Woodside Plaza facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Woodside Plaza |
|
|---|---|
Woodside Plaza
|
|
| General information | |
| Type | Office tower |
| Location | 240 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia |
| 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$250 million |
| Management | CBRE |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 137 m (449 ft) |
| Roof | 127 m (417 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 27 over ground (including plant) 2 basement |
| Floor area | 46,000 m2 (500,000 sq ft) (lettable) 77,000 m2 (830,000 sq ft) (total) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Kann Finch & Partners |
| Developer | Deutsche Asset Management |
| Structural engineer | Kellogg Brown & Root |
| Main contractor | Baulderstone Hornibrook |
Woodside Plaza is a tall building, called a skyscraper, in Perth, Western Australia. It has 29 floors and stands about 137 meters (449 feet) high. This impressive tower is the main office for a big company called Woodside Petroleum. It was built with many cool features to save energy. When it was finished in 2004, Woodside Plaza was the first top-quality skyscraper built in Perth in a long time, since Central Park was completed in 1992. Today, it is the sixth tallest skyscraper in Perth.
Building Woodside Plaza: From Idea to Reality
Why a New Building Was Needed
In the 1990s, Woodside Petroleum grew a lot. But there wasn't enough office space in the center of Perth. Because of this, Woodside's staff were spread out in six different places. They needed one big building to bring everyone together.
Finding the Perfect Spot
Woodside Petroleum asked different companies to suggest ideas for a new tower. Many ideas came forward. One company, Hai Sun Hup Group, won the bid in April 1999. Their idea was to build an office tower and a hotel on a large piece of land. This land was at the corner of St Georges Terrace and Milligan Street.
This land was mostly empty. It used to have small buildings and one eight-story building called AWA Computer House. To make way for the new tower, some old buildings had to be taken down.
Getting Ready to Build
Getting permission to build the office tower took some time. There was a small disagreement about how many parking spaces the building could have. But because the mining industry in Western Australia was doing very well, the project was able to move forward.
The City of Perth gave its approval in December 2000. They allowed the building to be bigger than usual. In return, the public would get a walkway and a public square at the base of the tower. This would be similar to the one at the Central Park tower.
Construction Begins
The building contract, worth A$250 million, was signed in January 2001. A company called Deutsche Asset Management bought the building site. Woodside Petroleum agreed to rent a large part of the tower for 15 years.
Work on the site started on January 31, 2001. A special ceremony, called a groundbreaking, was held on February 27, 2001. The main builder, Baulderstone Hornibrook, began construction in March 2001.
Filling the Building with Tenants
The new building added a lot of office space to Perth. Woodside Petroleum used most of it, but there was still space for other companies. By October 2003, almost all the available floors were rented out. Law firms and accounting companies moved in.
The building was mostly finished in early 2004. It officially opened in March 2004. Woodside Plaza became Perth's third largest building by total floor area. It was also the first new tall office building in Perth in eight years. Many people thought that Woodside moving to this part of the city would encourage other resources companies to move there too.
Future Plans for the Site
The original plans for the site also included building a 13-story hotel next to the office tower. This hotel was planned to be a 5-star Stamford Hotel. However, the hotel project was put on hold. Later, in 2008, a new plan was suggested for that part of the site: another 13-level office tower.
Woodside Plaza: Smart Design and Features
How the Tower Was Built
The architects, Kann Finch Group, designed Woodside Plaza. The building has 251 parking spaces underground. It also has a bar, shops, a 120-seat meeting room, and a gym.
The building's main structure is made of concrete. It has a strong central core that holds all the lifts, stairs, and service pipes. The office floors are supported by strong beams. The outside of the building has columns placed about 8.2 meters (27 feet) apart. These columns are made from very strong concrete to keep them from being too big at ground level.
Floors and Facilities
Woodside Plaza has two basement levels and two levels just for building equipment. It has 23 office floors, a mezzanine level (a floor between two main floors), and the ground floor. This makes a total of 29 floors. The building has a total area of about 77,000 square meters (828,821 square feet). About 46,000 square meters (495,140 square feet) of this space can be rented out.
The building's lifts are divided into three groups: low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise. This helps people get to their floors faster. The tower also has four generators and a very large fuel tank. This means the building can run without outside electricity for up to four days if needed.
Energy-Saving Features
Woodside Plaza is known for being very good at saving energy. For example, its air conditioning system uses special fans that change speed. This means they use less energy when the building doesn't need as much cooling. Also, the office floors are divided into many different air conditioning zones.
The lights inside the building get dimmer when there is more natural light coming in from outside. The building also stays cooler because its windows use "low emissivity" glass. This type of glass helps block heat from the sun. In 2008, the building also installed waterless urinals. This change saves about 9 million liters (2.4 million US gallons) of water every year!
