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
Multifamily Housing | Apr 18, 2018
MAA, Greystar nation’s largest apartment owner, developer
With 5,651 apartment units started in 2017, Charleston, S.C.-based Greystar Real Estate Partners was the most active multifamily rental developer last year, according to the 2018 NMHC 50 report.
High-rise Construction | Apr 17, 2018
Developers reveal plans for 1,422-foot-tall skyscraper in Chicago
The tower would be the second tallest in the city.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 10, 2018
Luxury apartment community in southwest Charlotte provides 288 one- and two-bedroom units
Each of the six buildings will offer 28 corner units.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 10, 2018
Studio Gang’s 11 Hoyt brings over 480 apartments and 50,000-sf of amenity space to NYC
The tower is Tishman Speyer’s first ground up condominium project in New York City.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 28, 2018
The latest data in the multifamily ‘amenities war’
Download Multifamily Design+Construction’s free 16-page report on the amenities multifamily architects, builders, and developers are providing their tenants and code buyers.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 21, 2018
Apartments outperform office, retail, industrial properties: NMHC research
Apartments offer strong returns and relatively low risk, according to new research from the National Multifamily Housing Council Research Foundation.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 14, 2018
How to solve the housing crunch on college campuses
A growing number of public and private academic institutions are turning to designers and architects for alternative housing strategies—particularly in high-density areas on the East and West Coasts.
Hotel Facilities | Mar 6, 2018
A New Hampshire college offers student housing as hotel rooms during the summer
The opening of a new residence hall could help with Plymouth State University’s hospitality marketing.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 4, 2018
Katerra, a tech-driven GC, plots ambitious expansion
Investors flock to this vertically integrated startup, which automates its design and construction processes.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 28, 2018
Transwestern data points to demand for larger rental units among baby boomers
As baby boomers seek to downsize from large homes, developers are increasingly designing apartments specifically for this demographic.