by Paul McGillick
Indesign (Australia)
No. 43, December 2010-February 2011
pp. 76-93
As part of a major feature in Indesign magazine (December 2010) on the developing Docklands area in Melbourne, ANZ Centre (designed by HASSELL and Lend Lease design, architects in collaboration) was presented in large spread.
Discussing the rapidly changing area, Paul McGillick, author of the text and Indesign magazine Editor, notes that, "Docklands is a work in progress and despite a degree of criticism it is undeniable that the Docklands project has transformed the city of Melbourne. It represents a cultural renewal which can be seen as an extension of the rejuvenated laneways in the sense that it has added to the grain of an already richly textured CBD."
ANZ Centre sites on the banks of the Yarra River and is the largest single-tenanted commercial office building in Australia. The inspiration for the design was drawn from the site's unique location at the confluence of the Yarra River and Collins Street, explained Ken Maher of HASSELL in the article. The organic form reflects the ebb and flow of the Yarra and the organic maritime history of the locality.
The building is open and permeable; a first for any banking headquarters in the world, and reflects a shift in workplace culture. Three principle architectural forms intertwine around a central space, combined to provide an open interactive and sustainable workplace with strong connections between place and the distinctive community that is emerging in Melbourne Docklands.
McGillick concludes that, "Moving through the building is like strolling through a hill town - and with a similar sense of constant discovery - with views up, down, forwards and back, all somehow connected, loosely but with the coherence that comes from a strong and personality."
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