222 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, is an iconic 26-storey office tower built in the mid-eighties. After being purchased by LaSalle Investment Management in 2015, Gray Puksand was engaged to deliver a new masterplan for the tower, and design solutions for its podium, lobby, end-of-trip facilities, and office tenancies. The first stage,  comprising a new facade and ground-floor lobby, was completed in 2018.

With the building’s prominent architectural history came a need to respect yet modernise the podium. Gray Puksand worked closely with the City of Melbourne’s Urban Design and Heritage teams. The new designs respond directly to the building’s context. On the corner of Little Bourke and Exhibition, it is at the heart of Chinatown and the theatre district. This positioning called for a little bit of drama.