240 St Georges Terrace facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 240 St Georges Terrace |
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| Former names | Woodside Plaza |
| General information | |
| Type | Office tower |
| Location |
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| Coordinates | 31°57′10″S 115°51′7″E / 31.95278°S 115.85194°E |
| Construction started | 27 February 2001 |
| Completed | 2004 |
| Opening | March 2004 |
| Cost | A$250M |
| Owner | Dexus |
| Management | CBRE |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 137 m (449 ft) |
| Roof | 127 m (417 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count |
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| Floor area |
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| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Kann Finch & Partners |
| Developer | Deutsche Asset Management |
| Structural engineer | Kellogg Brown & Root |
| Main contractor | Baulderstone Hornibrook |
240 St Georges Terrace, also known as Woodside Plaza, is a tall building in Perth, Western Australia. It has 29 floors and stands 137 meters (about 449 feet) high. This building used to be the main office for Woodside Petroleum, a big energy company. It was built with many features to save energy. When it opened in 2004, it was the first new 'premium-grade' skyscraper in Perth in a long time. Today, it is the eighth tallest building in Perth.
Contents
Building a New Skyscraper in Perth
In the 1990s, Woodside Petroleum grew a lot. They needed more office space for their many employees. But Perth hadn't built many new big office buildings since 1992. So, by 1998, Woodside's staff were working in six different places around Perth.
Woodside asked different companies to suggest plans for a new building. Several companies offered ideas. For example, one group suggested building a new tower next to Woodside's old office. Other companies proposed building on different sites in the city.
Choosing the Best Location
In April 1999, a company called Knoxville Group won the bid to build the tower. Their plan was to develop a site at the corner of St Georges Terrace and Milligan Street. This large area was mostly empty land. It also had an eight-story building called AWA Computer House. Some smaller buildings, including a Japanese restaurant, had to be taken down to make way for the new tower.
There was a small delay in getting approval for the office tower. This was because of a disagreement about how many car parking spaces could be included. However, the project moved forward because the mining and energy industries in Western Australia were doing very well.
Construction Begins
The City of Perth approved the building plans in December 2000. They allowed the developers to build a larger tower than usual. In return, the plans included a public walkway and a public square at the base of the tower. This was similar to the popular public space at the Central Park tower.
The building contract, worth $250 million, was signed on January 30, 2001. As part of this deal, Deutsche Asset Management bought the building site. Woodside agreed to rent a large part of the tower for 15 years.
Work on the site started on January 31, 2001. A special ceremony to mark the start of construction happened on February 27, 2001. The company Baulderstone Hornibrook began building the tower in March 2001.
Filling the New Office Space
The new building added a lot of office space to Perth's city center. Woodside Petroleum planned to use most of it. This meant only a smaller amount of space was available for other businesses.
By October 2003, almost all the available office space was rented out. Law firms and other companies signed up to move in. By April 2004, only a couple of floors were left.
The building was mostly finished in early 2004. It officially opened in March 2004. It became Perth's third largest building by total floor area. It was also the city's first new high-rise office building in eight years. Many people thought that Woodside's move to this part of the city would encourage other energy companies to come to the area too.
Plans for a Hotel and More Offices
Original plans for the site included a hotel next to the office tower. This was going to be a 13-story, 5-star Stamford Hotel. However, the hotel project was put on hold in 2001. The company decided to wait until the hotel market in Perth became stronger. In 2008, a new plan was suggested for a 13-story office tower on that same spot instead.
How the Building is Designed
The architects, Kann Finch Group, designed the tower. It has 251 car parking spaces underground. There is also a bar on the ground floor, shops, a 120-seat meeting room, and a gym.
The building is made with a strong concrete frame. It has a central core that holds all the lifts, stairs, and service pipes. The office floors are made with special concrete slabs. The outside of the building has columns spaced about 8.2 meters (27 feet) apart.
Floors and Features
The building has two basement levels, two levels for building equipment, 23 office floors, a mezzanine level, and the ground floor. This makes a total of 29 floors. The entire building has a total floor area of 77,000 square meters (about 828,000 square feet). About 46,000 square meters (about 495,000 square feet) of this space can be rented out.
The building has different elevator zones: low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise. This helps people get to their floors quickly. It also has four generators and a large 60,000-liter (about 15,850 US gallon) fuel tank. This allows the tower to run without outside electricity for up to four days if needed.
Energy-Saving Design
The tower is known for its efforts to save energy. For example, the air conditioning system uses fans that can change speed. This means they use less energy when the building doesn't need as much cooling. The office floors are also divided into different air conditioning areas.
Inside, the lights dim automatically when there is enough natural light coming in. The building also uses special "low emissivity" glass on its outside. This glass helps to reduce how much heat gets into the building. To save water, waterless urinals were installed in early 2008. This change saves an estimated 9 million liters (about 2.4 million US gallons) of water each year.
Recent Changes to the Building
Woodside, the main tenant, moved out of the building at the end of 2018. They moved to a new building called Mia Yellagonga. After Woodside left, 240 St Georges Terrace had a refurbishment. This update cost between $30 million and $60 million. The main entrance area was completed in 2019.
In 2019, Macquarie Group rented the top two floors of the building. They also gained the right to put their company name and logo on the building.
