181 William Street, designed by Bates Smart Pty Ltd situated on the corner of Bourke and William Streets in Melbourne’s CBD Australia consists of a 26 level split-core office tower. The podium is a floating grey zinc box held by white granite-clad columns, a contemporary companion to the bluestone Goldsborough Mort building on the opposite corner.
The glass façade of the tower has a rich and varied palette of glasses, developed to link the building to the urban and natural environment. The range of seven colours to the spandrel and vision glass has been distributed in a manner inspired by the dot painting techniques of indigenous art.
CBW is designed to revitalize a neglected part of Melbourne, injecting new life, colour and energy into this important corner site. It incorporates a lively multi-level retail heart, which builds on Melbourne’s laneway tradition and expands to create a sun-filled place of respite within the urban fabric.
181 William Street by Bates Smart Pty Ltd