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Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, the largest city in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, is home to 1,168 completed
high-rise building A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction ...
s, more than any other city in Australia. Of those completed or
topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed at the top of a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is ofte ...
, the entire city (including metropolitan suburbs) has 56 buildings that reach a height of at least , of which 17 reach a height of at least – the second–highest number of skyscrapers in Australia, as well as a further 10 buildings rising to at least in height currently under construction. Although the tallest buildings in the city have historically been concentrated in the
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
and immediate surrounding areas such as
Barangaroo Barangaroo ( – ) was an Aboriginal Australian woman best known for her interactions with the British colony of New South Wales during the first years of the European colonisation of Australia. A member of the Cammeraygal clan, she was the wi ...
and Ultimo, suburbs within the Sydney
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...
have all seen a substantial surge in the development of high rises and skyscrapers in recent years, with major satellite centres such as Chatswood,
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
,
North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...
, St Leonards and
Macquarie Park Macquarie Park () is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Macquarie Park is located 13 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government ...
all witnessing or playing host to the construction of skyscrapers rising above 150 metres. As a result, Sydney has the tallest building and most skyscrapers (reaching at least 150 metres or above) outside an
inner city The term inner city (also called the hood) has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Soc ...
area or core in Australia. Sydney was one of the first cities in Australia and internationally to welcome the introduction of skyscrapers and high-rise office blocks in the mid 20th century, alongside cities in the U.S., including
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Witnessing a boom in the 20th century, Sydney has played host to various buildings which have held the title of the tallest building in Australia including St James' Church, the
Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...
, the
Garden Palace The Garden Palace was a large, purpose-built exhibition building constructed to house the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879 in Sydney, Australia. In 1882 it was completely destroyed by fire. It was designed by James Barnet and constructed ...
, the
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
,
AWA Tower The AWA Tower is a heritage-listed office and communications complex in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia built for AWA. The AWA Tower consists of a radio transmission tower atop a 15-storey building. It is located in the Sydne ...
, AMP Building,
25 Martin Place 25 Martin Place (formerly and still commonly known as the MLC Centre) is a skyscraper in Sydney, Australia. Originally named the "MLC Centre" after MLC Limited, and still commonly referred to by that name, in 2021 the name was removed by its o ...
, and the
Australia Square Australia Square Tower is an office and retail skyscraper in the Sydney central business district, Australia. Its main address is 264 George Street, and the square is bounded on the northern side by Bond Street, eastern side by Pitt Street and ...
tower in 1967 at tall, which was Australia's first true
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
as defined as rising above or at least 150 metres high. Since 2020,
Crown Sydney Crown Sydney (also referred to by its street address of One Barangaroo and informally known as Packer’s Pecker) is a skyscraper in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. Designed by WilkinsonEyre, it stands at a height of with 75 floors, ma ...
has been Sydney's tallest building and the 4th tallest building in Australia, rising to a height of .


History


19th century

Sydney played host to Australia's first tallest building in 1824 with the construction of St James' Church. Standing at a height of , it was commissioned by Governor
Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...
in 1819, designed by
Francis Greenway Francis Greenway (20 November 1777 - September 1837) was an English-Australian convict and colonial architect. After being convicted of forgery in England and subsequently transported to New South Wales, Australia (known then as New Holland) ...
and constructed between 1820 and 1824 using convict labour. The partially complete
Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...
, built in Victorian Second Empire style, surpassed this height in 1878 with the completion of its clock tower that stood at a height of . This title was briefly held until the completion of the
Garden Palace The Garden Palace was a large, purpose-built exhibition building constructed to house the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879 in Sydney, Australia. In 1882 it was completely destroyed by fire. It was designed by James Barnet and constructed ...
in 1879, standing at a height of . The Garden Palace likewise only held this title as tallest briefly, after its demise from a fire in 1882. Hence, the
Sydney Town Hall The Sydney Town Hall is a late 19th-century heritage-listed town hall building in the city of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia, housing the chambers of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, council offices, and venues for meetings and ...
once again became Sydney's tallest until 1891 with the completion of the
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
. Standing at a height of , the GPO was at the time described upon opening by the Postmaster General as a building that "will not be surpassed by any other similar structure in the southern hemisphere".


20th century

Towards the end of the 19th century and throughout the beginning of the 20th century, advances in building technology and design coupled with rising urban land values meant that high rise buildings became an attractive proposition in Sydney. Considered to be Sydney's first high-rise office building, Culwulla Chambers, was completed in 1912 and stood at a height of . Designed by Spain, Cosh and Minnett (with Rupert Minnett), the building consisted of 14 floors and cost £100,000 to build, equivalent of approximately $1 million in today's money. This new wave of construction of taller buildings consequently raised concerns over fire risks, namely the inadequate firefighting resources of the period that failed to reach such heights. The fire in the 8 storey Anthony Hordern & Sons building in 1901, which resulted in the death of five people, was notably one of the first cases to raise such concerns. In 1907, Alfred Webb, then the Superintendent of the Sydney Metropolitan Fire Brigade, described how it was "a suicidal policy to allow buildings of 100 feet to go up. Our extension ladders rise to a height of 80 feet, and it might be possible to add another 10 feet to them; but the effectiveness of their working is materially decreased as the height is added to." Additionally, public backlash against increased heights also became apparent during this period, primarily stemming from sentiments that taller buildings did not match the aesthetic of Sydney's streetscape and that they would become a source of increased overcrowding and congestion. As a result, the ''Height of Buildings Act'' was passed in 1912, which limited all new buildings to a height of . This restriction stunted the height of Sydney's buildings, lasting until 1957. Despite these height restrictions, 1939 saw the completion of the
AWA Tower The AWA Tower is a heritage-listed office and communications complex in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia built for AWA. The AWA Tower consists of a radio transmission tower atop a 15-storey building. It is located in the Sydne ...
, which finally surpassed the General Post Office's title as Sydney's tallest after 48 years. At a height of , the AWA tower also became the city's first building to surpass a height of , and would go on to stay as the tallest until 1962.


1960s and 1970s

With growing demand for office space, the abolition of the height limit in 1957 saw a subsequent construction boom for taller buildings beginning in the late 50s through to the early 1960s. During this period, Sydney played host to the construction of various new towers that would subsequently stand as the tallest in the nation. In 1962, the
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
AMP Building was completed, becoming the tallest building in Australia at a height of . Shortly after,
Australia Square Australia Square Tower is an office and retail skyscraper in the Sydney central business district, Australia. Its main address is 264 George Street, and the square is bounded on the northern side by Bond Street, eastern side by Pitt Street and ...
was completed in 1967, also taking the title tallest in Australia at . At the time, Australia Square was the world's tallest light weight concrete building and was also the first true skyscraper in Australia at over as defined by the
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and Sustainable design, sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in ...
. Following this, the 1970s saw Sydney continue its construction boom and status as the city with the nation's tallest buildings. In 1976, the
AMP Centre Quay Quarter Tower is a skyscraper located at 50 Bridge Street, Sydney, Australia. Built as the AMP Centre in 1976, the structure underwent a redevelopment from 2018 to 2021 which increased its height, introduced cantilevers, created additiona ...
(now the Quay Quarter Tower) was completed, standing at a record height of . This title was short-lived, with the completion of the
Harry Seidler Harry Seidler (25 June 19239 March 2006) was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the Bauh ...
designed
MLC Centre 25 Martin Place (formerly and still commonly known as the MLC Centre) is a skyscraper in Sydney, Australia. Originally named the "MLC Centre" after MLC Limited, and still commonly referred to by that name, in 2021 the name was removed by its o ...
in 1977, which stood at a height of 228 metres, the first building in Australia to surpass .


1980s and 1990s

Since 1981, the
Sydney Tower Sydney Tower, also known as Westfield Tower and formerly as Centrepoint Tower, is an observation and telecommunications tower that is the tallest structure in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, as well as the second-tallest observation tower ...
has stood as the tallest
structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
in Sydney at , though as an
observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...
, it fails to be classified as a building as defined by architectural standards set by the
CTBUH The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in Chicago, Illinois, U ...
. In 1992, the
Chifley Tower Chifley Tower is a 53-storey skyscraper in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by New York City-based architects Travis McEwen and Kohn Pedersen Fox, with John Rayner as project architect. At a height of 244 metres (801 feet), ...
became the tallest building in Sydney at a height of . The 1990s was also a period which saw the construction of numerous residential skyscrapers, starting with The Peak in 1996 at a height of , followed by the Century Tower in 1997 at a height of .


21st century

A height restriction implementation persisted in Sydney's building regulations well into the early 2010s. However, this height restriction was lifted in 2016, allowing buildings to be built as high as on condition that public spaces were not overshadowed. This was further raised to at the end of 2019. Sydney's most recent residential tower, 505 George Street, will rise 270 metres, comprising 80 stories much of it serviced apartments. As the tower penetrates Sydney Airport's Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) it will require an Aeronautical Impact assessment approval, which it received in 2020, although construction has yet to start as of 2024. The current tallest building in Sydney, and the fourth tallest in Australia is
Crown Sydney Crown Sydney (also referred to by its street address of One Barangaroo and informally known as Packer’s Pecker) is a skyscraper in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. Designed by WilkinsonEyre, it stands at a height of with 75 floors, ma ...
. Completed in 2020 it stands at a height of , overtaking the Chifley Tower's previous title as tallest in Sydney, standing at a height of .


Tallest buildings (150m+)

This list ranks completed buildings in Sydney that stands at least tall, including new buildings which have fully reached their architectural height. All structures are measured to the highest architectural detail, including spires. Note:
Sydney Tower Sydney Tower, also known as Westfield Tower and formerly as Centrepoint Tower, is an observation and telecommunications tower that is the tallest structure in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, as well as the second-tallest observation tower ...
is not included as it is defined as a structure, as opposed to a building.


Skylines


Tallest buildings proposed, approved and under construction

This is a list of 150m+ proposed, approved and under construction skyscrapers in Sydney.


Timeline of tallest buildings

This list includes buildings that once stood as tallest in Sydney.


See also

*
List of tallest buildings in Chatswood These are lists of the tallest buildings in Chatswood, New South Wales, Chatswood, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In accordance with Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, CTBUH guidelines, heights are measured to the structural heigh ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Parramatta The suburb of Parramatta, New South Wales, Parramatta; a major commercial centre in the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is home to numerous skyscrapers and high-rise buildings. Of those completed or topped out, there are ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Australia Australia was one of the first countries in the world to play host to the Early skyscrapers, skyscraper boom along with the United States and Canada. Australia's first skyscraper as then-defined was Melbourne's now demolished APA Building, Melb ...
* List of tallest buildings and structures in Australia *
Buildings and architecture of Sydney The architecture of Sydney, Australia’s oldest city, is not characterised by any one architectural style, but by an extensive juxtaposition of old and new architecture over the city's 200-year history, from its modest beginnings with local ma ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Oceania This is a list of the tallest buildings in Oceania which measures all buildings to the highest architectural detail. This list does not include the Sky Tower (Auckland), Sky Tower in Auckland, which is taller than the buildings listed but is consid ...
* ''''


References


Emporis
(General database for Skyscrapers) {{Sydney *
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
Tallest