ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE

james@schildrotharchitect.com

J A M E S   W A L T E R

S C H I L D R O T H

Landmark Centre Competition 1979
A competition submission by James Walter Schildroth, Architect

Melbourne Mile High

Citizens of Melbourne

Here is an opportunity to move into the 21st Century with a structure so bold that perhaps only a country as young and vital as Australia can accomplish it in this day and age.

Two towers, each one mile high, above the River Yarra.

A new street connecting Flinders Street Station at Swanston Street with the Melbourne Cricket Ground, let us cal it Melbourne Parade, will be a street for people.  It will have trams for surface transportation within the Landmark Centre, and it will provide a route for those special occasions when a parade is the order of the day.  The architecture along the Melbourne Parade is especially designed for viewing parades but will be used everyday for shopping, living and office space and in general, will provide a multi-use public space for the Landmark Centre and the Melbourne area.

The levels below the Plaza and the Melbourne Parade are for services and automobile parking for the Landmark Centre as well as downtown Melbourne.  A new station under the Towers will serve as a transportation link with the city, the suburban areas, and the rest of Australia and will make it easy to commute to the offices within the Landmark Centre.

THE TOWERS:  Each tower will be 1612 meters high, 403 floors, 2,300,000 square meters of floor space.  At the base, the floor plan is an equilateral triangle 200 meters on a side.   Two sides are vertical with the third north side sloping at 8 to 1 from the base to the 325th floor.  From there to the top, all sides are vertical; making the top 75 floors 40 meters on a side.  Because of the large base and the tripod shape, these towers are well within structural engineering feasibility.

Vertical transportation is divided into four stations.  A ground station connects with existing rail transportation on the site.   Sky lobbies are located on floors 100, 200 and 300 with lift interchanges at these points.  The 100th floor level has a horizontal bridge between the North and South Towers.  Surrounding each lift interchange are several floors of shopping plazas, recreation and entertainment centers.

Aerial Trams extend from tram ports in the tower at the 100th floor level into the King’s Domain, Treasury Gardens and other locations in the city.  The Trams will provide direct transportation to these parts of the city as well as a spectacular ride for people visiting the Landmark Centre.

The sloping north face of the Tower, each with 18,000 square meters of surface area are designed and oriented to collect solar energy which will run some of the systems in the Landmark Centre.

The Mile High Melbourne Towers are a landmark Centre for the future, a place to grow in the heart of a great city.  From the top floors one can see the ocean and all of the city, watch sports at the Cricket Ground and races at the track.

Melbourne Mile High

Landmark Centre Competition 1979