stakeholder engagement process raised issues around transport, safety, park furniture and litter maintenance, and the importance of an increased visibility of Aboriginal culture.&nbsp;</p><div id="1EKSYl7171ROMPZ5McMcEA"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7hyeFUxZvv3UlYxfUZja8A/b90df8e376331ca28362097a46bf877d/Greenline_site_1_concept_designs_2.jpg" alt="Mid-article Greenline Birrarung Site 1 Concept Designs" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7hyeFUxZvv3UlYxfUZja8A/b90df8e376331ca28362097a46bf877d/Greenline_site_1_concept_designs_2.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Site 1—Birrarung Marr Concept Designs have been part of a stakeholder engagement process.<br><br></span></div></div><p>It said the findings were “generally favourable” although there were concerns about the impacts of major events and the proposed billabong on event operations themselves.</p><p>The original plans included a billabong on the lower terrace, but in addition to the stakeholder response, further technical investigations were undertaken and it was not recommended.</p><p>Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp,said that the Greenline Project would help revitalise the north bank of the Yarra River.&nbsp;</p><p>“The Greenline Project is a transformative vision for our city and we’re thrilled to have two of Australia’s leading landscape architecture firms on board to help us make this vision a reality,” she said.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s a significant vote of confidence that traders and residents strongly endorsed our concept for Birrarung Marr, enabling us to move forward with our plans for the rest of the project.”</p><p>The Greenline Project plans to develop five precincts covering 4km between Birrarung Marr and the Bolte Bridge along the Yarra riverfront and is expected to cost $315 million over its seven-year development. &nbsp;It was endorsed by the FMC <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/melbourne-council-endorses-cbd-greenline-project" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/melbourne-council-endorses-cbd-greenline-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier this year</a>.</p>

Designers have been appointed to Melbourne’s Greenline Project and Site 1 concept designs have been put before stakeholders as the $315 million plans progress…

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<p>South-east Queensland developer Aria is stepping up its commitment to the South Brisbane area with a masterplanned office precinct that would take&nbsp; up most of a suburban block.&nbsp;</p><p>The mixed-use development would comprise <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-files-plans-for-17-storey-south-brisbane-tower" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-files-plans-for-17-storey-south-brisbane-tower" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three 12-storey commercial towers</a> over two and three-storey podiums with raised ground planes focused on the central courtyard.</p><p>After 18 months of negotiations Aria amalgamated a 4562sq m site with two street frontages in South Brisbane, which incorporates two heritage buildings, a cottage and the Bonds sweets factory at 23-29 Manning Street and 164-190 Melbourne Street.</p><p>Bates Smart, and Richards and Spence were engaged to design the blockbusting commercial precinct, which development director Brent Liddell said was slightly out of their wheelhouse.&nbsp;</p><p>“It’s been a bit of a labour of love,” Liddell said.</p><p>“We had to amalgamate the site, but it was a key focus for us.</p><p>“We’re really excited to explore commercial offices, it’s not something we have done a lot of.</p><p>“We can’t just keep doing residential, it sort of made sense to expand our offerings in the area and it will bring more foot traffic to South Brisbane and West End.”</p><div id="4oJOPL49LsZFYoMrLDfkwu"><div id="4oJOPL49LsZFYoMrLDfkwu"><div id="4oJOPL49LsZFYoMrLDfkwu"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/TymBxNvVg3L6Qp9PWSG6J/d4cb43518f8cfcfa9c319928c41eef29/AriaCommercialMID.jpg" alt="A render of two of the proposed buildings for the site at South Brisbane. " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/TymBxNvVg3L6Qp9PWSG6J/d4cb43518f8cfcfa9c319928c41eef29/AriaCommercialMID.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The three towers are distinct from each other, but all three sit atop podiums that complement the existing heritage fabric of the area.<br><br></span></div></div></div><p>Liddell said the design consortium had focused on creating a sense of place for the commercial precinct, which he believes could accommodate big corporate businesses as well as boutique office requirements.<br></p></div><p>“There are some beautiful Victorian-era terraces diagonally opposite the site and that informed the materiality. Like Fish Lane Town Square the use of bricks really brings the local response to the history and heritage of the area,” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>“We’re very heavily invested in this area, and Fish Lane is a key link connecting our projects.</p><p>“The plan is for three commercial towers on the site but the big opportunity for this site was the ground plane.</p><p>“The ground plane is going to be the really exciting part of this project.</p><p>Liddell said the buildings would centre around an open court yard as the focal point of the masterplanned project, while also addressing the flood risks to the site with a raised ground plane.&nbsp;</p><p>The heritage-signficant Malouf’s Fruit Shop and residence, and Bond’s sweet factory were not included in the masterplan, but Liddell said there would be some planning done around how to incorporate them into the development of the precinct.</p><p>Following the <a data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/fish-lane-landscape-award" href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/fish-lane-landscape-award" target="_blank" rel="noopener">successes of Fish Lane Town Square</a>, Richards and Spence and RPS Landscape Architects will team up again to transform the 500sq m pocket park between the buildings. It draws on inspiration from New York’s Paley Park and according to design reports it will include recreation spaces, detailed urban design and access to natural light and air circulation.</p><div id="272pzBZCwPriuA77inVAle"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5hCStep3nPbDQH4B7tmN1i/e4f936626325b1b9ebc2cae2f23bdb89/Fish_Lane_Town_Square.jpg" alt="null" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5hCStep3nPbDQH4B7tmN1i/e4f936626325b1b9ebc2cae2f23bdb89/Fish_Lane_Town_Square.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Richards and Spence and RPS Landscape Architects will collaborate again on this project following the success of the Fish Lane Town Square development.<br><br> </span></div></div><p>“The place we create should feel like part of the neighbourhood and be full of life. It draws from the characteristics that define and distinguish South Brisbane from other places. In doing so, it gives us the best chance of creating a new place that is equally welcomed by existing and emerging communities of South Brisbane,” the design report said.&nbsp;</p><p>“The existing heritage Bonds Sweet Factory building is a true feature of the podium. Towers 1 and 2 are designed at the same height and scale to better integrate it into the design.&nbsp;</p><p>“The existing heritage and former Maloufs fruit shop and residence at 164 Melbourne Street, is more discrete and difficult to integrate architecturally and so the focus was on bringing it into the active ground floor through the continuation of the awning.”</p><p>Tower 1 will include a brickwork podium and pigmented concrete tower with an articulated facade and terraces at each level. Tower 2 features a more dynamic facade with shade fins and a vertical green wall taht rises to the rooftop garden. Tower 3 will be a CLT-hybrid structure with a bronze metal facade that complements the brick and terracotta podium facades of the other two towers.&nbsp;</p><p>The precinct will comprise almost 23,000sq m of commercial space, 3224sq m of gym and recreational amenities and 788sq m of food and beverage space. It will also provide 433 car parking spaces in the basement of one of the towers, and 201 bicycle parking spaces.&nbsp;</p><p>Liddell said they hoped to break ground on the project in the third quarter of 2023 while they scoped out cafes and high street retail offerings for the development.&nbsp;</p><p>He said it was unclear whether Aria would continue its Riviere construction arm beyond completion of the project, following the collapse of Condev earlier this year.&nbsp;</p>

After 18 months of negotiations to amalgamate a significant inner-city site, Aria has filed plans for its first master-planned commercial precinct...

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<p>Plants and trees. They can make a development amazing, but it’s not as easy as just designing them in, developers need to be delivering on promises to meet sustainability standards.</p><p>Planners and designers of the built environment have in recent years been more actively targeting sustainably conscious occupants and tenants by incorporating green initiatives not only into a project’s open and green spaces, but into the project itself.</p><p>With the growing concern for our climate, biophilic design is not just useful for its aesthetic qualities but can help in the fight against climate change.&nbsp;</p><p>Green infrastructure has the potential to attenuate carbon emissions, increase the biodiversity of plants and wildlife and help regulate the temperature of buildings.</p><p>“For people, more green space leads to better health outcomes, increased productivity and safer, more connected neighbourhoods,” Green Building Council of Australia chief executive Davina Rooney says.</p><p>“Green buildings produce better air quality and use less energy, they’re cooler and quieter, and they boast higher property values.</p><p>“And cities benefit too, from increased plant and animal habitats, lower pollution and carbon sequestration.”</p><p><em>The Urban Developer </em>has shone a light on six projects that have championed green and open space.</p><p>We sat down with developers going above and beyond their design briefs to embody biophilic principles and accelerate the successful implementation of green architecture and development.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>Burwood Brickwords (Retail)<br><br></h2><div id="6lhOfPFZrKW8gFxSfPrkDN"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/m1StoW1jd8F11jsxfHDtd/3e48ca6816eb34e55765d608fc8fc66f/BURWOOD3-way-split-new.jpg" alt="Burwood Brickworks" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/m1StoW1jd8F11jsxfHDtd/3e48ca6816eb34e55765d608fc8fc66f/BURWOOD3-way-split-new.jpg"></picture></div><p><br>Frasers Property Australia’s $120-million Burwood Brickworks development in Melbourne's eastern suburbs is now recognised as the world’s most sustainable shopping centre.</p><p>The development, built on 18.5ha of land acquired in 2014, is the first retail centre in the world to achieve Living Building Challenge Petal Certification.</p><p>Anchored by Woolworths, Dan Murphy’s and Reading Cinemas, the 13,000 sq m centre incorporates a 2500sq m rooftop urban farm that provides food to community groups and an on-site restaurant. The building also has 250 citrus trees suspended on its northern facade.</p><p>The building generates 105 per cent of its annual energy requirements, grows its own fruit and vegetables, and captures, treats and uses all stormwater.</p><p>The centre also offers a range of convenient community non-retail facilities, including a 100-plus place childcare centre, a large gymnasium and a medical centre to meet the demand of the increasingly populated trade area.</p><p>It has been designed by Melbourne-based NH Architecture, with creative input from Russell and George, while Hacer Group were appointed as principal contractor.</p><p>The design features of the prefabricated mall include the use of sustainably sourced laminated timber, rammed earth and recycled bricks along with 3900sq m of billabong plantings and 2000sq m of vines.</p><p>Frasers Property Australia chief executive Anthony Boyd says the company set out to create a shopping centre that “elevates the sustainable possibilities of new developments and contributes to the regenerative buildings movement”.</p><p>“The vision for Burwood Brickworks was to redefine sustainability in retail by challenging ourselves in new and uncomfortable ways,” Boyd says.&nbsp;</p><p>“It meant exposing ourselves to possible failure, inviting new levels of scrutiny, balancing commercial feasibility, challenging our project partners to take the journey with us, and investing time and resources into working with our tenants, so they could play their essential role.”</p><hr><h2><br>One Sydney Park (High-Density Residential)<br><br></h2><div id="7ec5fZZn57dHTzm9Q8uabK"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5wyxitn5hEdYHCxXW90xyP/a8daa4e2030b7d6be0f479619bbb6f99/653-way-split-new.jpg" alt="One Sydney Park" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5wyxitn5hEdYHCxXW90xyP/a8daa4e2030b7d6be0f479619bbb6f99/653-way-split-new.jpg"></picture></div><p><br>Hailiang Property Group Australia has been given the green light for its $700-million parkside development in Sydney’s inner west at Alexandria, which it says will “blur the boundary between built form and the park landscape”.</p><p>The 350-apartment development is planned for 205-255 Euston Road, within the 44ha Sydney Park—the city’s third-largest public park.&nbsp;</p><p>It will replace two large warehouses and perimeter asphalt car parks that were owned by industrial giant Goodman Group.</p><p>The site is conceptualised as an extension of the neighbouring landscape of Sydney Park, which borders the three primary edges of the site.</p><p>The project is a design collaboration between Silvester Fuller, MHNDU and Sue Barnsley Design—stating in their proposal that their vision is to create a place that resonates and extends the ecology of the adjoining parkland.</p><p>“Our concept vision for One Sydney Park imagines the creation of a new park-side community,” it says.&nbsp;</p><p>“A place [that] will extend the ecology of the parkland and support a culture of creative enterprises and local business.”</p><p>The result is eight six-storey buildings that have been nestled into its parkside position with deep planting and significant setbacks blurring the edges of the tree canopy with the project.&nbsp;</p><p>Plans also include retail and dining precincts, and cultural and community spaces with 1.5ha reserved for public open space, and public art by acclaimed artist Fujiko Nakaya.&nbsp;</p><p>The complex will also include rooftop gardens, a health club, indoor lap pool and outdoor plaza while the arrival level will feature a subterranean space suffused with natural light, fresh air and a rich materiality.&nbsp;</p><p>HPG Australia development director Barney Oros says the “world-leading, mixed-use development” would showcase excellence in design, landscaping and construction while enhancing the ecology of the neighbouring park as well as bringing some long overdue amenities.</p><p>“Obviously the architecture and landscaping is world class but the ecological benefits, introduction of deep soil into the site, long overdue amenities to this neglected southern end of Sydney Park for the public are all part of our vision for One Sydney Park,” Oros says.<br><br></p><hr><h2><br>Sth Bnk by Beulah (Mixed-Use)<br><br></h2><div id="3Iv9CX0tyViTGmDZh407UK"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3V3OFpbrGo1QU0oQ8TpyEq/a470b039d66ab3b8bff0f45d69f02903/153-way-split-new.jpg" alt="Sth Bnk Beulah" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/3V3OFpbrGo1QU0oQ8TpyEq/a470b039d66ab3b8bff0f45d69f02903/153-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p>Sth Bnk by Beulah, set to become Australia’s tallest tower, will have the most comprehensive collection of amenities of any Australian skyscraper.</p><p>Based on a design by Dutch architecture firm UNStudio and Melbourne-based Cox Architecture, the $2.7-billion project at Melbourne's Southbank involves two twisting, terraced towers incorporating vertical gardens.</p><p>The taller of the project’s two towers, at 356m, will surpass another Southbank apartment tower, Australia 108, as well as the Q1 tower on the Gold Coast to claim the crown as the nation’s tallest skyscraper.</p><p>The 270,000sq m mixed-use precinct will comprise 27,000sq m of office space, 21,000sq m of retail as well as almost 9500sq m in food and drinks premises, a 202-key hotel and 800 apartments.</p><p>About 300 units, including apartments enlarged through amalgamations, have found owners so far, clocking up around $400 million in sales.</p><p>As the twin tower development rises into the sky, pocket parks will punctuate the building form and create a green oasis for the exclusive use of residents.</p><p>Beulah executive director Adelene Teh told <em>The Urban Developer</em> the development would not only become Australia’s tallest tower but also the tallest vertical garden in the world.&nbsp;</p><p>“Sth Bnk by Beulah is the next evolution of how people will live, work, play and explore,” Teh says.&nbsp;</p><p>“It's a hyper-mixed project that is pioneering what it means to create a city within a city.&nbsp;</p><p>“It represents our approach to design and culture, technology, sustainability, and wellness—how these meld together to set a benchmark in liveable city design, while creating an integrated vertical living and community.”&nbsp;</p><p>There are eight parks across the east tower, each designed to have its own unique character and function, from active spaces to places of rest and relaxation.</p><p>Acting as a local neighbourhood park and a private place for residents to get back to nature, features include exercise platforms, relaxation gardens, play spaces, urban farms, outdoor cooking and dining, and multi-storey landscaping filled with greenery.</p><p>The sky-high external garden will, once complete, attract birdlife, help to produce oxygen, provide vegetable patches and filter dust and pollution.</p><p>The development will also feature extensive greenery on the ground levels and surrounding outdoor areas, bringing the total landscaped area to over 15,500 square metres.</p><p>This includes carefully curating a selection of mother nature’s most resilient plants from coastal and mountainous areas, with placement to be based on the exact sunlight, wind and elevation characteristics of each square metre.</p><p>The chosen plant species will be developed in a dedicated nursery in Victoria, which will mature in the landscape beds in the years preceding installation, grown within similar environmental conditions to ensure they thrive in their new, permanent locations.</p><hr><h2><br>Caribbean Park (Industrial)<br><br></h2><div id="fj7eu1mX0PAqXzryI3DGf"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6yCC3ytb5TNzXk3R6eo94F/c582f46b25eea522d6ff5d4b6e6564bb/53-way-split-new.jpg" alt="Caribbean Park " data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6yCC3ytb5TNzXk3R6eo94F/c582f46b25eea522d6ff5d4b6e6564bb/53-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><p>The Spooner family’s Caribbean Park is a new logistics business park set on about 120ha in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs that is uncharacteristically immersed in green and open space.&nbsp;</p><p>This new business precinct in Scoresby comprises office and warehouse buildings, an expansive parkland, retail areas and lifestyle facilities.&nbsp;</p><p>It now comprises 55,000sq m of office space across six towers, and is home to multinational tenants such as Toyota, Parmalat and Miele, and about 4000 daily workers. It has been built across a site that the family has owned since the 1940s.&nbsp;</p><p>The project also includes a 171-room hotel that provides accommodation and event space for visiting executives, surrounding businesses and those attending a growing calendar of events at the estate.</p><p>Peter Ryan Architects and landscape architect Oculus prepared the masterplan for the site in 2016, which was followed by commissions to design, in collaboration with Peter Ryan Architects, the landscape and public realm for stages one and two.</p><p>As part of its concept the design team ensured that the precinct was well connected with streets, promenades and pedestrian links while creating a green network to ensure comfortable and attractive places are available for all Caribbean Park users.</p><p>The result is a diverse sequential landscape experience that has been curated to celebrate key views and integrate the office environments within the landscape to create a unique urban expression.&nbsp;</p><p>The multi-layered landscape utilises a predominately native planting palette with an emphasis on texture and seasonal change.&nbsp;</p><p>Water is also a central character of the site and is reflected in the architecture, water features and material vocabulary.</p><p>The project was awarded the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, Victoria Chapter, award for gardens in 2021.</p><p>The precinct is also the first Australian suburban office development of scale to achieve Climate Active carbon neutral certification.</p><p>Caribbean Park asset manager Tim Rubio says the achievement was the “perfect complement” to a development already regarded as the finest location for staff amenity and staff performance.</p><p>“We are delighted to have achieved this certification on all rateable office buildings and will continue our efforts of improvement and maintaining the commercial office buildings in a manner befitting of our natural environment and the needs of our occupant partners into the future,” Rubio says.</p><hr><h2><br>C6 (High-Density Residentail)<br><br></h2><div id="9naRDSfMKOlQmMrkFIScG"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6NWC3dy1uG6FgsQ4dRNHqZ/44c0581474bc551e0bc0f5c67c67c512/13-way-split-new.jpeg" alt="C6 Perth Grange Development project" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/6NWC3dy1uG6FgsQ4dRNHqZ/44c0581474bc551e0bc0f5c67c67c512/13-way-split-new.jpeg"></picture></div><p><br>The tallest timber building in the world will rise in Perth, if approved, after a $350-million development application was lodged by Melbourne’s Grange Development in April.</p><p>Designed by architecture firm Elenberg Fraser, the 50-storey tower will be built from cross-laminated timber (CLT), and glue-laminated timber, or glulam.&nbsp;</p><p>Grange Development plans to return 85 per cent of the site to the community.</p><p>Residents of South Perth and those visiting the tower be able to enjoy the “tower to plate” food and beverage offering, nature themed playgrounds, educational and entertainment cinema, horticultural zone, and ground floor pre-settlement landscape complete with CLT-Rex.</p><p>Meanwhile C6’s rooftop encompasses gardens with extensive food and entertainment amenities. It will host guest chefs, live entertainment, and bookable private lounges and dining rooms for special events.</p><p>Grange Development managing director <a data-mce-href="https://weareurbanity.com.au/speaker/james-dibble/" href="https://weareurbanity.com.au/speaker/james-dibble/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Dibble</a> told&nbsp;<em>The Urban Developer</em> that the rapidly shifting climate was the main driver behind the carbon-negative building.</p><p>“Biophilia is not new, its has been prominent in Japanese architecture for example for centuries,” Dibble says.&nbsp;</p><p>“In Australia, our industry is increasing its intent to deliver buildings that incorporate biophilic design and in turn, provide its residents happier and healthier homes and that’s a good thing backed by tangible.”&nbsp;</p><p>If it is approved by the City of South Perth, C6 will be Australia’s second carbon-negative building after the Atlassian tower, meaning it will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere rather than adding it.</p><p>Contributing to its carbon-negative status will be an embedded power network that will harness energy from the wind and sun and 3500 sq m of floral, edible and native gardens.</p><p>“In built form, I feel like I have been most myself with C6,” Dibble says.&nbsp;</p><p>“It draws on a previous 10-year IT career that taught me the importance of practicality and the elegance of simplicity.</p><p>“I want to leave the world a better place than we found it and this project will ‘push the needle forward’ in playing some small part in advancing a system that is replicable and superior to create a happier and healthier outcome for peoples homes.”&nbsp;<br></p><hr><h2><br>Upper House (Medium-Density Residential)<br><br></h2><div id="2KvS89P7hBhBPScgN0nzSB"><div id="2KvS89P7hBhBPScgN0nzSB"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/34uryNcs7hRlbg2TMl5PRP/d1b55e4b691679dc7c62ef564793deec/3-way-split-new.jpg" alt="Upper House Aria Property Group" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/34uryNcs7hRlbg2TMl5PRP/d1b55e4b691679dc7c62ef564793deec/3-way-split-new.jpg"></picture><div><br></div></div><div><p>Aria Property Group is readying a 32-storey apartment project at the epicenter of South Brisbane’s arts and cultural precinct and adjoining West End’s eclectic dining and entertainment hub.&nbsp;</p><p>This project, comprising 188 apartments, four levels of basement car parking and a four-storey podium at street level will also feature an impressive rooftop area for residents and more than 3500 plants and trees.&nbsp;</p><p>The rooftop recreation deck on level 21 comprises a city-side infinity pool with sun lounges and sunken seating lounges. An outdoor kitchen and barbecue, as well as dining area, yoga lawn, outdoor gym and gardens are proposed.</p><p>Residents will also experience Australia’s first double-storey rooftop club as well as a ground-floor art gallery and innovative concierge services.&nbsp;</p><p>Aria tapped <a href="https://weareurbanity.com.au/speaker/koichi-takada/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://weareurbanity.com.au/speaker/koichi-takada/">architecture firm Koichi Takada</a> to design the 5-star Green Star tower, which is on the doorstep of Brisbane’s cultural and performing arts precinct. Takada was chosen from a design competition that included Elenberg Fraser, DKO and DBI.&nbsp;</p><p>Takada’s design features fluid sculptural “ribbon”, which he says referenced the roots of the Moreton Bay fig tree, a native to Queensland.&nbsp;</p><p>The design encapsulates sculptural balconies and curved spines that work their way from the ground level, culminating in a dramatic crown-like pergola at the roof of the development.</p><p>“At the heart of our business model is the question: how should we live today? It’s a complicated question, but our answer is simple,” Takada told <em>The Urban Developer</em>.</p><p>“As a studio, we draw inspiration from nature. By bringing nature’s ancient wisdom to the modern metropolis, we amplify enjoyment and satisfaction in our daily lives.&nbsp;</p><p>“Our modern cities are bound in contradictions, so we strive for purity and organic forms.”&nbsp;</p><p>Takada says Aria’s South Brisbane development was part of a slew of projects his architecture firm was overseeing that were using cutting edge technology to achieve the highest green standards possible.&nbsp;</p><p>“They are bold, aspirational, problem-solving projects that inspire and influence everything we do as a team in the studio,” Takada says.&nbsp;</p><p>“We create powerfully emotive architecture that is sensitive to our surroundings and reflects the human spirit through elegant and thoughtful designs.</p><p>“We also understand the limitations of the earth’s resources, so we practice moderation to help sustain the environment.”<br><br></p></div></div><hr><p><strong><br>You are currently experiencing <em>The Urban Developer</em> Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. </strong><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans" data-mce-href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/membership-plans"><strong>Click here to learn more.</strong></a></p><div id="2GhuueZl01Zwo2aFfjNVi2"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg" alt="TUD + Banner" data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/12UMq5eMSEOh0QxJVBYaDt/d7507cf4ceb1365cc9ce7eaff84d06cc/tud___banner.jpg"></picture></div>

Plants and trees. They can make a development amazing, but it’s not as easy as just designing them in, developers need to be delivering on promises to meet sustainability standards…

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<p>The City of Melbourne Council has endorsed the Carlton Gardens Masterplan 2022.</p><p>The masterplan covers Carlton Gardens South and Carlton Gardens North and sets out how both areas of the park will be managed.&nbsp;</p><p>Management of the Royal Exhibition Building and the land immediately surrounding it is subject to a separate masterplan that is the responsibility of Museums Victoria.</p><p>Carlton Gardens and the exhibition building are a World Heritage listed site and subject to the World Heritage Management Plan 2013, which sets out recommendations on its management.&nbsp;</p><p>“It is very rare for a municipal authority to have oversight over a World Heritage site,” councillor Rohan Leppert said.&nbsp;<br><br>“So it is only proper that we are incredibly thorough in the way that we masterplan for this area.”</p><p>In 2020, a review of the World Heritage Management Plan from 2013 was deemed necessary, prompting a simultaneous review of the council’s Carlton Gardens Masterplan.&nbsp;<br><br>“The World Heritage Management plan requires an update to this document and all the other component documents of the plan every seven to ten years,” Leppert said.&nbsp;</p><p>"That is as to be expected for a World Heritage site.”</p><p>The site was Australia’s first built environment inclusion on the World Heritage List, added in 2004, and is one of only two in Victoria—the other is the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape.</p><div id="z0xxOwHGSTcC4Hu2OFJ25"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5YeUpwd4OVR10CghUivhZN/90bf09fe9e21c7ad63cbfe7b2afaa5f4/carlton_gardens_masterplan_story_mid.jpg" alt="The Carlton Gardens Masterplan recommends the care and protection of several plant species including Moreton Bay fig trees near the meeting place for Aboriginal people, to preserve cultural heritage and significance." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/5YeUpwd4OVR10CghUivhZN/90bf09fe9e21c7ad63cbfe7b2afaa5f4/carlton_gardens_masterplan_story_mid.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The Carlton Gardens Masterplan recommends the protection of the Moreton Bay fig trees near the meeting place for First Nations people.<br><br></span></div></div><p>It is deemed to have local and state heritage significance as it is a traditional meeting place for the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Eastern Kulin.&nbsp;</p><p>Despite the dislocation of the Aboriginal people from the land during the foundation of Melbourne in 1835, the Carlton Gardens has been used as a meeting place since the 1930s for Aboriginal people and is included on the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register.</p><p>The site is also considered heritage significant on a national scale as it is where Australia’s first national parliament was held, in 1901, and where the first Australian flag was flown.&nbsp;</p><p>It also served as the Victorian Parliament’s location when the National Parliament took over the Spring Street Parliament House buildings during construction of Canberra’s original Parliament House.</p><p>A Traditional Owners and First Peoples Cultural Values report created by GML Heritage in 2020-21 has contributed to the masterplan.</p><p>The steering committee also undertook community engagement in mid-2020 and incorporated suggestions from submissions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The masterplan includes recommendations for better protection and management of the meeting place for Aboriginal people and intervention to care for the Moreton Bay fig trees that mark the space.</p><p>It also includes recommendations for upgrading and improving public facilities such as recreation areas and public toilets as increasing residential density around the park is increasing its use by the public.</p><p>There were also recommendations for better managing the plant life and biodiversity within the gardens to cope with the consequences of climate change.&nbsp;</p><p>These included changing to more drought tolerant species, investigating changes to the Royal Exhibition Building’s roof to prevent damage from water run off during extreme weather events and potential stormwater infrastructure changes.</p><p>“With climate change affecting the ability of certain species to grow and thrive, that did raise a number of challenging questions for our arborists about what new tree species we would be planting in those gardens," deputy mayor Nicholas Reese said.</p><p>It also recommended investigating more options for the public’s access to information about the gardens and different ways to achieve this beyond self-guided cultural walks and the online website.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>The council will decide on any changes to the masterplan arising from the revision of the World Heritage Management Plan as they come up.&nbsp;<br><br>The World Heritage Management Plan revision will be completed in 2023.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

The City of Melbourne Council has endorsed the Carlton Gardens Masterplan 2022.. 
The Masterplan covers both Carlton Gardens South and Carlton Gardens North and sets out how both areas of the park are to be managed. 

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<p><em>The Urban Developer</em> is again collaborating with Urban Art Projects (UAP) and Brickworks to create a bespoke trophy for <em>The Urban Developer</em> Awards for Industry Excellence in association with Trilogy Funds to celebrate the best of the built environment.</p><p>As the industry moves to embrace and pioneer green initiatives, we have crafted our awards trophy from local spoil from notable Brisbane developments, with the primary rock used taken from the tunnels of Brisbane's Cross River Rail.</p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;">“</span></strong>We are humbled to work with such key players in Australian design and construction to celebrate excellence across our industry,<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;">”</span></strong> <em>The Urban Developer</em> chief executive Adam Di Marco said.</p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;">“</span></strong>What better way to honour the built environment than to create something using the discard from Brisbane’s largest infrastructure project.<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;">”</span></strong></p><div><div id="2EYwsfk9IyC0GVjrwpW4l4"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7lEUp4azziAFwKagUhuYX8/97ff6de9c26c44e926f68597d4e72915/Copy_of_Content_Article_Sponsor_Boilerplate__14_.jpg" alt="The team at Brickworks crushing the Cross River Rail shale for form a brick mixture." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/7lEUp4azziAFwKagUhuYX8/97ff6de9c26c44e926f68597d4e72915/Copy_of_Content_Article_Sponsor_Boilerplate__14_.jpg"></picture><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ The team at Brickworks crushing the Cross River Rail shale for form a brick mixture. </span></div>&nbsp;</div><p>Using Brickworks’ industry knowledge and the creative expertise of UAP, this year’s collaboration salutes both the organic materiality of brick and the home of <em>The Urban Developer</em>.</p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;">“</span></strong>Once again, we were provided the opportunity to create a design incorporating form, technique and material to deliver a unique trophy honoring the country’s leaders in urban design and excellence,<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;">”</span></strong> UAP principal Daniel Clifford said.</p><div><div id="2EYwsfk9IyC0GVjrwpW4l4"></div></div><p>Extensive research and development was undertaken in the Brickworks lab to find the right mix of local clays to form the trophy components.</p><p>The winning combination was a mix of Cross River Rail clay, Clutha clay and Murrarie clay, all discarded from construction sites.</p></div><div><p id="62cP5QL41DdLrCdHK1CV0Q"><picture><img src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/56JHFbSVzsddWGlsu8VyPE/00cbf48f167ec1e418f188cc299bb2fb/Copy_of_Content_Article_Sponsor_Boilerplate__13_.jpg" alt="Initial prototypes and colour experimentation for the brick component." data-mce-src="//images.ctfassets.net/8pr762qjocl3/56JHFbSVzsddWGlsu8VyPE/00cbf48f167ec1e418f188cc299bb2fb/Copy_of_Content_Article_Sponsor_Boilerplate__13_.jpg"></picture></p><div><span style="opacity: 0.8;" data-mce-style="opacity: 0.8;">▲ Initial prototypes and colour experimentation for the brick component. </span></div>&nbsp;</div><p><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;">“</span></strong>By utilising clay and shale extracted from various developments across Brisbane, we’re certain this bespoke clay form will even further enhance the experience of winning an award for the recipients this year,<strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Georgia;">” </span></strong>Brickworks national business development manager Eve Castle said.</p><p>Stay tuned for the design reveal. The winners for <em>The Urban Developer</em> awards for Industry Excellence will be announced next week so watch for more news.</p>

Gurner Group's La Pelago development between Budds Beach and Surfers Paradise Beach will have four towers.

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Gurner Group is planning to build four towers up to 57 storeys on the Gold Coast in a $1.25-billion joint-venture with investment house Wingate. </p><p>The La Pelago development would have  889 apartments, a 200-key hotel in tower three, 2000sq m wellness club and 5500sq m of restaurants, retail and conferencing amenity on the 112 Ferny Avenue, Surfers Paradise, site.</p><p>The Victorian-based developer <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/failed-ralan-development-site-in-surfers-paradise-hits-market">picked up</a> the entire block from the Ralan Group in 2019, which was already approved for 1000 apartments.  </p><p>The new “private island” themed plans for the 13,000sq m site were designed by Warren and Mahoney along with landscape architecture firm SWA.</p><p>Less than 100m away, SPG Land and Gordon Corp are <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/triple-towers-800m-surfers-putt-putt-site-plans">planning </a>an $800-million, triple-tower development on the King Tutt’s Putt Putt site, lodged in July.</p><p></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/de05c5e1-4573-40fe-bd5f-2461370339c5.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ The towers are 30-, 25-, 55-, and 34-storeys high with consolidated three-storey podiums with a total of 889 dwellings and 1257 car parking spaces.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>Gurner chief executive Tim Gurner said they were looking for an international hotel name that would be a new entrant to the Australian market for the development.</p><p>“We are well progressed with an international EOI process with some of the world’s best five-star hotel brands, and we are very excited to announce more details in months to come,” Gurner said.</p><p>“La Pelago will allow us to draw on our unique experience in the retail, signature amenity and urban regeneration space, and apply it on a grand scale.</p><p>“When designing the project it was really about me dreaming about where we all want to be right now and for me that is a hot and sunny luxury private island.”</p><p>The first stage of the development, between Budds Beach and Surfers Paradise Beach, is expected to launch later this year.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/153eb89f-02ca-4ab9-896d-bd185be78e29.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ Gurner said he enlisted the services of SWA after “staying at my two favourite hotels in the world, the Beverly Hills Hotel and Los Vantanas in Cabo”.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>Warren and Mahoney design principal Barrington Gohns said after the success of a number of collaborations in Melbourne and Sydney, they were thrilled to be working with the group on a Queensland project.</p><p>“The foundation of La Pelago is steeped in context and identity, acknowledging the tension between river and coastline, and the design only takes what it can give back,” Gohns said.</p><p>“A strong focus on health wellness resonates throughout, along with a carbon neutral manifesto we continue to drive with Gurner.”</p><p>Gurner controls a $7-billion pipeline across more than 7000 apartments along the eastern seaboard of Australia.</p><p>Among the group’s projects is St Moritz in St Kilda, FV in Fortitude Valley, and Victoria and Vine in Collingwood.</p></div></div></div></div></div>

Gurner Group is planning to build four towers up to 57-storeys on the Gold Coast in a $1.25 billion development in a joint-venture with investment

Byron Plaza plans for a $52 million mixed-use development have been lodged by Multiplicity Byron Bay Pty Ltd, Stanley Quek from Greencliffe and Adam Garrison.

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>New plans to replace the Byron Plaza with a $52-million mixed-use development are now before the NSW Northern Regional Planning Panel.</p><p>The plans, from Multiplicity Byron Bay, led by Stanley Quek from Greencliffe and Adam Garrison, propose 54 apartments in a three-storey building.</p><p>There is also a rooftop pool and common area plus ground-floor retail at 90-96 Jonson Street, Byron Bay, which is next to the former Woolworths site.</p><p>Multiple plans have been lodged for the site, including one for 18 units plus takeaway food and drink premises, just before the pandemic.</p><p>Those plans were lodged by Steve Agnew’s Beachbreak Developments, who had the site on the market last year.</p><p>The latest plans for the 5390sq m site, by Harley Graham Architects, also include a “spice alley” with eateries connecting Jonson Street to the Byron Transit Centre as well as one-, two- and three-bedroom units.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/2d69c8df-9b32-4ad8-99b2-a00c672a0df7.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ The plans for Byron Plaza include ground floor retail landscaping by 360 Degrees and a new U-shaped building by Harley Graham Architects.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>There is basement parking for 173 vehicles, 100 of those for retail use which is the predominant use of the land in its current state.</p><p>“The design of the project both respects established planning principles and strives to meet the needs of the community by bringing to life an otherwise static place,” the application said.</p><p>“The public areas of a central landscaped piazza and spice alley linkage offer pedestrian space and enhance the indoor-outdoor amenity of the site. </p><p>“Spice alley comprises a series of eateries and is located where the current private laneway is.”</p><p>If approved the developers could make the most of the <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/byron-shire-house-prices-jump-1300pc">piping-hot</a> Byron market which has led the country&#x27;s property market boom.</p><p>House prices in Byron now have a median value <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/northern-nsw-leads-regional-house-price-growth">higher </a>than Sydney, at $1.4 million.</p><p><a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/justin-hemmes-buys-byron-bay-site-for-50m">Pubs</a>, celebrity <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/olivia-newton-john-gaia-byron-hinterland-for-sale">retreats</a>, shopping centres and <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/laundy-family-buys-lennox-hotel">hotels </a>have hit the market in the past yea—on the nearby 98-116 Jonson Street site a new shopping centre was <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/mercato-shopping-centre-byron-bay">sold </a>for around $120 million in May.</p></div></div></div></div></div>

Another set of apartment plans, to replace the Byron Plaza, have been lodged by Multiplicity Byron Bay Pty Ltd, led by Stanley Quek and Adam Garrison

Beulah Goes behind-the-scenes on the World's Tallest Vertical Garden in Southbank Melbourne. 

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Developer Beulah is in the process of creating the world’s tallest vertical garden on its $2 billion Southbank tower in Melbourne.</p><p>The images and design details show more than 15,500 square metres of landscaping including the twisting “green spine” on Australia’s <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/beulah-moves-ahead-on-2bn-southbank-project">tallest </a>tower.</p><p>The 365 metre-high design by Dutch firm UNStudio and Melbourne-based Cox Architecture was <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/victoria-green-lights-mega-projects-to-boost-economy">fast-tracked </a>by the Victorian government with construction expected to start early 2022 and take five years to complete.</p><p>The landscaped design continues the global push for greener-skyscrapers including the Aria Property Group’s <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/aria-cultivates-urban-forest-tower-plans">urban forest</a> in Brisbane and Amazon’s “helix” <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/amazon-unveils-hq2-helix-at-25bn-headquarters">headquarters </a>in Virginia. </p><p>Beulah’s twisting spines include a series of outdoor spaces and green elements along the façades of the two towers.</p><p>However, building the world’s tallest vertical garden has come with its challenges.</p><p></p><p></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/4188f4cf-a9d4-4044-8087-6c6e59238436.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ Southbank by Beulah will use plants from mountainous and coastal regions with placement based on sunlight, wind and elevation characteristics on each part of the towers. </span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p></p><p>The developer is working with a research and engineer team to create the towering feat and is also is in the process of appointing a landscape designer.</p><p>Water collected on the building terraces will be stored underground for reuse as irrigation while water stored by plants will help cool the surrounding building area in summer and warm it during winter.</p><p>Also taken into consideration is eliminating the risk of falling green material, with planting systems locking plants into planter beds and allowing for full abseiling maintenance.</p><p>The chosen plant species will be grown in a dedicated nursery in Victoria, which will mature in the landscape beds in the years preceding installation, grown within similar environmental conditions to ensure they thrive in their new, permanent locations.</p><p>This includes mountain and coastal plants being placed at higher levels in northern sunlight and morning breeze, with large-leaf breeds placed at lower heights like that of their natural rainforest conditions. </p><p>Related: <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/developing-australias-tallest-skyscraper-covid-19">Developing Australia’s Tallest Skyscraper During Covid-19</a></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/fcaad74e-1c66-4b56-8220-4d7b630a3f5a.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ Australia&#x27;s tallest tower will also become home to the world&#x27;s tallest vertical garden in Southbank, Melbourne. </span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p></p><p>Beulah executive director Adelene Teh said the project will provide individuals with the opportunity to connect with nature across every level of the two towers.</p><p>“With recent events highlighting the importance of a close connection to nature, beautiful, biophilic design is more important now than ever, particularly as Melburnians become more aware of the need for health and wellbeing,” Teh said.</p><p>“We know that the inclusion of greenery, water, light and other natural elements within a built environment positively affects how people interact with the space and how they feel in the space, both mentally and physically.”</p><p>Envisioned as a vertical mini-metropolis, Southbank by Beulah will comprise four distinct collections of private residences, public and green spaces, a rooftop sky garden, town hall and commercial offices.</p><p>There will also be a five-star urban resort, childcare centre, a health and wellness precinct, arts and culture spaces and programs, as well as experiential retail, all within two twisting terraced forms.</p></div></div></div></div></div>

The world’s tallest vertical garden will be built on Beulah International’s $2 billion Southbank tower in Melbourne...

Brisbane-Skyline1.jpg

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p> According to a social media poll conducted by travel guide company </p><p><a href="http://www.roughguides.com#http://www.roughguides.com"><strong>Rough Guides</strong></a>, Brisbane has been ranked more beautiful than cities such as Kyoto, Seville, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney.</p><p>The poll, which took its votes from Facebook and Twitter, ranked Brisbane the 8<sup>th</sup> most beautiful city in the world, with Sydney following at number thirteen.</p><p>The site described Brisbane’s position as “surprising”, attributing the result to it’s “lush green spaces and the enormous Brisbane River that snakes its way through the center before emptying itself into the azure Moreton Bay”.</p><p>According to the </p><p><a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au#http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au"><strong>Brisbane Times</strong></a>, a spokes person from </p><p><a href="http://www.brisbanemarketing.com.au#http://www.brisbanemarketing.com.au"><strong>Brisbane Marketing</strong></a> detailed the city’s aesthetic appeal was thanks to a combination of beautiful parks and public spaces, tree-lined streets, public art works and a wonderful mix of heritage and modern architecture.</p><p>As of recently, Brisbane has stepped up its architecture game, opening the worlds first flood resilient terminal at the Brisbane Airport, which designed by </p><p><a href="http://www.coxarchitecture.com.au#http://www.coxarchitecture.com.au"><strong>Cox Rayner Architects</strong></a>, welcomed Australia’s first Green Star- Communities rating.</p><p>With the reshaping of Brisbane’s West End and North Side areas with million dollar mixed-use development plans, Brisbane is currently in the midst of an exciting transformation.</p><p>According to the </p><p><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au#http://www.couriermail.com.au"><strong>Courier Mail</strong></a>, exposure from the G20 and the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament has helped transform the city’s image from a working class battler to a tourism darling.</p><p>Daniel Gschwind, </p><p><a href="https://www.qtic.com.au#https://www.qtic.com.au"><strong>QLD Tourism Industry Council</strong></a> CEO believes that Brisbane deserved its place among the world’s blockbuster tourism destinations.</p><p>“These big events help to put us in the minds of people when they do a survey like that…Southbank is an outstanding piece of infrastructure and the vista across the river to the city is world-class… I think we can all be very proud of how the city has evolved,” Mr Gschwind said.</p><p>Lord Mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk has also been quick to support Brisbane’s position in the ranking“The Kangaroo Point Cliffs overlooking the city, Southbank Parklands, City Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha lookout, Wilson Outlook Reserve in new Farm overlooking the Storey Bridge and the city and the Eagle Street Pier are just some of the many beautiful spots in Brisbane,” Lord Mayor Quirk said.</p><p>Brisbane has been topped by two Italian cities, Rome coming in first followed by Florence, while Paris was voted in as the third most beautiful city. Edinburgh, London, Prague and Venice were the only other cities that beat Brisbane.</p></div></div></div></div></div>

According to a social media poll conducted by travel guide company Rough Guides, Brisbane has been ranked more beautiful than cities such as Kyoto, Seville, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE