Southbank is more than a grouping of notable and inspiring buildings; it's an ideal of the experience of urban living.

The compelling combination of the river and a matchless cluster of arts venues has made the precinct a superlative destination for cultural activities, entertainment and relaxation.

The transformation of the south side of the Yarra from featureless wasteland to cultural hub has seen the river restored to its proper place as the life-stream of the city.

An estimated 40,000 people pass along Southbank every day, many on the way to theatres, concert halls and galleries.

Melburnians are committed to the arts, as evidenced by the high numbers who attended the recent Dali exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria — the most popular art gallery in the country.

"The thriving Southbank precinct we now know has emerged because of the arts," says arts minister Lynne Kosky.

"Until the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Southbank side of the Yarra was neglected and featured rundown buildings, used-car lots and outdoor car parks.

Now, the arts and cultural facilities in and around Southbank attract more than 3.5 million patrons each year and contribute to the identity and liveability of the city."

As well as its strong arts credentials, Southbank offers shopping, dining and entertainment, while a glance across Princes Bridge gives promise of another type of excitement in the sports precinct centred on the MCG.

Add Federation Square and the green spaces that stretch on both sides of the river, from Birrarung Marr to the Royal Botanic Gardens, and the full significance of the area becomes apparent. Such a well-resourced and walkable part of the city deserves to be lived in.

A location that offers so much demands extraordinary residential buildings, such as the arresting Eureka Tower, or perhaps Triptych, an apartment building being built in Kavanagh Street that is set to become a vibrant part of the Southbank skyline.

The 29-storey Triptych is so named because it turns three distinct facades to the street, coloured and textured to represent a "stained glass garden".

One facade, titled "Digital Showers", suggests a fall of coloured raindrops cascading down the external wall.

What promises to be a very Melbourne building is the work of a collaboration between artist Robert Owen and Sydney architect Nettleton Tribe.

Owen has left his mark elsewhere on the city. His public commissions include work on the Webb Bridge at Docklands and the rusting steel bridge over the Craigieburn Bypass.

His work on Triptych takes full account of the fact the building rises behind the National Gallery and Arts Centre.

Describing the facade, he says: "Imagine the sun leaving a trace of colour through its agent raindrop on all the windows that open and close. Colour is music for the eyes and infinite change is its constant nature."

High-rise living brings with it the potential for disconnection from street and community. In an attempt to reduce potential isolation and anonymity, the developers have incorporated a "Vertical Village" concept in the design.

The managing director of building manager Stable Properties, Danny Flynn, explains the concept: "The idea behind the Vertical Village was to ... create a high-rise environment with the social benefits of ground or low-rise living.

We wanted to give residents the opportunity to engage with one another, to create a sense of community connectedness.

"There are no gloomy corridors at Triptych. The lifts open on to welcoming, open village spaces created ... as a meeting and leisure space.

 Each 'village' features a nine-metre picture window with bay views and an internal garden in the form of a living green wall that rises through the building, filtering light and fresh air."

The community garden as communal space also features in the multi-award-winning Freshwater Place, another Southbank apartment building, designed by Bates Smart Architects and developed by Australand.

According to the general manager of Australand, Robert Pradolin: "Freshwater is a vertical neighbourhood, where we've tried to enhance liveability.

We've created a half-acre (1670-square-metre) garden on level 10 to give residents a beautiful, natural place to congregate, entertain and enjoy the fantastic views."

Freshwater also contributes to the Southbank ethos, with Australand commissioning art pieces for the foyers.

Freshwater, a circular sculpture in woven copper wire, is one such piece created by the late Bronwyn Oliver, who described it as being "about drawing people into the centre; whether it's the centre of Freshwater or the centre of the city".

Another significant foyer artwork is by Adelaide steel artist Greg Johns. His Swirling Mandala, a 1.3-metre ochre piece sculpted in corten steel, was designed to celebrate Freshwater's riverside location and the colours of the Australian landscape.

Mr Pradolin says the art theme continues throughout the building, with collections of lithographs, photographs and smaller sculptures displayed in communal spaces.

"All these pieces combine to enhance the interest, experience and enjoyment of residents and guests, and the foyer pieces are visible from the pedestrian piazza outside."

Indeed, the art spills into the streets. The entire Southbank precinct lends itself to public events and performance, with its parks, piazzas and broad promenade, where numerous sculptures demonstrate the city's significant investment in art.

Freshwater Place opens to Queensbridge Square, beside the historic Sandridge rail bridge, which connects Southbank with the city proper. Sandridge is as much an art-span as a bridge.

It features a 12-piece installation called The Travellers by designer Nadim Karam. The giant stainless steel figures re-imagine the waves of immigrants who make up Melbourne.

Impressive as Southbank is, it is not yet fully shaped.

As part of the Brumby Government's vision for the area's redevelopment into "an open, accessible, integrated, imaginative precinct that connects the arts to people and people to the arts", architect Ashton Raggatt McDougall, who designed the Melbourne Recital Centre and MTC Theatre, is now working on concept designs for the whole Arts Centre locality.

The first phase will see the centre's Hamer Hall and its surrounds refreshed after more than 25 years of service.