Princes Gate Towers
| Gas and Fuel Corporation Towers | |
| Address | 171 Flinders Street Melbourne Australia |
|---|---|
| Designation | Demolished |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1967 |
| Years active | 1967–96 |
| Architect | Leslie M. Perrott and Partners |
The Princes Gate Towers were a set of twin office tower blocks that were located at the intersection of Flinders Street and Swanston Street in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. They were designed by architects Leslie M. Perrott and Partners and constructed in 1967. They were occupied by the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria, leading to the buildings also being known as the Gas and Fuel Corporation Towers. They were demolished in 1997 to make way for Federation Square, the mixed-use development and public space that now occupies the site.
The Jolimont Railway Yards that occupied the southern edge of the Hoddle grid were considered for redevelopment many times throughout the early to mid 20th century. In 1963 The Princes Gate development was announced by Victorian premier Henry Bolte. The development was named after the historical Princes Bridge located adjacent to the site. The ₤5 million project would cover part of the railway tracks and would feature two 15 storey office blocks along with a public plaza. The new development would become the ‘gateway’ to the city.
Leslie Perrot and Partners were chosen as project architects and the development was funded by the Princes Gate Pty Ltd, a division of the Lend Lease Corporation Ltd of Australia. Construction was completed in 1967 and the buildings were leased to the Victorian Employees Federation, housed in the East tower and the Gas and Fuel Corporation in the West tower. The buildings housed a total of 270,000 square feet of office space, split level parking for 186 cars along with 18,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level.
The towers were designed in the International Style as a simple and functional set of extruded rectangles. The buildings sat on a large three storey podium containing car parking along with retail spaces that faced onto Flinders Street. The site also featured a raised public plaza that occupied the important Flinders/Swanston intersection corner. The plaza was designed to allow an open vista to St Paul's Cathedral and also function as a public square that was raised up from the noise and traffic of the streets below.
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