West Australia’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA) has received an application for a new development to be constructed in Elizabeth Quay, on the banks of the city’s iconic Swan River.

Designed by New York-based Rex Architecture, the proposed multi-residential, retail and entertainment-based design known as ‘Perth+’ includes a 54-storey tower, a 19-storey tower and a public area.

According to WA’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority (MRA), the twin-towers of Perth+ are intended to become a new hub linking Elizabeth Quay, the CBD, the Cultural Centre, and the entertainment district of Northbridge. 

The towers will be designed to engage their urban surroundings by offering a mix of uses including retail, offices, hotel, and residences – much in the same way as Sydney’s Darling Harbour has managed to achieve.

According to the architects, the façade of the twin-towers will have an aluminium curtain wall that will allow the final design to promote a flush glazing on the exterior, behind an overlay of structural vertical mullions. 

These structural vertical mullions will be placed on the outboard of the facade to create a smaller frame on the building’s interior (in order to increase the usable area), as well as assisting in shading the structure in the hot and dry summer months.

The facade panels will be formed into a four-sided frame and hung from the buildings’ floor slabs like a conventional curtainwall, while the aluminium fins will be connected to one side of the curtainwall.

This simple yet practical design will allow the façade to accommodate building movements while also maintaining a narrower profile. 

The residential balconies, integrated into the façade to protect from Perth’s’ winds, will also allow residents to enjoy the outdoors, and at the same time, providing shading to reduce heat, while the use of moveable panels will allow the winter gardens to be opened to the exterior in the cooler months or if need be, closed to become an extension of the interior space.

According to MRA Chief Executive Officer Kieran Kinsella, Perth+ (as well as the nearby Yagan Square development) will reconnect and redefine the city.

“I am very excited to see how each of these development proposals continues to redefine our city and complete the vision for reconnecting the CBD with Northbridge,” said Kinsella.