Eureka Tower

Eureka Tower
Eureka Tower
	File:DSCN12211.jpg
General information
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Opening	October 11, 2006
Height
Roof	297.3 m (975 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	91 plus 1 underground
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Fender Katsalidis
Developer	Eureka Tower Pty Ltd

The Eureka Tower is a residential building in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Australia. Construction began in August 2002 and the exterior completed on June 1 2006. The plaza was finished in June 2006 and the building was officially opened on October 11 2006. The project was designed by Melbourne architectural firm Fender Katsalidis Australia and was built by Grocon (Grollo Australia). The developer of the tower was Eureka Tower Pty Ltd, a joint venture consisting of Daniel Grollo (Grocon), investor Tab Fried and one of the Tower's architects Nonda Katsalidis.^[2]

Name

The Eureka Tower is named after the Eureka Stockade, a rebellion during the Victorian gold rush in 1854. This has been incorporated into the design, with the building's gold crown representing the gold rush and a red stripe representing the blood spilt during the revolt. The blue glass cladding that covers most of the building represents the blue background of the stockade's flag and the white lines represent the markings on a surveyor's measuring staff.

File:Eureka Sunset from Southbank.jpg

The Sun sets on Eureka Tower.

Height

Eureka Tower is the tallest residential building in the world, when measured either by the height of its roof, or by the height of its highest habitable floor. The building stands 297.3 m in height (300 m above sea level), with 91 storeys above ground plus one basement level. It is one of only six buildings in the world with 90 or more storeys but is merely the 38th tallest building in the world, most likely due to the fact that it does not have a spire or antenna, as well as the fact that apartment buildings generally require less height between floors than office buildings. It is also the tallest building in Melbourne, eclipsing the Rialto Towers. The single level basement and first 9 floors contain car parking. The building's proximity to the water table as well as the Yarra River made a basement carpark uneconomic to construct. There are a total of 84 floors of apartments (including some floors shared between car parking and apartments) with the remainder being used for building facilities and the observation deck. The actor Nicholas Cage bought a penthouse at the top of the building when he was in Australia filming Ghost Rider.

The 78-storey Q1 apartment tower in Gold Coast, Queensland has also been described as the tallest residential building in the world due to its spire, which reaches a height of 322.5m. According to the ranking system developed by the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Q1 qualifies as the taller building in two of the four categories in which heights are ranked, namely Pinnacle Height and Architectural Top, while the Eureka Tower is taller in the other two categories, Roof Height and Highest Occupied Floor. For comparison, the Q1 building has its top floor at a height of 235m, some 62 metres lower than Eureka's roof. The Eureka Tower had plans to create a mast on the top so it would be taller than the Q1 building in Gold Coast, Queensland. But these plans have been quiet ever since it has been completed.

Construction

The tower was built using reinforced concrete using a slipform method. Eureka Tower's lift core superseded the height of Rialto Towers on November 9 2004.

On May 23 2006, the crane on top of the tower was dismantled by a smaller crane, which was dismantled by a smaller crane that could be taken down the service elevator.

Eureka Tower has 24 carat (100%) gold plated glass windows on the top 10 floors of the building. Installation of the gold glass was completed in March 2006. Apartment owners and tenants had taken up residence in the building between Ground Level and Level 80 as at July 2006.

The Summit levels, floors 82 to 87, contain only one apartment per floor: each apartment had an original price tag of A$7 million just for the empty space; Purchasers were required to fit out the apartment at additional cost.

On October 11 2006, the tower was officially opened by former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks.^[3]

Observation deck

On January 10 2005, Grocon, the firm building Eureka Tower, proposed adding a 53.75 m communications mast/observation tower. The proposal is currently before the local planning commission. This mast would be a significant structure, used for providing an adventure climb to the tip of the summit – the highest observation area in the Southern Hemisphere.

On April 16 2006, a new proposal was announced that the construction company and developers were considering options for the building to have a "skywalk" that would take daring people up 350 metres high. The proposed structure may also house a communication tower.

The observation deck (SkyDeck) is situated on the 88th floor and is the highest public vantage point (285m/935 ft) in the southern hemisphere. It opened to the public on May 15, 2007. Sound effects are present in the Skydeck so if you look at Albert Park Lake, you can hear sounds of the cars racing at the Grand Prix. There is also a glass cube that extracts itself from the building to hang over the edge of the tower. Riding in the movable cube incurs an additional cost to the entry price of SkyDeck.

The Edge

Skydeck 88 also features 'The Edge' - a glass cube which projects 3 metres out from the building - with visitors inside - suspended almost 300 metres above the ground. When you enter, the glass is opaque as the cube moves out over the edge of the building. Once fully extended over the edge, the glass becomes clear to the sounds of smashing glass and machine malfunctions.^[4]

'The Edge' is easily accessible by wheelchair; children 7 years or under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Every "edge" patron can also purchase a picture of themselves within the edge.