Waterfront Place, Brisbane

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Waterfront Place is the fourth-tallest building in Brisbane and fifth-tallest in Queensland. It is located downtown at 1 Eagle Street, beside the Brisbane River.

It was constructed by renowned Queensland builder and developer FA Pidgeon and Son Pty Ltd who led the projects development in a joint venture with Folkestone Limited.

Construction was completed in 1989. The building stands 162 metres tall.

The Waterfront Place foyer is regularly used for Australian exhibits of photography, art and various other items of interest.

[edit] Architecture

Waterfront Place is one of Brisbane's landmark office towers, located on the edge of the Brisbane River in the heart of the Central Business District. The Waterfront Place complex includes a two level restaurant, entertainment and retail complex known as The Eagle Street Pier.

The building features spectacular views of the City, the Brisbane River and the islands of Moreton Bay. In addition Waterfront Place is only a short stroll from ferries, buses and the Botanic Gardens.

The complex also contains a marina facility, which compliments the Queensland lifestyle.

The architects for Waterfront were Cameron Chisholm & Nicol. The building was completed in December 1989, and was officially opened on 1 February 1990 by the Honourable Wayne Goss, the then Premier of Queensland.

The site now occupied by Waterfront Place was part of Brisbane's original port. In 1888 Naldham House, (part of the original Waterfront Place development, but subsequently sold in 1994), was built for the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company.

By the late 1970s the site was in two ownerships:

• Queensland Government
• Inchcape Group of the UK

FA Pidgeon and Son Pty Ltd purchased the part of the site owned by the Inchcape Group in 1982 with the intention of developing an office building in the future.

The site had the following attributes:

• absolute waterfront
• large site of approximately 5200 square metres
• two prominent street frontages
• 110 metres frontage to the river
• excellent exposure

However, the adjoining Norman Wharf site owned by the State Government was unsightly and acted as a barrier between the site and the rest of the Brisbane CBD.

In order to develop the site to its best potential it became necessary to purchase the Norman Wharf site from the State Government.

The final site area was approximately 23,400 square metres including both freehold and leasehold, and enjoyed frontages as follows:

• Eagle Street
  • 125 metres
• Felix Street
  • 100 metres
• Brisbane River
  • 253 metres
• Mary Street
  • 60 metres

[edit] Construction

In 1986, Folkestone Limited decided to join the project, and entered into a joint venture arrangement with FA Pidgeon & Son. Obayashi Corporation of Japan was invited to participate on the basis of becoming the Project Head Contractor. The Joint Venture appointed Indosuez Australia to arrange finance. Cameron Chisholm & Nicol Architects were appointed to design the complex. Construction commenced in September 1987 and was completed twenty seven months later on Christmas Eve 1989.

During construction:

• over 600 people worked on the site
• 53,000 cubic metres of concrete was used
• 9,500 panes of glass were used
• 30,000 square metres of granite was used
• 3,000 square metres of marble was used

In December 1989 AMP Society purchased the Waterfront Place complex from the Joint Venture partners.

The Office Tower is the dominant element of the complex. The architectural design outline of the tower is framed by matching elliptical curves with triangular projections in each of the east and west faces to create ten "corner" offices per typical floor. The elliptical shape maximises the views to the River and City.

The forty storey tower is of reinforced concrete construction and externally is clad in polished granite with double glazed solar tinted windows.

The Building has thirty six (36) lettable floors with a Total Net Lettable Area of approximately 60,000 square metres.

The major features of the Tower are: Lobby:

• Granite Floors and Walls
• Decorative Water Features
• Nine (9) metre high ceiling
• Dramatic Polished Steel Columns
• Quality Soft Furnishings

Office Floors:

• Typical Floor size ranging from approximately 1816 to 1867 square metres
• Column free space
• 12 metre window to core distance
• Ten (10) corner offices per floor
• 2700mm floor to ceiling height
• 300 mm window sill height
• Granite floors and marble wall tiles in the bathrooms.
• Ability to install connecting stairs for multiple floor tenants
• Separate lobby for goods delivery
• 600 mm x 600 mm light and ceiling grid system
• Stand by power facilities designed to generate 100% backup power in the event of mains power failure.