The vision

The Olderfleet Story

Olderfleet has been designed by globally-recognised design house Grimshaw Architects to both celebrate the rich heritage of the original Olderfleet buildings and to project a thoroughly modern form on the city skyline.

Rather than starting with a single vision, the Olderfleet design process began with an internal competition amongst Grimshaw’s four international offices, with the successful concept coming from the Melbourne office. The final design, however, incorporated some of the best thinking from each of the submissions, resulting in a striking mix of heritage sandstone, steel and glass.

Grimshaw and Mirvac were presented with the challenge to seamlessly integrate the heritage façade with the modern office tower behind. Grimshaw’s winning design connected the two buildings with one of the largest lobbies in Melbourne, creating a 30-metre-high glass atrium. The beautiful heritage buildings will remain intact with the extensive refurbishment and modernisation of the interiors to create boutique office and retail space.

The central design idea sees the tower presented as three discrete office ‘villages’, with dedicated lift access, double-height entry floors and exclusive outdoor terrace areas for each village. The side-core design also delivers exceptionally flexible, open floorplates, with an abundance of natural light and views across the city in all directions. It’s an architectural statement that anchors Olderfleet to its Collins Street heritage while bringing a striking modernity to the Melbourne city skyline.

In this quintessentially Melbourne location, the ground floor acts as an ‘interior laneway’, flowing across several levels between Collins Street to Flinders Lane, underneath an enormous vaulted ceiling to give a sense of drama and prestige.

We endeavour to deliver a place that pays respect to the site’s history, whilst serving the modern day needs of its occupants and the community.