For a few years, the tallest place to live in the Southern Hemisphere was a Melbourne apartment. Australia 108 rises 316.7 metres over Southbank, 100 floors and 1,105 apartments, topped by a gold ‘Starburst’ that juts six metres off the tower in the shape of the Commonwealth Star. It took the title of Australia’s tallest building by roof height when it finished in 2020.
Project Scope
Fender Katsalidis designed the tower for developer World Class Global, and Brookfield Multiplex built it between 2015 and 2020. The Starburst isn’t only decoration. It houses residents’ amenities across two cantilevered levels about two-thirds of the way up, a sky-garden trick that doubles as the building’s signature and breaks up an otherwise slender shaft. At street level it anchors the dense Southbank cluster, a short walk from the Yarra and the city’s arts precinct.
Why It Matters
Australia 108 marked the moment Melbourne’s residential towers started competing with office supertalls on height, pushing past the nearby Eureka Tower. It’s a case study in how far the slender-residential model can go, stacking more than a thousand homes on a compact downtown footprint. The building sits in the same global conversation as record-setting residential towers like New York’s Central Park Tower and Kuala Lumpur’s Merdeka 118, proof that the supertall race isn’t only an office or hotel story.
Project Team & Details
| Developer | World Class Global (Aspial Corporation) |
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| Architect | Fender Katsalidis |
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| General Contractor | Brookfield Multiplex |
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| Status | Completed |
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| Funding Source | Private |
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