The design of 278 Little Lonsdale Street incorporates red bricks, which are synonymous with the old-world charm of Melbourne. The 32-storey tower features a façade fin that introduces vertical lines to the skyline of Little Lonsdale Street, contrasting beautifully with the surrounding horizontal elements. The level 8 communal space is designed with vibrant colors and striking lines, ensuring a heightened visual experience for hotel guests. Meanwhile, the ground floor’s restaurant and bar will transform Zeven Boom Lane into a lively social space.

On a macro level, this development serves as a transition between the sky-high built forms to the west and the lower-scale structures to the east. Its unique location successfully creates a relationship between different architectural styles, respecting the surrounding context and adjacent buildings.

On a micro level, the project acknowledges the street’s heritage by retaining the original building fabric of the laneway. A distinctive detail of the design is the large brick pattern on the ground floor columns, reminiscent of a tree trunk. These patterns meander up to the brick façade, culminating in greenery that mirrors the natural flow found in Melbourne’s streets, where the base of a tree meets its leaves, and the leaves connect with the buildings.