Australia’s tallest timber building and what could eventually become a landmark is coming to Melbourne’s Southbank precinct and it’s all thanks to TFE Hotels.
The group’s Adina Apartment Hotels is planning to open a stunning new hotel in precinct, which will be designed by Bates Smart, the architects and designers behind some of Australia’s most lauded design projects.
The new hotel will comprise 220 apartments using relatively new mass timber construction technology that will see the project attain new levels in sustainable design, and making it one of Australia’s tallest timber buildings. The carbon-neutral timber product (CLT) that will be used is 30 percent lighter than steel and concrete, resulting in lower production and transport costs, and therefore reduced carbon emissions. Bates Smart says this presents an opportunity for the creation of a new paradigm in sustainable construction.
The site at 55 Southbank Boulevard is a defining new gateway for Melbourne, sitting between the CBD, vibrant St Kilda Road, and the parklands surrounding Royal Botanic Gardens. The hotel’s new age construction technology with a curved curtain wall glass facade will complement the architecture of the existing building to create a landmark building in the Southbank precinct. The building will feature a curved balcony, which will provide views from a spectacular pool area and gym towards the city.
The new hotel marks TFE Hotels’ continued expansion into the Melbourne market, where it has five hotels in the pipeline and sees a strong future, given the amount of investment and government activity in sports, arts and tourism.
TFE Hotels CEO Rachel Argaman said the hotel was part of the ongoing expansion of the Adina Apartment Hotels brand in Australia and overseas.
“From a brand that started in Sydney in 1963, we now have 20 Adinas in Australia and 10 in Europe, plus a series of stunning new luxury lifestyle hotels set to open in the next five years in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra under the new Adina Grand umbrella.”
Rachel Argaman, TFE Hotels Chief Executive
Construction starts on late 2017 with the hotel set to welcome guests early 2019.
