List of tallest buildings in Sydney
Although the tallest buildings in the city have historically been concentrated in the central business district and immediate surrounding areas such as Barangaroo and Ultimo, suburbs within the Sydney metropolitan area 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, North Sydney, St Leonards and Macquarie Park all witnessing or playing host to the construction of skyscrapers rising above 150 metres.
Standing at a height of 52 metres (171 feet), it was commissioned by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1819, designed by Francis Greenway and constructed between 1820 and 1824 using convict labour.
Standing at a height of 73 m (240 ft), 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".
[13] 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.
[14] 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.
[15] 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.
[16][17] Despite these height restrictions, 1939 saw the completion of the AWA Tower, which finally surpassed the General Post Office's title as Sydney's tallest after 48 years.
[18] With growing demand for office space, the abolition of the 46 metres (151 feet) height limit in 1957 saw a subsequent construction boom for taller buildings beginning in the late 50s through to the early 1960s.
However, this height restriction was lifted in 2016, allowing buildings to be built as high as 310 metres (1,020 ft) on condition that public spaces were not overshadowed.
As the tower penetrates Sydney Airport's Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) it will require an Aeronautical Impact assessment approval,[23] which it received in 2020,[24] although construction has yet to start as of 2024.
