27-Jul-2017 Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has signed a management contract for a new signature hotel and branded residences to be developed in Melbourne, Australia. The project is expected to open in 2023, and is the Group’s first announced property in Australia. The hotel and residences will be located on Collins Street, in the mixed-use 185-metre tower designed by Zaha Hadid, and will play a part in the ongoing regeneration of the city’s Central Business District. Located in the heart of Melbourne’s financial and legal district, the project is close to the Docklands and the Southbank tourist and entertainment precinct. Mandarin Oriental, Melbourne will feature 196 spacious guestrooms and suites designed to reflect local culture, together with features inspired by Mandarin Oriental’s heritage. The Group will also manage 148 Residences at Mandarin Oriental, located on the tower’s upper floors, which will provide some of the most well-appointed private homes in the city. Owners will have access to the hotel experience, as well as their own bespoke amenities including a private residents’ lounge. Mandarin Oriental, Melbourne will feature an all-day dining restaurant and a bar with a landscaped roof terrace. There will also be a variety of meeting spaces and an executive club lounge. A Spa at Mandarin Oriental will offer the Group’s renowned wellness, relaxation and beauty facilities, while further leisure options include a comprehensive fitness centre and an indoor swimming pool. The project is being developed by Melbourne-based property developer, Landream. “We are delighted with this opportunity to open our first hotel in Australia and look forward to bringing Mandarin Oriental’s legendary hospitality to Melbourne,” said James Riley, Group Chief Executive of Mandarin Oriental. “This new development will be a welcome addition to the brand’s growing global portfolio,” he added. “We are proud to bring the award-winning Mandarin Oriental brand to Melbourne,” said Kevin Li Managing Director of Landream. “Mandarin Oriental, Melbourne will set a new standard for bespoke service in the city and will offer a preferred choice to travellers and potential homeowners who desire the finest accommodation,” he added.

“It is an honour to be working in Melbourne with Landream and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group on this unique project that takes inspiration from the finest examples of historic architecture within the Central Business District, where details within the masonry bring a rich architectural rhythm to the city. The hotel’s façade reinterprets this historical detailing in a contemporary solution, introducing a delicate filigree that gently envelops the building,” said ZHA project director Michele Pasca di Magliano.

“The tower’s design conveys the wide variety of interior spaces within; dividing the building’s overall volume into a series of smaller stacked vases, with each different vase housing the bespoke guestrooms, suites, residences or amenities of Mandarin Oriental’s renowned service and standards,” added Pasca di Magliano.

26-Jul-2016 Located on the Western boundary of Melbourne’s Central Business District, at the nexus between Collins Street and the Docklands, 600 Collins Street is within an area of the city that is evolving into a new precinct in its own right. Melbourne’s renowned cultural attractions, festivals and community events contribute to the city’s listing as ‘the most liveable city in the world’. With 420 apartments, offices, retail and public spaces, the 54-storey (178m) design has evolved from the city’s distinct urban fabric. A colonnade of sculptural curved columns on the Collins Street façade embodies the traditions inherent within the finest examples of historic architecture in Melbourne's CBD. “The design has been defined by Melbourne’s rich and diverse urban landscape, reinterpreted in a contemporary solution driven by the logical division of its overall volume that will enhance the city’s public realm with generous communal spaces,” said Zaha Hadid Architects’ Michele Pasca di Magliano. “We are honoured to be working with our partners in Melbourne to deliver this project for the city.” The arrangement of the 70,000 square metre tower takes inspiration from its mixed-use program, converting the building’s overall volume into a series of smaller stacked vases. In addition to housing a different programmatic element, each vase gently tapers inwards to create new civic spaces for the city including a public plaza, terraces and new link for pedestrians to access Southern Cross railway station and the tram network. Vanessa Bird, Victorian president of the Australian Institute of Architects, said to The Age newspaper that the tower was expected to become a new visitor drawcard for Melbourne. "The drawing power and attraction of good design has a huge value to the economy," she explained. Designed to use 50 per cent less energy than a conventional mixed-use tower, this façade contributes to a reduction in the direct solar gain of the building and emissions. A high performance glazing system, high efficiency central cooling, high efficiency lighting and grey-water reuse systems will reduce consumption of resources and further lower the emissions. 350 bicycle parking spaces and bays for electric vehicles and shared car clubs are included within the design.

The project’s approval is supported by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, City of Melbourne and Office of Victorian Government Architect. Planning Minister Richard Wynne said, “it's pleasing to see a project of this quality proposed for Melbourne and see a strong architectural response within the framework of the interim controls.”

Acting Minister for Planning Jill Hennessy said in a statement, "this stand-out design will enhance the city’s skyline." “This is an inspired project that will enrich the city, creating a new public plaza and amenities as well as improve connectivity for all pedestrians,” said a spokeswoman for Landream, the project’s developers. “We are proud to be delivering Zaha Hadid’s design for Melbourne and will continue to work closely with her team to make it a reality.”