ELLA Food Precinct

The Urban Developer Awards 2021 – Shortlist in Development of the Year, Retail

Australian Institute of Architects Awards 2021 (VIC Chapter) – Shortlist in the Urban Design Category

The 2021 INDE Awards – Shortlist in the Shopping Space Category

The 2021 IDEA Awards – Shortlist in the Public Space Category

In early 2018, CTA were appointed to refresh the Menzies Precinct of Melbourne Central at the corner of Elizabeth and Latrobe Streets, which was later rebranded as ELLA.

Presented with the exciting challenge of unifying the disparate vertical space of Menzies Alley with the relatively flat volume of the Hub, we proposed a strategy of ‘poetic counterpoint’ to allow the spaces to unify as an unfolding user experience.

Engaging the Users’ senses through the skilful use of mirrors to belie the spatial characteristics of the spaces, we sought to amplify the activation of the spaces. Careful scaling and layering of the spaces enabled a degree of ‘looseness’ that encouraged customers to linger and colonise the sequence of spaces.

The proposal also included the 3 respective street entries, providing a link to the greater Melbourne CBD context.

Populated with exciting and innovative tenants, the ELLA precinct is setting trends, and helping to keep Melbourne Central entrenched as the best performing shopping centre in Australia per capita.

Photography by Jaime Diaz-Berrio