Complex shapes: Beyoncé inspires Elenberg Fraser's new Premier Tower skyscraper in Melbourne

Architectural practice Elenberg Fraser has been granted planning approval for Premier Tower, a Beyoncé-inspired skyscraper in Melbourne, Australia
Architectural practice Elenberg Fraser has been granted planning approval for Premier Tower, a Beyoncé-inspired skyscraper in Melbourne, Australia
(Image credit: TBC)

They say architects find inspiration in the strangest of places, but Melbourne-based practice Elenberg Fraser is taking that one step further, looking to singer Beyoncé as a model for their latest build, the 'Premier Tower'. 

The curvaceous, 226m-tall skyscraper has been granted planning approval in the Australian city and marries the firm's singular aesthetic with a serious rationale. 

'This project is the culmination of our significant research into how to best work with individual site and climatic constraints, brought together using our new parametric modelling techniques,' explains the studio. Parametric modelling – a computer-aided design – allows complex shapes to be created in response to data limitations, creating a unique form and undulating facade. 'The complex form – a vertical cantilever – is actually the most effective way to redistribute the building's mass, giving the best results in terms of structural dispersion, frequency oscillation and wind requirements.'

Functional as it may be, the form of the build was originally inspired by Beyoncé's Ghost. In the video for the song, fabric wrapped dancers stand tall, emphasising the curves and twists of the human body as they bend and coil. 

A completion date for the 68-storey structure – which will contain 660 apartments, as well as a hotel with 160 rooms of its own and retail space – has yet to be confirmed. But once completed, it will sit opposite the Southern Cross station in the business district of the city.

The skyscraper marries the firm's singular aesthetic with a serious rationale

The skyscraper marries the firm's singular aesthetic with a serious rationale

(Image credit: TBC)

'This project is the culmination of our significant research into how to best work with individual site and climatic constraints, brought together using our new parametric modelling techniques,' explains the studio

'This project is the culmination of our significant research into how to best work with individual site and climatic constraints, brought together using our new parametric modelling techniques,' explains the studio

(Image credit: TBC)

Parametric modelling – a computer-aided design – was used to create the unique undulating facade

Parametric modelling – a computer-aided design – was used to create the unique undulating facade

(Image credit: TBC)

The 68-storey structure will contain 660 apartments, a 160-room hotel and retail space

The 68-storey structure will contain 660 apartments, a 160-room hotel and retail space

(Image credit: TBC)

'The complex form – a vertical cantilever – is actually the most effective way to redistribute the building's mass, giving the best results in terms of structural dispersion, frequency oscillation and wind requirements'

'The complex form – a vertical cantilever – is actually the most effective way to redistribute the building's mass, giving the best results in terms of structural dispersion, frequency oscillation and wind requirements'

(Image credit: TBC)

Once completed, Premier Tower will sit opposite the Southern Cross station in Melbourne's business district

Once completed, Premier Tower will sit opposite the Southern Cross station in Melbourne's business district

(Image credit: TBC)