Top 10 Skyscrapers in Australia

It has long been man?s ambition to build taller, stronger, and bigger. Australian architects and engineers are no exception. They have been testing the limits of civil engineering since the country established, and they have produced some quite impressive results. Here are the top 10 skyscrapers in Australia.

1. Queensland Number One

Gold Coast / 322.5 meters

Australia has been graced with this impressive super high rise building, also abbreviated as the Q1. This residential building in Queensland held the world record of being the tallest residential apartment building in the world from 2005 to 2011.

Designed by SDG & Buchan Group, the Q1?s architecture was inspired by the Sydney 2000 Olympic Torch. The concept projected a series of ribbons wrapped around the core of the tower, hovering above the entry plaza. To hold up the massive structure, 26 piles each of 2-meter dia extend 40 meters below ground, passing through 4 meters of solid rock.

2. Eureka Tower

Melbourne / 297.3 meters

Finished in 2006, this impressive supertall building comes second in the 2020 list of top 10 tallest buildings in Australia. Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects and built by Grocon, this was the world?s tallest residential tower with the most residential floors (84) till 2009.

The Eureka Tower is inspired by the 1854 gold rush of Europa Stockade, the coloring representing gold and the Europa Stockade flag?s colors. The tower has 91 floors including a basement - which made it the only building in the world with 90+ storeys at the time of finishing, of which, 9 floors are parking.

3. Prima Pearl

Melbourne / 254 meters

Coming second only to the nearby Eureka Tower, Prima Pearl would have been the tallest building in Melbourne if only it was finished in time. It started on paper in 2002, but was shelved till 2010 and finished in 2014.

The majestic Prima Pearl has 72 levels, a swimming pool, a sky lounge or observation gallery at the 67th floor for residents, and 616 residential units, although the car parking spaces were reduced. The building has two lobbies - Prima and Pearl - granting access to the higher and lower levels of the building, containing different types of apartments.

4. Infinity Tower

Brisbane / 249 meters

Designed and developed by Meriton, the Infinity Tower is a beautiful modern super skyscraper located in Brisbane?s North Quarter district. Completed in 2014, the building has 549 units of serviced apartments and residential units. The excellent location of the Tower gives its users great access to major facilities around the city.

Other than the 549 apartments, the building includes a spa, a lap pool, private gyms, and saunas. All of these are spread over 81 levels - all accessed by a very efficient elevator system. The site was previously a small car parking area, which was purchased by Meriton at only 25 million AUD.

5. Soleil Meriton

Brisbane / 243 meters

Another wonder of tall buildings is in Brisbane, very near the Infinity, called the Soleil, again constructed by Meriton. From 2011 to 2014 it was the tallest building in the city with a 797 feet top point, until the Infinity Tower overtook it. Due to the small site, the building required two iterations of designing till the city council passed it.

The Soleil has 68 floors, 10 of which are car parking levels, the construction of which led to the biggest excavation project in Brisbane?s history. There are 25 floors of serviced apartments in the building mixed with 43 floors of private residential apartments. The top nine levels contain 50 service apartments owned by Meriton. Apart from these, there are three levels of retail.

6. Soul

Gold Coast / 242.6 meters

The second tallest building on the Gold Coast, in Surfers paradise, is also a pretty one. DBI Design PL?s plans of the Soul got approved in 2004, and construction by Grocon was finished by 2012, at a cost of 850 million AUD.

The Soul on Gold Coast holds the record of the most expensive residential building in Australia. The 288 units spread over 77 levels are priced at an average of 17k AUD, and the penthouse apartment spanning the top 4 floors was sold at AUD 16.75 million. Each and every unit in Soul sold for over a million australian dollars. Most of the first buyers were Chinese.

7. World Tower

Sydney / 230 meters

The World Tower in Sydney is seventh in our top ten Australian highrises list, and is also the second tallest residential tower in the City. Designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, the development of the tower went on from 2001 to 2004 and promptly bagged the Bronze medal in Emporis Skyscraper Awards.

The World Tower of Sydney consists of 75 floors above ground plus 10 basement levels, all accessible by ten superfast lifts. Offering the biggest set of amenities to residents in the city, the building has three residential sections, each having its own pool, spa, sauna, gym, games room, and a small theater to boot!

8. Vision Apartments

Melbourne / 229 meters

This very solid-looking tower is among Australia?s tallest highrises, and was designed and developed by the Brady Group. The tower replaced a 150 year old hotel, which caused some local outrages. Construction began in 2012, and the tower topped out in late 2016.

The Vision Tower as of now is the fifth tallest building in Melbourne as well. The tower consists of 69 levels housing more than five hundred residential and serviced apartments, which are among the most expensive in the City and across the state of Victoria.

9. 568 Collins Street

Melbourne / 224 meters

One of busiest buildings now in Melbourne, 568 Collins Street is a mixed-use supertall building in the city. The 161 million AUD project started in 2012 when the designs by Bruce Henderson Architects got approved, and Stamoulis Property Group finished the job quickly enough by late 2015.

The tower at 568 Collins Street has 69 levels packed with residential apartments, offices, and retail spaces. There are a total of 588 privately owned living units alone in this huge building. Approximately 2,500 tonnes of steel and 22,000 square metres of concrete used in construction of this tower.

10. Circle on Cavill

Gold Coast / 219.5 meters

Constructed by the Sunland Group, the Circle on Cavill is a huge 551 million AUD commercial development in Surfers Paradise, defining the city?s skyline forever. The building is divided into two towers - the North Tower and the South Tower - both of which were completed in 2007.

The south tower of Circle on Cavill is 158 meters tall and has 48 floors while the north tower sports its 68th level at 220 meters. The building stands on a 1.4 hectare site, and has a whopping 644 apartments of different shapes and sizes. Apart from those, the building also has a club lounge for residents, three resort pools with fountains, a heated indoor swimming pool, a 10-seater spa on terrace, a gym, a small movie theater, barbecue, playground? the list goes on!