Last May, the city of Melbourne has approved a 741-foot tower that features a curvy façade based on Beyoncé’s music video Ghost, where models (possibly the songstress herself) are enveloped in what appears to be skin-tight chiffon, stretching and swaying as a wind machine blows.
But according to the building’s designer, architects at Australian firm Elenberg Fraser, the shape isn’t merely an ode to one of today’s most prominent pop icons alive. In fact, lead architect Reid Dixon told Gizmag it was purely coincidental.
"The building volume was created by those natural outcomes," Dixon told Gizmag. "We were in a meeting and trying to describe the appearance of the design to somebody, but we didn't have any images. So one of our directors said it looks like the music clip to Beyoncé's Ghost."
"This project is the culmination of our significant research," the firm told Dezeen. "The complex form—a vertical cantilever—is actually the most effective way to redistribute the building's mass, giving the best results in terms of structural dispersion, frequency oscillation and wind requirements."
According to Gizmag, the similarity between the form and Beyoncé's music video was noticed in the early stages, when only the exterior design was completed. So the team went on with the idea, even designing the interiors in "a nice warm palette, inspired by Beyoncé's skin tones and theatre performances," Dixon tells Gizmag.
Computer aid using parametric modeling helped the architects come up with the design specifics, such as where the building swells in and swells out.
The building will have 68 stories, containing 660 apartments and a 160-room hotel. The building will be located at the west end of Melbourne’s business district. There is no construction start or completion date announced yet.
Beyoncé wouldn’t be the first pop icon to inspire architects. Dancing duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were credited for being Frank Gehry’s inspiration in design of the Nationale-Nederlanden building in Prague.
Related Stories
Sponsored | Multifamily Housing | Dec 5, 2018
Apartment community connects friends and neighbors through indoor-outdoor amenities
Hubbard Place is a 44-story, 450-unit apartment community in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, an established tech hub in the downtown area. The building has an entire floor dedicated to communal and entertainment amenities.
Reconstruction Awards | Nov 26, 2018
Yarn works: Neverending yarn
111-year-old mill becomes a mixed-income multifamily community.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 20, 2018
Designs unveiled for new residential tower in Honolulu
Studio Gang pays homage to sugarcane plants that were once prevalent in this area.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 14, 2018
BIG’s ‘wooden hillside’ residential building in Stockholm officially opens
The building spans 270,000 sf.
Market Data | Nov 14, 2018
A new Joint Center report finds aging Americans less prepared to afford housing
The study foresees a significant segment of seniors struggling to buy or rent on their own or with other people.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 26, 2018
Future proofing multifamily housing amenities for Generation Z
How does a multifamily property developer or operator make a smart investment in amenities that will give the project long-term value?
Multifamily Housing | Oct 23, 2018
A threesome of transit-oriented projects
Developers and their project teams are recognizing the value of walkability, convenient neighborhood services, and transit access, as these three TODs demonstrate.
Wood | Oct 19, 2018
Design revealed for mass-timber residential tower in Milwaukee
The developer is confident that the city will approve construction, which is scheduled to start next year.
Mixed-Use | Oct 15, 2018
35-story mixed-use tower will be tallest residential building in Long Beach
Studio One Eleven designed the tower.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 10, 2018
Affordable treasures
This year’s prestigious Gold Nugget Awards honor four projects that provide affordably priced housing for homeless families, seniors, and veterans.