Sky’s the limit for Brisbane’s top 10 buildings
THEY are the 10 buildings that will reshape Brisbane’s CBD — a group of instantly recognisable structures that will literally test the city’s limits.
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THEY are the 10 buildings that will reshape the city’s skyline.
Brisbane’s CBD is set to be dominated by a handful of iconic buildings, covered with cascading greenery, that will literally test the city’s limits.
Four massive skyscrapers have already been approved that reach the maximum 274m height allowed in the city’s business district.
Another two 274m developments, including the striking Queens Wharf residential tower, are under assessment.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has called for the current height limit, imposed by several aviation regulators, to be relaxed to help stimulate more construction.
“We don’t want to reach a point where we’ll have to turn employment opportunities away from the city by saying no when someone wants to develop something that is higher than the current 274m limit,” Cr Quirk said.
Building height limits are enforced through Airservices Australia, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and the Brisbane Airport Corporation under international law to ensure the safety of flight paths.
A Brisbane Airport Corporation spokeswoman said: “Height limits are established by international standards and the department in Canberra establishes the regulations that enforce those standards. BAC’s position is simply that those regulations should be adhered to.”
While he agreed airline safety was paramount, Cr Quirk said there should at least be a conversation about reviewing the building limits in certain areas.
“Let’s look and see if we can get at least some areas of the city where we might be able to go to at least 300m to provide some flexibility for the foreseeable future,” Cr Quirk said.
A relaxation would mean the development under way at 304 George St, where the Supreme and District Courts were formerly located, would be able to increase its residential tower past 274m.
The slender 81-storey skyscraper, with 428 units, is one of three towers on the site, which will be just a stone’s throw away from the $3 billion Queens Wharf development.
The $800m development includes a five-star hotel, which will sit with the other two towers above a three-storey podium covered in tropical greenery.
Podiums, which create a platform at the base of a skyscraper, have become a common feature on Brisbane developments as the metropolis follows a trend embraced in cities including Hong Kong.
The 188m twin tower at 443 Queen St, which has a fanlike construction, is mounted on a raised podium that was designed in the same vein as the classic Queenslander.
Covered in foliage, the $375 million development was raised on giant pylons to give more room to the heritage-listed Customs House next door.
Construction is yet to commence after a Planning and Environment Court appeal against the development was thrown out last year.
Once completed, it will be just up the road from the landmark tower slated for 545 Queen St. Dubbed Queen’s Tower, the 250m development on the former Flight Centre site will become part of an established high-rise residential precinct in the city’s northeast corner, while offering easy access to the nearby Howard Smith Wharves development.
The 72-storey building will include a podium, which will be enhanced by the “maximum” amount of planting throughout the development once construction commences.
Further down town, overlooking the City Botanic Gardens, foliage makes way for glamour at 240 Margaret St where the level six podium will include landscaping, pool, spa, outdoor lounge and dining areas, indoor gym, yoga studio, games room and an indoor dining room.
Above the podium, one of three towers will stretch 274m high to include a mammoth 91 levels.
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