Hi guys, I'm Dan from The B1M and today I'm here in Melbourne, Australia
to bring you something very special - after covering the tower behind
me we've been invited by the developer to take a look inside one of Australia's
most unique skyscrapers well it's still under construction.
At 317 metres Australia 108 will be Melbourne tallest skyscraper when it completes in late 2020.
But building a supertall structure in an area of the city notorious for
poor soil conditions was no easy task.
I met up with Darcy Holden from Multiplex
to tell me how it was done and to take a look inside one of Australia's biggest construction sites.
So Darcy, obviously building something like a skyscraper in Southbank is not easy
tell us how you built Australia 108 in these conditions.
Yeah so the main thing that makes it not easy is the soil conditions the site on a Coode Island Silt site
so we founded over 250 piles into the ground and it took us over 12 months to do.
We used the biggest piling rig in Australia we've loaded that onto
the site as well some of the piles were 2.1 in diameter and they were 47
meters deep founding on the bedrock at the site but this pile, or column, behind
us should I say is 1.8 in diameter so not quite as big as the ones that went
into the ground but you can see the scale allows us to build a hundred
storeys on top of it.
With more than 1,000 apartments within the building
residents have been moving in since mid 2018 and have been able to make full use
of the building's gym, pool, spa, and cinema while construction carries on above them.
As the lower levels were already occupied Darcy took me through the
tower's premium Lobby which was still under construction and on to the Starburst.
So we're up on level 70 the first starburst floor there's two floors here it's quite
impressive as you can see.
What's the story behind this feature of the building? Obviously it's
it's unlike anything I've ever seen on a skyscraper.
It's something that the architects clearly designed to make the
building stand out even more with a super high floor it's a gold cantilever
that's going to be a landmark for not only Melbourne but for Australia and across the world.
Located 210-metres above street level the cantilevered starburst is
Australia 108's defining feature and will contain exclusive amenities for residents.
There's going to be two cantilevered infinity pools that are looking out over the South and the North
so the North is a city view on the South is across Port Phillip Bay.
There's going to be a theatre there's going to be a lot of private dining, library, sky garden
gyms and yoga studios as well so it's gonna be a whole range of different features up here that the
resident can enjoy as their common space.
With some sections measuring 14 meters long wind was a major factor that
needed to be taken into account during the installation process.
As such it took the team four and a half months just to install the 24 sections that form the starburst.
To ensure work on the main structure could continue, engineers designed the tower so that the upper
floors could proceed even in the event that work on the starburst was delayed.
With the upper floors at various stages of construction
I was taken inside one of the near-complete apartments to see what
living the highlife at Australia 108 would be like.
So we're up on level 70 in one of the cloud rise residences - it's a deluxe
apartment it's a lot more premium and it's got a lot of open space about it
and the views are also amazing.
They are fantastic, million-dollar views in Melbourne.
or two million dollar views-
two million dollar views.
- and we've been moving people in since early May 2018.
While some of the premium apartments sold for two
million Australian dollars they pale in comparison to the penthouse.
Occupying the entirety of the 100th floor and accessed via a private lift the
penthouse set a national record at the time of purchase selling for AUD $25 million.
Although work had only reached level 98, which will contain a plant room and
damper tanks to reduce the movement of the tower in strong winds, Darcy took me
to the highest point of the tower to show me what kind of view $25 million dollars can buy.
So we're up on top of the jump form it's the highest point in the
project above the top of the roof slab we're at 318.5 metres -
at the moment - up in the air you see the views are awesome. Level 100 is the
highest residential floor plate in the Southern Hemisphere so it's a yeah it's
an amazing job and it's been an amazing experience. I'd like to thank World Class
Global for this opportunity to build such an amazing job all that consultants
and our project deliverable team like to thank them as well it's been great.
Thank you so much Darcy good luck with the rest of the project if you guys have
enjoyed this as much as I have and want to get more from the definitive video
channel for construction remember to subscribe to The B1M.