In 2018, Futurecity was invited to join UNStudio and Cox Architecture in the international competition for the $2 billion Southbank by Beulah development at 118 City Road in Melbourne’s riverside arts precinct. Envisioned as a transformative mixed-use lifestyle destination of over 220,000 sqm with 23,000 sqm of public programming, Southbank by Beulah called for an ambitious, culturally rich proposal encompassing luxury residences, commercial offices, a five-star hotel, entertainment venues, technology showcases, world-class retail, public green space and a new cultural precinct.
Futurecity led the development of the cultural strategy and public realm programming, contributing to the competition-winning scheme, The Green Spine, which was selected from six internationally renowned bids. A bold expression of cultural innovation, the scheme fused art, nature and technology into a multi-layered civic experience — elevating Melbourne’s cultural district through its integration of public art, civic engagement and cultural partnerships.
Unanimously supported by the City of Melbourne’s Future Melbourne Committee in 2020 and subsequently fast-tracked by the Victorian State Government, the project has become a flagship for forward-thinking urban development in Australia.
Futurecity’s strategy catalysed a series of landmark cultural outcomes. These include Outdoor Living, a major façade commission by artist Atong Atem for Hanover House — the future site of STH BNK by Beulah — and, significantly, the brokering of a pioneering international partnership between Beulah and the Centre Pompidou, one of the world’s most iconic contemporary arts institutions. Curated by Futurecity, this cultural partnership will see the Centre Pompidou establish its first presence in the Southern Hemisphere, cementing STH BNK as a new global hub for contemporary culture and public engagement.
Together, these cultural strategies have not only shaped the design and identity of the precinct but have also secured Southbank by Beulah’s reputation as a new benchmark for creative-led urban regeneration on the global stage.
