Westpac House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Westpac House |
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Westpac House in 2008
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| Former names |
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| Etymology | Westpac |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Commercial |
| Location | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Coordinates | 34°55′29″S 138°35′54″E / 34.92472°S 138.59833°E |
| Current tenants |
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| Completed | 1988 |
| Owner |
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| Height | 132 m (433 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 31 |
| Floor area | 3,170 square metres (34,100 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Rod Roach Architecture in association with Woods Bagot |
| Developer | State Bank of South Australia |
| Main contractor | Baulderstone Hornibrook |
Westpac House (formerly Santos House and State Bank Building) is an office building in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is a 31-storey office tower, reaching 132 metres (433 ft) at its roof, with each level approximately four metres (thirteen feet) in height. From 1988 until 2019, it was the tallest building in Adelaide. It is set back from Currie Street near the intersection with King William Street, and is connected to two adjacent office buildings on Currie Street. It has four street frontages, and various pedestrian thoroughfares. The building was originally known as the State Bank building, before the 1991 State Bank Collapse, when it was purchased by Santos and renamed the Santos Building in February 1997. Since 2007, it has been known as Westpac House.
History
Opened in 1988 as the State Bank building, it became Santos House after the collapse of the State Bank in the early 1990s. Its major tenants have included Santos, PricewaterhouseCoopers, HWL Ebsworth, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Securities Exchange. In 2007, Santos moved its headquarters into a new building on Flinders Street, and Westpac acquired the naming rights to the building.
In the lead up to (and during) major holidays, the windows are selectively lit up in formation. These include a white cross for Easter and Anzac Day, and a tree (in fluorescent green) for Christmas.
Abacus Property Group acquired a half interest in Santos House in October 2004 and the remaining 50 per cent in 2015. It sold 50 per cent to Inheritance Capital Asset Management in 2016.
Being the tallest building in Adelaide, it was chosen as the venue for the stair race events at the 2007 World Police and Fire Games.
Between 11 and 15 May 2007, the 'Santos' sign on the building was removed and a single red 'W', the Westpac logo, had replaced it by 21 June.
In October 2019, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat database, Westpac House was the 167th tallest building in Australia.
