Nauru House
| Nauru House | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Melbourne from 1977 to 1978[I] | |
| Preceded by | Optus Centre |
| Surpassed by | ANZ at Collins Place |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Melbourne, Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°48′48″S 144°58′15″E / 37.81333°S 144.97083°ECoordinates: 37°48′48″S 144°58′15″E / 37.81333°S 144.97083°E |
| Completed | 1977 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 190 m (620 ft) |
| Roof | 183 m (600 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 52 |
| Floor area | 50,500 m2 (544,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Perrott Lyon Timlock & Kesa |
Nauru House (also called 80 Collins Street[1]) is a landmark 52-storey building located in the Melbourne CBD. The building was designed by architectural firm Perrott Lyon Timlock & Kesa.
History
The land the building sits on was bought in 1972 at a price of A$19 million by the government of the Republic of Nauru as an international investment.[2] Nauru, which had become incredibly wealthy thanks to the selling of phosphate, began the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust (NPRT) to re-invest profits in international real-estate.[3]
Controversy was stirred when construction began in 1972, as the government of Nauru decided to raze two buildings with "high heritage value" in order to have the building face the desirable Collins Street, and thus, a Collins Street address. Even amid public outcry, the historic buildings were torn down to make way for construction.
When completed in 1977 it became the tallest building in Melbourne however it was not tall enough to take the mantle as Australia's tallest building, with the strikingly similar MLC Centre in Sydney retaining that honour from when it was completed just a few months earlier in the same year. In 1981, Nauru House was surpassed in height by the Regent Hotel (now Sofitel Melbourne) to no longer be the tallest building in Melbourne.
Following decades of mismanagement, corruption, and spiralling loans to General Electric, estimated to amount to approximately A$227 million, the NPRT was forced to sell off its international assets to pay loans.[4][5] Nauru House is now owned by QIC after purchasing the building for A$140 million in December 2004.[6]
Facade
Between 1994 and 1996, the Nauru House went under a facelift to replace the former pebble-concrete facade of the building with new, matte-gray aluminium siding.
Records
Following the building's completion, it was the tallest building in Melbourne until 1980, when the nearby Collins Place complex was opened.
Facts
- Built: 1972 - 1977
- Address: 80 Collins Street
- Height to roof: 183 m
- Height to pinnacle: 190 m
- Number of floors : 52[7]
- Total floor space: 50,500 m2
See also
References
- ↑ "Nauru House". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ↑ Shepherd, Dick (4 February 1972). "Hotel men expected to press for Govt. aid". The Age. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ↑ McKenzie, Greg (11 March 1976). "Giddy limit in tall storeys". The Age. p. 16. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ↑ Clausen, Lisa (18 May 2004). "Can Nauru Stay Afloat?". Time Magazine. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ↑ Westerman, Helen (24 August 2004). "Nauru House expected to fade away". The Age. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ↑ Westerman, Helen (8 April 2005). "Nauru moves out of Melbourne with $9.9m sale". The Age. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ↑ Day, Norman (20 April 1977). "Nauru's new ill-mannered house". The Age. p. 2. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
External links
Media related to Nauru House at Wikimedia Commons
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