Aria Plans South Brisbane Office Precinct Blockbuster

South-east Queensland developer Aria is stepping up its commitment to the South Brisbane area with a masterplanned office precinct that would take  up most of a suburban block. 

The mixed-use development would comprise three 12-storey commercial towers over two and three-storey podiums with raised ground planes focused on the central courtyard.

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.

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. 

“It’s been a bit of a labour of love,” Liddell said.

“We had to amalgamate the site, but it was a key focus for us.

“We’re really excited to explore commercial offices, it’s not something we have done a lot of.

“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.”

▲ The three towers are distinct from each other, but all three sit atop podiums that complement the existing heritage fabric of the area.

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.

“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. 

“We’re very heavily invested in this area, and Fish Lane is a key link connecting our projects.

“The plan is for three commercial towers on the site but the big opportunity for this site was the ground plane.

“The ground plane is going to be the really exciting part of this project.

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. 

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.

Following the successes of Fish Lane Town Square, 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.

▲ Richards and Spence and RPS Landscape Architects will collaborate again on this project following the success of the Fish Lane Town Square development.

“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. 

“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. 

“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.”

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.