Southern hemisphere’s tallest tower approved

The Gold Coast City Council planning committee has given the go-ahead for a pair of towers that will be the tallest in the southern hemisphere.

The Orion towers complex will be made up of two towers, proposed to reach 274 meters (76 storeys) and 328 metres (103 storeys) respectively. If built, the tallest of the towers will narrowly surpass Auckland’s Sky Tower, the current tallest building in the southern hemisphere (328 metres at the top of its spire) and eclipse the Gold Coast’s current tallest building Q1 (322 metres at the top of its spire).

A curved bridge with large LED screens on the underside will link the two Orion towers by Woods Bagot.

A curved bridge with large LED screens on the underside will link the two Orion towers by Woods Bagot.

Image: Courtesy Woods Bagot

Woods Bagot won a national competition to design Orion towers, which will be located on Surfers Paradise Boulevard between Markwell and Enderley avenues and will house more than 1,000 apartments, a hotel, restaurants and an observation deck.

The towers will sit atop a five-storey podium, which will forms a circular “urban canyon” on the Surfers Paradise Boulevard street front, designed by Form Landscape Architects, and will be surrounded with vertical planting. The circular “urban canyon” will also inform the shape of the towers, which will curve around the space. An elevated curved bridge, which will reinforce the circular shape, will extend outwards from the towers, linking the two. Large LED screens will be fixed to the underside of the bridge, allowing it to display time, weather and information on community events.

“The design aimed to create layers of experience for residents and guests alike, from the finely grained daily living places to a super-scaled ‘city space’ via a series of garden decks, indoor and outdoor pools, fitness, lounge and function areas,” said Woods Bagot director Mark Damant.

Developers Orion International Group and Gold Coast Development Managers CRA Group submitted the development application for the towers in February. This decision amounts to a preliminary approval, with a full council meeting set to make a final decision on the proposal next week. Councillor Gary Baildon was the only councillor to vote against the development.

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