RAA Place
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2008) |
| Westpac House | |
|---|---|
 Westpac House in 2008 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial |
| Location | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Coordinates | 34°55′29″S 138°35′54″E / 34.92472°S 138.59833°E |
| Completed | 1988 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 132 m (433 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 31 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Rod Roach Architecture in association with Woods Bagot Adelaide |
| Developer | State Bank of South Australia |
| Main contractor | Baulderstone Hornibrook Pty Ltd, KONE Elevators Pty Ltd, Woods Bagot Adelaide, Santos Limited |
Westpac House (formerly Santos House and State Bank Building) is the tallest building in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is a 31 storey office tower, reaching 132 metres at its roof, with each level approximately 4 metres in height. It is set back from Currie Street near the intersection with King William Street, and is connected to two adjacent office buildings on Currie Street. It has four street frontages, and various pedestrian thoroughfares. The building was originally known as the State Bank building, before the 1991 State Bank Collapse, when it was purchased by Santos and renamed the Santos Building in February 1997. From 2007, it has been known as Westpac House.
History
Opened in 1988 as the State Bank Building, it became Santos House after the collapse of the State Bank in the early 1990s. Its major tenants have included Santos, PricewaterhouseCoopers, HWL Ebsworth, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Stock Exchange. In 2007, Santos moved their headquarters into a new building on Flinders Street, and Westpac acquired the naming rights to the building.
For the last 20 years, in the lead up to (and during) major holidays, the windows are selectively lit up in formation. These include a white cross for Easter and ANZAC Day, and a tree (in fluorescent green) for Christmas.
Abacus Property Group acquired a 50% interest in Santos House in October 2004 and the remaining 50% in 2015.
Being the tallest building in Adelaide, it was chosen as the venue for the stair race events at the 2007 World Police and Fire Games.
Between 11 and 15 May 2007, the 'Santos' sign on the building was removed and a single red 'W', the Westpac logo, had replaced it by 21 June.
In May 2016, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat database,[1] Westpac House was the 133rd tallest building in Australia.
References
- ^ "Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat database". Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- Emporis.com (General Database of Skyscrapers)
- Abacus property group