Q1 Tower (an abbreviation of Queensland Number One) is a supertall skyscraper in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. The residential tower on the Gold Coast was the world's

tallest residential building The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) defines a residential building as one where 85 percent or more of its total floor area is dedicated to residential usage. Currently, the tallest residential building in the world is Cent ...

from 2005 to 2011. It is the tallest building in Australia, the second tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, behind the Autograph Tower in Jakarta, and the third-tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, behind the Autograph Tower in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, and the Sky Tower in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The Q1 officially opened in November 2005. The landmark building was recognised as one of Queensland's icons during the state's 150th-birthday celebrations.

Design and construction

Q1 Tower was designed by SDG & The Buchan Group, and its form was inspired by the Sydney 2000

Olympic torch The Olympic flame is a Olympic symbols, symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony s ...

and the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. The name was given in honour of members of Australia’s Olympic

sculling Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, its ...

team of the 1920s – Q1. The concept was based on studies of wind, movement and tension, in which a series of ribbons wrap concentrically around the tower’s exterior and hover above the entry plaza area, providing cover and shade. The tension in the movement and free form are expressed by the gradual twisting of the aluminium-clad ribbons as they move around the building. The result is an open-air galleria-like shopping precinct under the glazed ribbon structure and a curved retail façade to the street edges. The project was developed by The Sunland Group and built by Sunland Constructions. The building was the Silver Award winner of the 2005

Emporis Skyscraper Award The Emporis Skyscraper Award was an award for architectural excellence regarding the design of buildings and their functionality. The award was presented annually by Emporis, a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. ...

, coming in second to

Turning Torso Turning Torso is a neo-futurist residential skyscraper built in Malmö, Sweden, in 2005. It was the tallest building in the Nordic region until September 2022, when it was surpassed by Karlatornet in Gothenburg. Located on the Swedish side of ...

in Sweden. Q1 was completed towards the end of 2005. Its main point of difference to other high-rise buildings in Surfers Paradise is its glass-enclosed sleek look. Q1's lift lobby is separated into two high-speed lift groups. Four high-speed lifts going 5.0 m/s service levels B2 to level 42. Three separate high-speed lifts going 8.0 m/s service levels 43 to the penthouse on level 74. The building is supported by 26 piles, each in diameter, that extend into the ground passing through up to of solid rock. Q1 contains one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Building facilities include two lagoon swimming pools, a lap pool, gymnasium, small theatre, a ballroom and a spa centre. An application to construct a

walkway In American English, walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails. '' The New Oxford American Dictionary'' also defines a walkway as "a passage or path for walking along, esp. ...

around the outside of level 78 was lodged with the Gold Coast City Council in mid-2010. File:Q1 Spire.jpg, The spire of Q1 File:Q1 top.jpg, The upper levels of Q1 File:Q1-resort.jpg, The western end of the tower as viewed from street level File:Q1 tower.jpg, The eastern end of the tower as viewed from street level

Height

At and with a roof height of , Q1 qualifies as the world's 17th tallest all-residential building when measured to the top of its structural point (

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

), but is ranked lower behind buildings including

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

's Australia 108 (roof height of ) and the Eureka Tower (roof height of ) when measured to its roof height and highest inhabitable floor. However, according to the ranking system developed by the U.S.-based

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and Sustainable design, sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in ...

, the main criterion by which buildings are ranked is the height of the top of the spire, qualifying Q1 as the taller. When the Q1 was completed, it overtook the 21st Century Tower in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

to become the world's tallest residential tower. When measured to its structural point, it dwarfs the Gold Coast skyline, with the closest buildings to Q1's height being the North Tower of Circle on Cavill and the

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

building.

Awards

In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia ...

celebrations, Q1 was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat".

Observation deck

SkyPoint, formerly known as QDeck, is an observation deck at levels 77 and 78. It is Australia's only beachside observation deck and has room for 400 people. It is above the Surfers Paradise beach, giving the public a 360-degree view of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

to the north, the

Gold Coast hinterland The Gold Coast hinterland is an area of South East Queensland, Australia that comprises the Tweed Range, Nimmel Range, Tamborine Mountain, Numinbah Valley, eastern parts of the McPherson Range and western parts of suburban Gold Coast, Queens ...

to the west,

Byron Bay, New South Wales Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah'') is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of New South Wales, Australia (in Bundjalung Country). It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjac ...

, to the south and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the east. The express lift to the observation deck travels the 77 floors in 43 seconds, for a speed of 9.0 m/s.

Building condition

In 2009, reports of disrepair and poor building conditions emerged. Peeling paint which has revealed rusty steel inside and outside, as well as shattered glass panels are amongst the visible concerns. The

Building Services Authority A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout ...

has confirmed it has received complaints in relation to the building. The north stairwell was assessed as defective due to the stairwell pressurisation system not meeting the minimum air-flow requirements during a fire emergency. The Building Services Authority asked Q1's builders to rectify the problem in July 2010.

Events

Q1 has been used as a fireworks launch site during

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

celebrations. The building is one of the most popular destinations for students celebrating

schoolies week Schoolies or schoolies week (also known as leavers' or leavers' week in Western Australia and coasties in the Australian Capital Territory) refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates (also known as "schoolies" or "leavers") hav ...

, despite the body corporate committee treasurer's claims that most of the building's unit owners were opposed to their stay. On 28 March 2007, two BASE jumpers made an early-morning illegal jump from a northern side apartment. The skydivers pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates' Court and were fined A$750 without a conviction being recorded. At , the SkyPoint Climb at Q1 is Australia’s highest external building climb. Q1 has been holding an annual Stair Climb event for a number of years.

Gallery

File:Q1 Q Deck day.JPG, North view from the QDeck File:Q Deck Day z.JPG, Looking south down the coast File:Q1 qdeck night.JPG, A night-time view north File:Q deck day 4.JPG, Inland toward the west File:Surfers Paradise Dec 2013.JPG,

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...

, Gold Coast File:Gold Coast - Beach, Q1 Tower.jpg, Q1 as viewed from Surfers Paradise Beach File:Q1 Gold Coast1.jpg, Q1 viewed from The Esplanade

References

External links

Q1 Resort & Spa

Q1 Observation Deck (SkyPoint)

Q1
on

CTBUH The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in Chicago, Illinois, U ...

Skyscraper Center (archived 5 November 2013) * at

Emporis Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022. Emporis was acquired ...

(archived 10 September 2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Q1 (Building) Skyscrapers on the Gold Coast, Queensland Buildings and structures completed in 2005 Residential skyscrapers in Australia Tourist attractions on the Gold Coast, Queensland Surfers Paradise, Queensland Observation towers in Australia Neomodern architecture in Australia