My Favourite Buildings #2
See also My Favourite Buildings #1
It's the sexy curvaceous one in the middle.
This afternoon was a miserable rainy Melbourne kind of a day and it was taking me ages to find a decent original view of this building. This was the best I could do, I'm up to my usual tricks...
This was an easy choice, almost as obvious as the Sydney Opera House and almost as striking. There are similar ideas between the two, particularly the curved facade that resembles a huge sail, and apparently it's location just down the road from the iconic opera house requires it to be complementary to it. It is striking yet elegant, assymetrical and gravity-defying, the top floors being wider than the base and curved glass hang over the ground level sheltering me from the rain.
It is also apparently the most expensive office space in the country.
The building does offer the passer-by some interesting views from underneath but it's best looking at it from a distance, from the east (the Botanical Gardens) or poking between buildings looking north from Chifley Square (when you can see just how much the eastern facade slopes up and out). Or from above. The picture to the right shows Aurora Place from the north, with Governor Phillip Tower (the Cheese Grater up the road from the Toaster) which may even make an appearance in the My Favourite Buildings list later on down the track.
More info from Emporis.com and SkyscraperPage.com
MEANWHILE, more info on Burj Dubai Tower. It's enough to make any grown man wet their pants. 800 metres tall, 160 floors, towering over what will be the biggest mall in the world. There's a hell of alot of money over in the Emirates and alot of egos to boot. It might end up being one gargantuan eyesore but from the artists impressions it's all looking, well, impressive. To think that Melbourne could have had it's own Burj Dubai. Check out SkyscraperPage.com for more details and drawings. And If that isn't enough, can't wait for Tokyo to start their 4000 metre X-SEED 4000. Why don't they just scrape out the insides of Mount Fuji, save themselves a few trillion dollars.
Tags: Architecture, Sydney, Favourite.
