Plans for the world’s greenest residential skyscraper are back on the table after Aria Property Group filed plans for a 30-storey ‘Urban Jungle’ in the heart of Brisbane’s South Brisbane and West End precinct – three years after initially seeking to build a 34-storey skyscraper during the height of Covid.
The 321-unit complex, including one, two, three, four and five-bedroom apartments, will tower the River City and feature 827 trees and 27,000 plants staggered throughout the building’s podium, facade and rooftop.
According to Aria development director Michael Hurley, the ‘Urban Forest’ is more than just a green gimmick, but a blueprint for the future of sustainable living in Brisbane – which is looking to compete with Singapore to become one of the world’s greenest cities:
“In time, we want Brisbane to be mentioned in the same breath as Singapore as a global leader in green buildings and sustainability,” he said. “As we head towards the 2032 Olympics, Brisbane should be embracing more green and sustainable towers that will put our city on an international standing.”
Aria design manager Simon Maurice said Urban Forest would “celebrate Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate” and bring the traditional backyard experience into each apartment.”
“Cities like Singapore have been the international benchmark for green urban centres and sustainable architecture,” Mr Maurice said, adding that the new tower is “targeting up to 200% of the site area covered by foliage, which Urban Forest hopes to exceed.”
The Urban Forest is designed by Sydney-based Koichi Takada, a major architect globally renowned for signature projects in Tokyo, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Doha, and, most recently, Aria’s Upper House—now the tallest building in South Brisbane. Towering above all other buildings in the precinct, it is anchored by a weaving timber facade, which Mr Takada dubbed “the architectural roots” of the development.
Rising above the podium, the tower facade has three meandering timber pillars, which “mimic the buttress roots of the native Moreton Bay Fig Tree,” – with the structure manufactured by Theca Australia (the fabricator behind Sydney’s Fish Market massive glulam roof) and manufactured by Siberian Larch: “We always turn to nature for inspiration,” Mr Takada said. “The ‘architectural roots’ map out a journey [that] stabilises and anchor the tree – or in this case building – to its prime location.”
Both developments are a short walk from the 2032 Olympic Games International Broadcasting Centre site, leading to the significant redevelopment of one of the last remaining riverside portions of land in central Brisbane:
“The mayors of south-east Queensland began the journey to pursue these Games because they realised the incredible legacy this would create for Brisbane and the rest of the region,” Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said in 2021. “This new area on the banks of the Brisbane River is precisely the type of legacy they envisaged: great new assets that would benefit all residents and make our wonderful city even better.”
Last year, current Queensland Premier Steven Miles pledged to build “greener, cleaner and more sustainable” building materials for the $ 7-billion plus Olympic infrastructure spend.
- To learn more about the push to build more Brisbane buildings out of timber in the run-up to the 2032 Olympic Games, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
