Wood Marsh Pty Ltd

600 Church Street Building

600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

600 CHURCH STREET BUILDING

Wood Marsh

ARCHITECTS
Wood Marsh

CATEGORY
Commercial Architecture Buildings

YEAR
2021

LOCATION
Australia

600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

Sitting in contrast to the industrial grit of Cremorne as a progressive commercial building, Church Street reinforces its corner allotment, boldly ascending as a monolithic crystalline glass formation.

600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

The building’s faceted outer shell is an intentionally ambiguous interplay with scale.

The futuristic form and materiality contrast with the surrounds, accentuating the building’s refined and polished nature against the area’s raw and textured industrial past.

600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

Secondary to the building’s form is the unexpected fine articulation at the ground level where the building intercepts an adjacent laneway.

A palette of multi-colored panels arranged in a concertina pattern picks up on the angles of the façade and connects conceptually to the brilliant refractions within a gemstone.

The installation casts reflective light on the narrow pathway, invigorating an otherwise mundane laneway and providing a level of passive surveillance when illuminated at night.

600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

The building is composed of retail and hospitality at ground level, and office tenancies above, leading upward to a roof terrace.

The inclining and reclining façade elements deliberately obscure the floor plates they intersect with and act to obfuscate one's sense of the building’s scale.

The measured angling of glazing at ground level limits distracting reflections and the overhang over the footpath functions as a street-level awning.

600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

The building entry is defined by the glazed façade lifting to reveal a concrete background. The external materiality is echoed in the lobby with bright blue mirror extending throughout the double-height space. Spherical glass pendants suspended at varying heights feature as a dramatic installation whilst also providing a sense of spatial intimacy.

Church Street aims to bring an enhanced level of amenity to the workplace. The building features a first of its kind multi-level bike stacker system and enhanced change rooms, to genuinely promote cycling as an alternative mode of transport. With landscaping by TCL, the roof is a social space encouraging connection between staff while offering visual connection to the city skyline.

600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

As the faceted glass bands ascend, the subtle shift in tonality responds to a gradual progression from the building’s industrial base, upward toward the sky. The tonal transition occurs at a height approximate to that of the surrounding suburban buildings.

Above, the glazing is lighter and the building further set back. In the resulting interstitial space, a balcony encircles the building for use by the Level 4 tenancy.

Church Street positions its eight stories as an abstract sculptural object offering both contrast and balance to its unique industrial setting.

600 Church Street Building
© Willem-Dirk du Toit


600 Church Street Building
North Elevation
600 Church Street Building
East Elevation


600 Church Street Building
Mezzanine Plan
600 Church Street Building
Ground Floor Plan
600 Church Street Building
Roof Terrace Floor
600 Church Street Building
Elevation

Wood Marsh Pty Ltd
T +61 3 96762600 F +61 3 96762811
Wood Marsh Pty Ltd
30 Beaconsfield Parade, Port Melbourne VIC 3207, Australia