Repost 2018, updated 2021:

Aurora Melbourne, #LaTrobeStreet, vision vs reality, both images from @elenbergfraser, 2nd side by side from 2018. Surprisingly the render is exactly right, except for the colour. Funny how it’s so tall, 90 floors, but not really a landmark. It would look better in morning sun, but then this is what it looks like from the state library side all afternoon (and yes it’ll shadow the forecourt after 2pm in the winter half of the year). Another #ElenbergFraser curvy reflective tower.

2021 update : some random interior photos.

20 September 2025

The two monsters that loom over the State Library forecourt, packed with people on a pleasant sunny day. Unfortunately the horrible Scape student housing, designed like a literal stack of grey boxes by @dentoncorkermarshall, starts to cast a shadow at precisely 2pm – the sunlight protection here was established in the 1980s, when it was thought only lunchtimes mattered in the CBD, since nobody lived there, it was all for office workers, which of course seems terribly short sighted now. It got a permit in 2015, and I don’t recall any controversy about sunlight then, except from me when it started to go up.

The giant 90 floor Aurora by @elenberg_fraser at least has nice curvy lines, but that’ll be covered up soon by something that looks exactly like a stack of IKEA baskets, built over and next to the new metro station entrance. It’s an office tower I think under way already, designed by @hassell_studio, and optimistically called State Library Exchange. The guff says “this innovative mixed-use hub offers sustainable and flexible workspaces across 10,000 sqm of commercial office space. What sets the SLE Tower apart is its proximity to existing campus areas and educational institutions, making it an ideal choice for education partners and universities seeking a collaborative and vibrant environment.” Or just any old office use.

This corner is so obviously a place where appearance and size does matter, but it’s treated exactly like any cbd site by the planning scheme, and they’re generally silent about aesthetics.

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