The first stage of Melbourne’s Wharf’s Entrance precinct at Yarra’s Edge has been completed: a $200 million, 30-storey residential tower complex by Mirvac.
Called Forge, the soaring glass-and-steel tower stands over 100 metres tall, and contains 228 residential apartments in addition to a private dining room, a cinema, five podium levels, several winter gardens and an aquarium in the lobby.
Located at the western edge of the precinct, the tower overlooks the skyline of Melbourne CBD, including views over the Yarra River, the Bolte Bridge and Port Philip Bay. When Wharf’s Landing is completed – a project that is slated for completion in mid-2017 – Forge will overlook an open, riverfront parkland and a new health-and-wellbeing facility called The Wharf Club.
“Wharf’s Entrance transforms what was once an old wharf, and follows the success of Yarra’s Edge to date in creating one of Melbourne’s most culturally vibrant and liveable communities with unparalleled waterfront access,” says Elysa Anderson, Mirvac’s general manager of residential Victoria.
According to Mirvac, the tower’s façade was designed to channel both the heritage of the area and the water that it fronts onto. The curved, silver, glass-and-steel façade was a direct reference to the river’s iridescence and movement.
For the project, Mirvac also commissioned Ned Kahn, an environmental artist and sculptor, to create an installation for the site. The resulting work, called Fluid Lines, is a kinetic sculpture that creates a rippling effect in response to the wind. The installation has been placed on the Lorimer Street and Regatta Way podium façade.
Mirvac was responsible for both the project’s architecture and interiors. Like the outside, the interior material palette was selected with sympathy to the riverside location. For instance, in the lobby, original wharf timbers have been re-purposed, and copper light fixtures are used to illuminate the space.
The lobby’s features – which include an aquarium and a fireplace – are also reminiscent of the project’s natural context.
Construction on Forge began in 2015; it is now the first tower in Wharf’s Entrance to be completed. Construction on Voyager, another tower that has been planned for the site, is expected to commence construction soon. Once completed, Voyager will be the precinct’s tallest tower.
“We are proud to be one step closer to realising our vision for the precinct – which has been more than 17 years in the making – of a well-connected neighbourhood of diverse residents,” says Anderson. “The completion of Forge is a momentous event for Yarra’s Edge, which is now home to […] more than 3,000 people.”
