Elenberg Fraser has revealed its design plans for Market Lane, a new office development in Melbourne designed to address the growing Millennial workforce.
The architects refer to the concept as a ‘non-office’; a polycentric model that seamlessly connects flexibility, health, lifestyle, technology and landscape.
The building is split across two volumes connected by two bridges across a central atrium, which runs up through the entire height. Floor plans are modular and new technology ensures they can be easily shifted to adapt to changing needs and layouts. Two internal circulation pathways are vertically connected with stairs, giving tenants the ability to occupy partial or combined floorplates.
Construction technology played a vital role in the design, with developer and builder Hickory trialling prefabricated construction techniques, and manufacturing a range of custom building components in-house.
The concept of an urban forest was a driving force of the design, which led to features
such as the terraced frontage of the building, which gives each level its own flexible outdoor office area. According to the architects, this is very dense planting, undulating in height and form to create usable spaces of varied levels of intimacy.
Each landscape element has been considered in terms of how it can add to the office experience; there are greenhouses that act as meeting rooms, edible gardens and an apiary on the rooftop to help pollinate the local environment. The plant life also extends right into the heart of the building, cascading down and through the internal atrium.
Other features include:
- Over 8,500sqm of available office space
- 5 star NABERS rating (sustainability, landscaping, air circulation)
- High-tech building management system
- Upper levels enjoy private terraced spaces with views of the surrounding CBD, Yarra precinct, Albert Park and Royal Botanic Gardens.
Image credit: Elenberg Fraser and Mr. P Studios
