Cremorne Gets Green Light for 15-storey Mass-timber Tower

A proposed 15-storey office building in Melbourne’s Cremorne is aiming to change the way commercial workplaces contribute to their surrounding neighbourhood, combining a mass-timber structure with publicly accessible ground-floor space, rooftop solar and gardens on every level.

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The Victorian Government has granted a planning permit for the development at 57-71 Stephenson Street, which is being promoted by construction and development company Vettex as Australia’s tallest mass-timber office building.

Designed by Edition Office, Finding Infinity, Openwork and Tract, the project has an ambitious environmental brief, with the team seeking to deliver what it describes as Australia’s lowest embodied energy commercial office building.

Rather than treating the building as a conventional office tower, the design places an emphasis on its relationship with the surrounding streetscape. An activated, publicly accessible ground floor is intended to operate as an extension of the local street and park network, while shared spaces throughout the building aim to encourage collaboration between tenants.

Edition Office director Aaron Roberts said the intention was to create a building that could become both a cultural anchor and an engaging place to work.

“We see the ground plane as an extension to the street or park network, rather than a typical, enclosed ground floor lobby; an expansion of public infrastructure for community and users of the building to come together within,” Roberts said.

The building’s mass-timber structure is complemented by a four-metre planted perimeter on every level, incorporating gardens and open spaces. The design also includes provision for on-site food production, bringing landscape and opportunities for growing into the everyday workplace environment.

Openwork founder Mark Jacques said the landscape strategy was intended to strengthen the existing character of Cremorne rather than impose an entirely new identity on the neighbourhood.

“Our landscape approach is about amplifying Cremorne rather than reinventing it, using planting, biodiversity and public space to create a healthier workplace while strengthening the character, memory and ecology that already make this part of Melbourne distinctive,” Jacques said.

Environmental performance is another major driver. The project is targeting a 6-Star NABERS energy rating and Passivhaus certification, with solar photovoltaic cells incorporated across the roof and all four facades. Finding Infinity principal Ross Harding said the building’s operating costs were forecast to be around 70 per cent lower than those of a standard office building.

The proposal also attracted scrutiny during the planning process, with Yarra City Council raising concerns about its scale in relation to the surrounding development pattern. It ultimately received a permit through the Victorian Government’s Development Facilitation Program, following pre-application review and consultation with the Office of the Victorian Government Architect.

With approval secured, Vettex director Chris Coyle said the focus was now on attracting organisations looking for workplaces that could support their people while contributing positively to the environment.

The project presents a different proposition for commercial development in Cremorne, where workplace design, environmental performance and the relationship between private buildings and public life are increasingly interconnected.

Images via ArchitectureAU