Riparian Plaza is a 53-storey skyscraper located in the central business district of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The building stands at in height to its communications spire and to its roof. It was Brisbane's tallest building until it was surpassed by

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

in 2006 and is a particularly iconic building on the Brisbane skyline. It is a mixed use building, with 11 car park levels from the ground up, 25 commercial levels, and 12 residential levels originally housing 50

penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

apartments. On top of the tower is a

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

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. Spires are ...

. A recreation centre including a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

is located on 39th floor, between the commercial and residential sections. The carpark is accessed via a

helical Helical may refer to: * Helix, the mathematical concept for the shape * Helical engine, a proposed spacecraft propulsion drive * Helical spring, a coilspring * Helical plc, a British property company, once a maker of steel bar stock * Helicoil A t ...

annexe. The tower has an open

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

and

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

space totaling . The upper plaza level contains Madame Wu, an Asian Fusion restaurant. The building was developed by Bloomberg Incorporation Limited with a construction cost of A$130 million. Bloomberg retained ownership of the commercial component and sold off the residential apartments during construction. It is located at 71 Eagle Street, and was the last waterfront vacant block in the

Brisbane CBD Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

. Riparian Plaza provided the first, new, premium office space available in the Brisbane CBD for a decade. The building has a total floor area of approximately .

Brisbane Square Brisbane Square is a high-rise building in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The building has 38 floors and rises to 151 metres. The building's main use is for office space, the lower floors leased to retailers, with a 350-space car park below t ...

completed in 2006, was the next major office building constructed in Brisbane.

Construction and design

Riparian Plaza was designed by

Harry Seidler Harry Seidler (25 June 19239 March 2006) was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the B ...

(

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

) and

Robert Bird Group Robert Bird Group (RBG), established in 1982, is an Australian global consulting engineering firm. RBG became a member of the Surbana Jurong Group in late 2017. Services Robert Bird Group provides structural engineering, civil engineering, ...

(

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of safety, technical, economic ...

). Most office spaces have river views, due to the 45-degree angle to the river of the building and the lack of columns on these mid level floors. Each penthouse has its own

curvilinear In geometry, curvilinear coordinates are a coordinate system for Euclidean space in which the coordinate lines may be curved. These coordinates may be derived from a set of Cartesian coordinates by using a transformation that is invertible, l ...

, projecting terrace that faces the river. The cantilevering

balconies A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or Corbel, console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Malta, Malte ...

have a highly sculptured shape. Seidler claimed the composite stacking of sectors vertically is unique in Australia. There were significant delays in the completion of the building. It was originally scheduled to be completed by early 2004 (giving a record construction time of 100 weeks). This date was continually pushed back. The delay led to significant criticism of the project in the local media, as well as complaints from prospective tenants of the building and withdrawal of committed tenants. The building was completed in November 2005. In October 2007, Riparian Plaza won the top prize for commercial architecture at the annual national architecture awards. In 2008, the building won the overall winner of the Rider Levett Bucknall /

Property Council of Australia The Property Council of Australia is an Australian national lobby group representing property developers and property owners. It was formed as the Building Owners and Managers’ Association of Australia (BOMA) 1966, incorporated in 1969, and assum ...

Award and the Property Council of Australia Award for Mixed Use Development.

Incidents

The building made headlines in 2005 when a severe storm caused two

window washer A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mater ...

s to become stranded on the 30th floor. Rescue operations were successful after a pane of glass was removed to reach them. A large panel of glass from pool fencing on level 39 crashed to Eagle Street in the early morning hours of 27 August 2009, creating a mess but no injuries.

Tenants

Office tenants include broker Wilson HTM and law firm

Clayton Utz Clayton Utz is an independent, top-tier Australian law firm headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Established in 1833, it is generally considered a leading law firm, and has been known as one of the " Big Six" Australian law firms. The firm is rec ...

and Littles Lawyers.

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

’s Brisbane office occupies levels 14 to 19. John Pearce, former CEO of the nearby Collection House, paid $6.7 million for the top penthouse. The building has attracted significant investor interest with median capital growth at 24.8% during 2007 and 27% in 2008. The building currently contains only 47 apartments, however there were 52 in the original design. Due to a flexible body corporate apartment amalgamations have been permitted and even encouraged because they enhance the exclusivity and therefore the price of the apartments.

In popular culture

The exterior of the building was a filming location for the 2009 science-fiction thriller film ''

Daybreakers ''Daybreakers'' is a 2009 science-fiction action horror film written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig. The film takes place in a futuristic world overrun by vampires, and centers around a vampiric corporation which sets out to captur ...

''.

Gallery

Image:Brisbane Riparian Plaza.jpg, Riparian Plaza from street level Image:BNE-CBDfromRiver-east.jpg, Riparian Plaza and downtown buildings by the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

Image:Riparian plaza under construction.jpg, View from Kangaroo Point during final stages of construction

References

External links

Riparian Plaza official siteRiparian Plaza Structural Engineers Statement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riparian Plaza Harry Seidler buildings Skyscrapers in Brisbane Buildings and structures completed in 2005 Office buildings in Brisbane Apartment buildings in Brisbane Brisbane central business district Skyscraper office buildings in Australia Residential skyscrapers in Australia