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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melbourne, the second-largest city in Australia, is home to approximately 758 completed high-rise buildings.[1] Of those completed and or topped-out, 61 buildings are defined as "skyscrapers"–buildings which reach a height of at least 150 metres (490 ft); more than any other city in Australia. Of the ten tallest buildings in Australia, six are located in Melbourne. Most of Melbourne's tallest skyscrapers are concentrated in the City Centre precinct; however, other locations of prominent skyscrapers and tall buildings in Melbourne include Carlton, Docklands, Southbank, South Melbourne, South Yarra, and St Kilda Road.
Geographically, Melbourne's central business district, defined by a grid of streets known as the Hoddle Grid, has a historically low central shopping area with high rise cluster in the western financial district, and another cluster in eastern end. Buildings are more densely packed in the west than the east, although the east has two of the city's tallest buildings to architectural feature—120 Collins Street and 101 Collins Street, respectively, whilst the Rialto Towers (located on the west side) is tallest by roof. In the 2010s, another skyscraper cluster rose in the northern section, with Aurora Melbourne Central the tallest. As a whole, the city overtook Sydney in 2011 as having the tallest skyline in the country and the 24th–tallest in the world, when the heights of the top ten tallest buildings in the city are combined.[2]
Historically, Melbourne has represented several "firsts" and been the holder of various records, both in Australia and internationally. The city is notable for being one of the first cities in the world to build numerous tall office buildings, alongside New York City and Chicago in the United States, though Melbourne's first skyscraper boom was very short lived, 1888-1892. Melbourne was the location for Australia's first high–rise, the APA Building, constructed during this boom in 1889.[3] Melbourne was also the location for the first modern post-WW2 high-rise in Australia, ICI House built in 1958.[3] From 1986 to 2005, Melbourne's held the title of tallest buildings in Australia, with the Rialto Towers (1986–91), 101 Collins Street (1991) and 120 Collins Street (1991–2005). Since 2006, the city has been home to the second-tallest building in the country, the Eureka Tower (2006–19) and Australia 108 (2019–present); surpassed only by the Gold Coast's Q1, both the Eureka Tower, and later Australia 108, have maintained the title of tallest building in Australia to roof.