With only one skyscraper above 300 meters and 31 total above the height of 200 meters, Australia has a lot of catching up to do to reach the heights that the Far East and Middle East are reaching. There are, however, at least 50 skyscrapers in the proposal, approval, or constructions phases of development, that would essentially increase Australia’s number of skyscrapers over 200 meters tall by 200%. As four of those are over 300 meters tall, it would mark a 400% increase of skyscrapers of that height. One of those, the Orion Towers, would surpass Australia’s current tallest skyscraper by about 5 meters. Again, there is still a ways to go to reach the heights that other countries are reaching. Here are the 5 tallest skyscrapers in Australia.
Q1
Located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Q1, or Queensland Number One is the current tallest skyscraper in Australia. At one point, it was the world’s tallest residential skyscraper, but lost the title to The Marina Torch in 2011. It is currently the 7th tallest residential skyscraper in the world. It is the tallest building outside of Asia, Europe, and North America and it is the second-tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Construction on Q1 began in 2002 and was completed in 2005 at a cost of $255 million. It stands at 322.5 meters tall and has 78 floors. Floors 77 and 78 are an observation deck known as SkyPoint and has enough room for 400 people. The elevator that takes you to SkyPoint takes 43 seconds.
Eureka Tower
Standing at 297 meters, Eureka Tower is the second tallest skyscraper in Australia. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria. Construction on it began in 2002 and was completed in 2006 at a cost of $415 million. It has 91 floors with one underground. When measured to its highest floor, Eureka Tower was the world’s tallest residential tower until it was surpassed by Ocean Heights and HHHR Tower. It is currently the 15th tallest residential building in the world. Like Q1, Eureka Tower has an observation deck. Located on the 88th floor, it is the highest public vantage point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere at 285 meters. An event called the Eureka Climb has been held annually since 2012. The goal is to climb the 1,642 steps of Eureka Tower to reach the observation deck. The record currently stands at seven minutes.
120 Collins Street
Also located in Melbourne, Victoria, 120 Collins Street is the third tallest skyscraper in Australia. It stands at 265 meters and has 52 floors. It was the tallest skyscraper in Australia from the year it was built (1991) until Q1 was built in 2005. It was surpassed by Eureka Tower as the tallest skyscraper in Melbourne. It was built in a postmodern style in order to pay homage to the likes of the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building.
101 Collins Street
Just like 120 Collins Street, 101 Collins Street was completed in 1991. It stands at 260 meters and has 57 storeys. It is currently the fourth tallest skyscraper in Australia. Its elevators reach speeds of seven meters per second. It was the tallest building in Melbourne upon its completion until being surpassed five months later by the current third tallest building in Australia. It is the tallest office building in Australia.
1 William Street
Costing $650 million, 1 William Street is the fifth tallest skyscraper in Australia and the tallest in Brisbane, Queensland. It stands at 259.8 meters and opened in October of this year. It is an office skyscraper containing 46 floors and 24 elevators. Tenants of the building include many governmental bodies of Queensland, such as, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Department of State Development, Department of Energy and Water Supply, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, as several examples. The first cabinet meeting was just recently held in the newly completed skyscraper.
Have you visited any of these skyscrapers from the land down under? Sound off in the comment section down below.
