Fiona Lynch wants Melburnians to think of 623 Collins Street not as a contrast between old and new, but as a single, continuous dialogue. That notion, that a 42-storey luxury tower can sit atop a 1924 State Savings Bank without shouting, was put to the public through Melbourne Design Week 2026, where Lynch and architects from Plus Studio held open talks.
The corner of Collins and Spencer Streets has long been an awkward gap at the western edge of the CBD. The heritage-listed State Savings Bank of Victoria and the adjacent Batman’s Hill Hotel sat vacant and underused, a dead zone directly opposite Southern Cross Station. Now, a $590 million development is transforming the site.
Backed by Sterling Global, 623 Collins Street will deliver 320 luxury residences, a hotel, restaurant, commercial offices, and retail spaces across a 42-storey tower that preserves and wraps the historic facades. Apartments start from $765,000, with half of them two-bedroom layouts priced from $1.62 million.
Fiona Lynch, founder of Fiona Lynch Office, described the interior design as a negotiation between timelines. “Our approach was to treat the project as a point of dialogue between past and present, rather than a contrast between the two,” she said. “The interiors sit between these conditions, creating a continuity of experience that feels grounded in the building’s heritage while expressing a contemporary identity.”
Mau Cheng, associate at Plus Studio, said the heritage buildings establish a language the new work responds to. “The tower is expressed as a modern interpretation, allowing the project to sit comfortably within its context while contributing to the evolving scale of the city.”
Sterling Global director Brandon Yeoh said the design was shaped by a unified framework from the start. “Rather than approaching heritage and contemporary architecture as separate ideas, the project brings them together through a unified design framework.”
On SkyscraperCity forums, where the project has been dissected since its proposal, reactions are split. Some users praised the tower’s “clean and sharp” simplicity, arguing it will age well and revitalise the site. Others called the design “bland” and lacking ambition.
The architectural team at Plus Studio and Carr used shared materials – tonal stone, walnut, reflective surfaces – to carry a rhythm from the heritage podium into the tower. Perforated screens shade apartments and create privacy, while planted terraces interrupt the facade with green breaks, a feature missing from many nearby high-rises. The dual-tower podium is recessed to open up the footpath, with separate entrances for hotel guests, residents, and commercial tenants, turning the Spencer-Collins corner into a more permeable public space.
Transport is the project’s unspoken amenity. The site sits immediately opposite Southern Cross Station, a one-minute walk from Metro Tunnel, V/Line, SkyBus, and regional rail services. Trams 48, 75, and 109 on Collins Street stop within metres. There is no practical reason to bring a car. Pre- or post-visit, a meal at Cumulus Inc or Chin Chin in the CBD is walking distance, as are Docklands bars if you want to stay closer to the water.
If you want to see the building, do not turn up at Collins and Spencer expecting a finished tower. Completion is not until late 2029. A display suite is open for previews, and early buyers are already reserving. With only 320 residences ever to be built – and the Reserve and Penthouse collections in early marketing – prices are expected to rise before completion. The window for Heirloom and Reserve purchases now, before construction ramps up, is the narrow one that tends to close on Collins Street projects.
For those who missed Design Week, Open House Melbourne 2026 will also include the site, offering a chance to walk through the heritage podium and see how the restoration is taking shape before the tower rises.
By the time the first residents move in, Lynch’s idea of a single, continuous dialogue will be tested by the thousands of people who pass through Collins and Spencer each day.
Quick Facts
Plus Studio
Award-winning Melbourne-based architecture practice specializing in master planning, architecture, interiors, and visualization across major cities. Designed the tower and heritage integration at 623 Collins Street, balancing bold new architecture with historic respect through shared design language. Known for detailed, performative places.
Fiona Lynch Office
Melbourne interior design studio committed to sustainability and collaboration across residential, hotel, and cultural projects. Created 623 Collins Street interiors with material depth (stone, timber, metal) for timeless luxury, bridging 1924 heritage with contemporary calm and tactility.
Carr
Australian architecture and interiors firm involved in 623 Collins Street’s mixed-use podium design, integrating heritage State Savings Bank and Batman’s Hill Hotel with commercial/hotel elements. Focuses on vertical language, public realm activation, and tailored user experiences in constrained urban sites.