One Park Lane, designed by BKK Architects, is a 393-meter-tall tower in Southport on the Gold Coast that will rise above Australia’s current tallest building, the 322-meter-tall Q1, and Melbourne’s 316-meter-tall Australia 108. The design features a dual-tower massing, a skybridge connection, and a biophilic strategy.
Australia’s Tallest Skyscraper
Spearheaded by project architect Simon Knott, the design was further refined by Cottee Parker, ensuring that the vision of a vertical neighborhood remains structurally and economically viable. The architectural language of Australia’s tallest skyscraper employs a palette of high-performance glazing in dark shades of grey and blue-grey.
The cladding serves a dual purpose, creating a sleek, modern aesthetic that reflects the surrounding coastal environment while simultaneously managing solar heat gain. The massing of the 101-storey residential tower is sliced where the sculptural trusses are expressed externally, ensuring the integration of communal spaces.
Biophilic Design Integration
The biophilic design of One Park Lane integrates natural forms into the structural and landscape architecture. Drawing inspiration from the Moreton Bay fig tree, a species native to the region and known for its expansive, sculptural root systems, this concept is translated into a three-storey, splayed podium supported by root-like columns that ground the towers. These columns create a sheltered domain beneath a molded base canopy, addressing the supertall-tower challenge of being hostile to the pedestrian experience.
The structure links the ground-floor entry atriums of both residential and commercial buildings, transforming the base of the skyscraper into a space for public engagement. Spanning 1,507 square meters, the project presents the engineering challenges associated with a super-slender typology, where the height-to-width ratio necessitates advanced structural solutions to manage lateral and wind loads. The residential tower is designed in four segments, a massing strategy that helps disrupt wind flow.
The Skybridge: A Vertical Public Realm
The Level 22 skybridge is the most innovative element, spanning the distance between the residential and commercial towers. The bridge contains approximately 889–890 square meters of dining and bar space and offers 360-degree panoramic views of the city, the Broadwater, and the hinterland.
The inclusion of the skybridge addresses the social isolation often associated with supertall towers. The use of transparent glass for the bridge and the communal levels punctuates the dark grey façade, creating a clear visual delineation between the private residential units and the shared social spaces.
Sustainability and Environmental Technology
Sustainable technology is deeply rooted in the One Park Lane project, including the integration of photovoltaic panels (PV), photoelectric solar cells, and the implementation of renewable energy systems. The high-rise tower’s shallow footprint and slender profile allow dual-aspect views and cross-ventilation. The design also incorporates climate-responsive materials and extensive internal greening to help regulate temperature and improve air quality within the vertical neighborhood.
Designed by BKK Architects, One Park Lane will not only be Australia’s tallest tower but is also projected to rank approximately 43rd globally, positioning it as a new international landmark that places Southport alongside high-rise cities such as Dubai, New York, and Shenzhen. The scheme reflects contemporary global urbanism trends that embrace extreme verticality while integrating biophilic design strategies and large-scale renewable energy systems, shaping a high-performance, mixed-use vertical city. The project timeline commenced in November 2025, with construction scheduled to begin in early 2026 and completion anticipated between late 2028 and early 2030.
Renderings: © Tony Goss
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