Massive cylindrical tower planned for South Brisbane as city swells

South Brisbane’s skyward rise is set to continue, with developers submitting plans for a 30-storey “cylinder” tower that would add more than 250 units to Brisbane’s housing stock.

Designed by architectural firm Woods Bagot, Aria Property Group’s 10 Cordelia, at 10-12 Cordelia Street, would rise 145 metres into the South Brisbane sky.

Rendering of Aria’s proposed 10 Cordelia development at South Brisbane.Credit: Brisbane City Council

In its assessment report submitted to Brisbane City Council, town planning firm Urbis cited Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner’s announcement last month that his City Hall administration planned to allow buildings in the South Brisbane/Kurilpa area to match the height of CBD towers.

Towers in the CBD are limited to 274 metres, due to flight paths to and from Brisbane Airport.

While 10 Cordelia would be well below that limit, Urbis said it showed the development was appropriate for the South Brisbane site.

“The Kurilpa Precinct is acknowledged as being uniquely positioned to contribute to the 115,000 new homes which will be required to be built to accommodate Brisbane’s growth to more than 1.5 million people by 2041, being located less than 500 metres from the CBD and adjoining Brisbane’s cultural precinct,” Urbis said in the assessment report.

A street-level view of the proposed tower’s podium.Credit: Brisbane City Council

“Council’s more recent announcement for height limit restrictions to be removed in Kurilpa only cements this intent, with a key part of this initiative to deliver an additional 10,000 dwellings in the Kurilpa Precinct alone.

“In this context, the proposed development can contribute to these growth targets and assist in addressing a rapidly growing national housing and rental supply crisis.”

As for the design, Urbis said the series of cylindrical forms that made up the tower would provide a “striking counterpoint” to other buildings in the vicinity.

“The overall architectural statement of the development continues Aria’s tradition of distinguishing itself from the prevailing rectilinear urban form of South Brisbane and echoes recent Aria developments including The Standard,” it said.

“The proposal adopts a dramatic architectural statement of an active, vibrant and intriguing built form and tower design. In addition to the high-quality podium, the development incorporates design measures which activate Cordelia Street by providing communal open space areas directly accessible from ground floor level and the rooftop level.”

The tower, built on a 1822-square-metre site, would include 254 units made up of 63 one-bedroom, 105 two-bedroom and 63 three-bedroom units. There would also be 20 sub-penthouses and five penthouses.

There would be five storeys of basement parking, with a further three storeys provided in the podium, for a total of 377 car spaces. There would also be 323 spaces provided for bicycle parking.

The development application was submitted to the council on Friday for approval. As it was considered code assessable, there would be no required public notification period.