List of tallest buildings in Sydney

The Sydney Central Business District skyline in 2011.

The Sydney skyline as it appeared in 1984 from Bondi Junction. Several major skyscrapers, including Chifley Tower and Governor Phillip Tower, had not yet been built.

Sydney, the largest city in Australia, is home to 1,168 completed high-rise buildings.^[1] The tallest buildings in the city are heavily concentrated in the central business district, although other areas around the city, such as Parramatta and North Sydney, boast a significant number of high-rises.

As of December 2015, the entire city has 30 buildings that rise at least 150 m (492 ft) in height, second to Melbourne.^[2][3][4] The earliest skyscraper constructed in Sydney was Culwulla Chambers, which stands at a height of 50 m (164 ft) and was completed in 1912. Designed by Spain, Cosh and Minnett, the building consisted of 14 floors and cost £100,000 to build, equivalent of approximately $1 million in today's money.^[5]

Sydney originally had a 46 m (151 ft) height limit that was enforced until 1957, which saw a construction boom for skyscrapers and buildings beginning in the early 1960s with the construction of the Australia Square, notable for being the world's tallest light weight concrete building at the time it was built.^[6][7] Since August 1981, the tallest structure in Sydney is the Sydney Tower, at 309 m (1,014 ft).^[8] However, according to the international standard of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, observation towers are not fully habitable and do not count as buildings.^[3] Hence, the tallest building in Sydney is the Chifley Tower, which was completed in 1992 and stands at 244 m (801 ft). It is also the ninth tallest building in Australia.

As of November 2013, Sydney has 23 buildings under construction and 97 at planning stages.^[9] The most recently completed high-rise was 8 Chifley Square, which stands at 140 m (459 ft) when measured to its roof. A recent 235 m (797 ft) height restriction implementation has slowed Sydney’s high-rise developments.

Tallest buildings and structures 150m+ (492ft+)

This is a list of the tallest buildings in the city, which measures all structures to the highest architectural detail.

Rank	Name	Image	Height (m)	Floors	Year	Purpose	Address	Notes
-	Sydney Tower		309	19	1977-1981	Observation Tower	100 Market Street		Although the tallest structure in Sydney, Sydney Tower is not considered a habitable building by the CTBUH as it is primarily an observation tower. 275m to roof.
1	Chifley Tower		244	50	1991-1992	Commercial	122 Phillip Street	Officially the tallest building in Sydney since 1992. It was one of the most expensive buildings in the world at A$1.2 billion. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.[10]
2	Citigroup Centre		243	50	1998-2000	Commercial	506 George Street	Designed by Crone Partners
3	Deutsche Bank Place		240	39	2003-2005	Commercial	126 Phillip Street	The second-tallest building in the world with fewer than 40 floors (Al Faisaliyah Center (Riyadh) is taller at 267m). 160m to roof. Designed by Norman Foster.
4	Meriton World Tower		230	75	2001-2004	Residential	85 Liverpool Street	Tallest residential building in Sydney since 2004. Tallest building in Sydney without a spire. Part of the World Square complex. Designed by Nation Fender Katsalidis.
5	MLC Centre		228	60	1975-1977	Commercial	19 Martin Place	244m to antenna and 227m to roof. Tallest building in Sydney from 1977 to 1992. Designed by Harry Seidler.
6	Governor Phillip Tower		227	54	1991-1993	Commercial	1 Farrer Place	254m to antenna and 227m to roof. Tallest Building in Sydney to antenna. Designed by Denton Corker Marshall.[11]
7	Ernst & Young Tower		222	45	2003-2004	Commercial	680 George Street	190m to roof. Part of the World Square complex.
8	RBS Tower		219	41	1998-2000	Commercial	88 Phillip Street	More commonly known as Aurora Place but officially RBS Tower. 188m to roof. Designed by Renzo Piano.[12]
9	ANZ Tower		195	46	2010-2013	Commercial	163 Castlereagh Street	Designed by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp
10	Suncorp Place		193	48	1970-1982	Commercial	259 George Street	Construction began in 1970 and was not completed until 1982, as the project was delayed many times.
11	AMP Centre		188	45	1973-1976	Commercial	50 Bridge Street	Tallest building in Sydney from 1976-1977. Currently undergoing major redevelopment. Designed by Peddle Thorp & Walker.
12	Century Tower	N/A	183	50	1994-1997	Residential	343 Pitt Street	Tallest residential building in Sydney from 1997-2004.
13	Grosvenor Place		180	45	1984-1988	Commercial	225 George Street	Designed by Harry Seidler.[13]
14	International Tower 2		178	43	2013–2015[14]	Commercial	Hickson Road	Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.
15	Capita Centre		173	31	1987-1989	Commercial	9 Castlereagh Street	Designed by Harry Seidler.[15]
=16	Australia Square Tower		170	46	1965-1967	Commercial	264 George Street	Tallest building in Sydney from 1967-1976. Designed by Harry Seidler.
=16	Meriton Tower		170	48	2004-2006	Residential	551 George Street	Designed by Harry Seidler.
=18	The Peak		168	46	1992-1996	Residential	2 Quay Street	Tallest residential building in Sydney from 1996-1997. Part of the Market City complex.
=18	International Tower 3	N/A	168	40	2013-2016	Commercial	Hickson Road	Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. Topped–out in 2015.[16]
=20	1 O'Connell Street	N/A	166	36	19??-1991	Commercial	1 O'Connell Street	Designed by Peddle Thorp & Walker.
=20	Westpac Place		166	35	2003-2005	Commercial	251 Kent Street	Designed by Johnson Pilton Walker
22	201 Elizabeth Street	N/A	165	40	1976-1978	Commercial	201 Elizabeth Street
23	Gateway Plaza		164	46	1988-1989	Commercial	1 Macquarie Place	Designed by Peddle Thorp & Walker.[17]
24	HSBC Centre	N/A	162	37	1986-1988	Commercial	586 George Street
25	The Cove	N/A	158	45	2001-2003	Residential	129 Harrington Street	Designed by Harry Seidler.
26	Hordern Towers	N/A	156	48	1997-1999	Residential	401 Pitt Street	Part of the World Square Complex.
27	200 George Street		155	40	2013–2015	Commercial	200 George Street	Designed by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp.[18]
=28	Angel Place	N/A	152	35	1995-2000	Commercial	117 Pitt Street	Designed by Peddle Thorp & Walker.
=28	Sydney Central	N/A	152	31	1990-1992	Commercial	477 Pitt Street
=30	85 Castlereagh Street		151	32	2009-2011	Commercial	85 Castlereagh Street	Part of the Sydney Tower complex. Designed by John Wardle Architects.[19]
=30	Lumière Residences		151	47	2004-2007	Residential	487 George Street	Designed by Norman Foster.

Buildings above 200 metres in height

Buildings above 200 metres in height in Sydney. Buildings in orange are still under construction.

Tallest buildings proposed, approved and under construction

This is a list of 150m+ proposed, approved and under construction skyscrapers in Sydney.^[20][21]

  Under Construction

  Approved

  Proposed

Name	Height		Storeys	Purpose	Completion	Location	Status
	m	ft
Crown Sydney	271	889	75	Mixed Use	2020	Barangaroo	Proposed[22]
505 George Street	264	866	78	Residential	TBA	Sydney CBD	Proposed
182 George Street	263	863	54	Commercial	TBA	Sydney CBD	Proposed
One Sydney Harbour Tower 1	247	810	70	Residential	2020	Barangaroo	Proposed
Greenland Centre Sydney	236	774	68	Residential	2019	Sydney CBD	Under construction[23][24]
233 Castlereagh Street	235	771	TBA	Residential	TBA	Sydney CBD	Proposed[25]
International Tower 1	217	712	49	Commercial	2016	Barangaroo	Under construction
Quay Quarter Tower	216	709	54	Commercial	2020	Sydney CBD	Approved
The Star	215	705	TBA	Mixed Use	2020	Pyrmont	Proposed[26]
One Sydney Harbour Tower 2	207	679	60	Residential	2020	Barangaroo	Proposed
1 Alfred Street	194	636	59	Mixed Use	2020	Sydney CBD	Approved[27]
International Tower 3	168	551	39	Commercial	2016	Barangaroo	Under construction
City Tattersalls Club Tower	168	551	48	Mixed Use	TBA	Sydney CBD	Proposed
33 Bligh Street	165	541	30	Commercial	TBA	Sydney CBD	Approved

Timeline of tallest buildings

Includes tallest structures for comparison.^[3][28][29]

Name	Years as tallest	Height (m)	Floors	Notes
St James' Church	1824-1875	52	-
Town Hall	1875-1879	57	4	Clock tower added in 1875.
Garden Palace	1879-1882	64	2	Destroyed by fire in 1882, site is today part of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Town Hall	1882-1891	57	4
General Post Office	1891-1939	73	5
Sydney Harbour Bridge	-	134	-	Tallest structure in Sydney 1932-1956.
AWA Tower	1939-1962	112	14
TCN TV Tower	-	171	-	Tallest structure in Sydney 1956-65, replaced by taller 233m tower in 1965.
AMP Building	1962-1965	115	26
TCN TV Tower	-	233	-	Tallest structure in Sydney 1965-81, tallest lattice tower in Australia, replaced original 1956 tower.
State Office Block	1965-1967	128	32	Demolished in 1997 to make way for Aurora Place.
Australia Square Tower	1967-1976	170	46
AMP Centre	1976-1977	188	45
MLC Centre	1977-1992	228	60
Sydney Tower	-	309	19	Tallest structure in Sydney 1981–present.
Chifley Tower	1992–present	244	50	Tallest building in Sydney; 9th tallest building in Australia.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Chatswood
• List of tallest buildings in Parramatta
• List of tallest buildings in Australia
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Australia
• Buildings and architecture of Sydney
• List of tallest buildings in Oceania

Notes

References

1. "Buildings of Sydney profile". Emporis. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
2. Sydney - The Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. 3 January 2014
3. "existing | Buildings". Emporis. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
4. "Sydney's tallest buildings - Top 20". Emporis. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
5. "Sydney's first skyscraper". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
6. "Biography: Harry Seidler AC OBE LFRAIA". architecture.com.au. The Australian Institute of Architects. 2005-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
7. "Planning". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
8. "Centrepoint Tower". Sydney Architecture. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
9. "Sydney - SkysrcaperPage". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
10. Chifley Tower - The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 21 January 2015
11. Governor Phillip Tower. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
12. Aurora Place - The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
13. Grosvenor Place - The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
14. Tower 2 International Towers Sydney - The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 2 January 2015
15. Castlereagh Centre - The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
16. Tower 2 International Towers Sydney - The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 11 June 2015
17. Gateway Plaza - The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
18. 200 George Street – Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 16 December 2015
19. 85 Castlereagh Street - The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
20. "Sydney". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
21. "City of Sydney | Buildings". Emporis. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
23. Tower Crane Installation. greenlandcentrecommunity. Retrieved 8 December 2015
24. "Greenland Centre Sydney Construction Commenced". Greenland. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
25. "VIG has grand plans for $156m Sydney Tower". Financial Review.
26. "Construction of a new hotel and residential tower and alterations to existing building". NSW Government. Planning and Environment. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
27. "Who will be the architect of Sydney’s most expensive new apartment at Circular Quay?". Architecture and Design.
28. "demolished | Buildings". Emporis. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
29. "TCN's new tower is quite an Eiffel!". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

• Emporis (General database for Skyscrapers)