Eureka Tower

We decided to end our first day in Melbourne with a visit to the Eureka Skydeck 88, an observation deck that occupies the entire 88th floor of the 297.3 m. (975 ft.) high, 91 storey (with one basement level) Eureka Tower.

The beehive art installation

Opened to the public on May 15, 2007, at 285 m. (935 ft.) high, it is the highest public vantage point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere.

Here are some interesting trivia regarding this building:

• Until surpassed by Ocean Heights and the HHHR Tower in Dubai, it was the world’s tallest residential tower when measured to its highest floor
• When measured either by the height of its roof, or by the height of its highest habitable floor, Eureka Tower was the tallest residential building in the world when completed.
• It is the second tallest building in Australia, behind Q1, Queensland on the Gold Coast
• Eureka Tower is the tallest to roof (excluding spire)
• It is one of only seven buildings in the world with 90 or more storeys
• Eureka Tower is the equal 77th tallest building in the world.
• It is also the second-tallest building in Australia and the tallest building in Melbourne.
• As of 2016 it was the 15th tallest residential building in the world.
• As far as can be ascertained this is the highest building with plants on
• Currently, it is also the building with the most floors available for residential occupancy in the world.
• In all, there are 556 apartments in 84 floors (including some floors shared between car parking and apartments), with the remainder being used for building facilities and the observation deck.
• The single level basement and first 9 floors contain car parking.
• Eureka Tower Pty Ltd, the developer of the tower, is a joint venture consisting of Daniel Grollo (Grocon), investor Tab Fried and Nonda Katsalidis, one of the Tower’s architects.
• Eureka Tower is named after the Eureka Stockade, a rebellion during the Victorian gold rush in 1854. The building’s gold crown represents the gold rush, the red stripe the blood spilt during the revolt, the blue glass cladding (that covers most of the building) the blue background of the stockade’s flag and the white lines the Eureka Stockade flag. The white horizontal stripes also represent markings on a surveyor’s measuring staff.
• The project was designed by Melbourne architectural firm Fender Katsalidis Architectsand was built by Grocon (Grollo Australia).
• The tower was built using reinforced concreteusing a slipform About 5,000 tons (4,900 long tons; 5,500 short tons) of reinforced steel and 110,000 tons (110,000 long tons; 120,000 short tons) of concrete were used.
• On November 9, 2004, Eureka Tower’s lift core superseded the height of Rialto Towers.
• Started in August 2002, the exterior completed on June 1, 2006 and the building was officially opened on October 11, 2006 by then Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks
• An art installation resembling a manmade beehive, at the base of the tower, contains bees inside a white box, with two regular sized bees outside the box, and one queen bee on the top. Created by Richard Stringer and Nonda Katsalidis, it was completed in December 2007.  The gold color of the bees complements the gold at the top of the tower.
• Since 2012, the Eureka Climb event, where participants climb 1642 steps to the observation deck, has been held annually. The current record is 7 minutes to climb up 88 floors.
• A system of pumps constantly moves water between the two 300,000 liter tanks, at Levels 90 and 91, to counteract wind-induced oscillations.
• Eureka Tower has 24 carat (99.9%) gold plated glass windows (installation completed in March 2006)on the top 10 floors of the building.

The ticket office

To access the Skydeck, we first paid an entry fee at the ground floor. From one of its 13 elevators, we traveled up to 9 m. per second (30 ft./sec.).

Skydeck 88

The Skydeck features several free binoculars as well as 30 viewfinders that helped us pinpoint numerous significant landmarks around all parts of Melbourne.

View of Melbourne Central Business District

View of the Yarra River. In the foreground is the Arts Centre Spire.

The Skydeck also has a small outside area called The Terrace (closed in high winds) where daring people can do a “skywalk” 350 m. (1,150 ft) high. Not for us.  However, we all tried out The Edge.  Once inside this glass cube, the glass inside was initially opaque but once it projected 3 m. (10 ft.) out from the building, the glass became clear as we hung over the edge of the tower.  Adding to our viewing experience, we were suspended almost 300 m. (984 ft.).

Nightime view of Melbourne CBD

Eureka Skydeck: 7 Riverside Quay, Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria 3006, Australia. Open daily; 10 AM – 10 PM, Admission: Adult: 23AUD; Child: 14.50AUD