Project Review: Skytower soars to the top with another Award

The iconic $1 billion Brisbane Skytower development, located at 222 Margaret Street in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD, boasts 1,138 residential apartments across 90 awe-inspiring storeys.

Housed under Queensland’s highest roof, it is the largest residential building in Australia, with its combination of high-quality architectural treatments, opulent finishes and exquisite attention to detail giving it the feel of a five-star resort.

The impressive Skytower took out the Project of the Year Award for 2020 and has now set a benchmark for innovative construction and luxurious high-end living.

As the largest residential building in Australia Skytower was an ambitious project from the start and presented a number of challenges prior to and during construction which required a range of innovative solutions.

A key innovation was the first ever height adjustable tower crane system which was required to build within the Civil Aviation Air Space which the Tower neatly abuts at 274m above the ground. The system enabled the construction plant to be located in a 12m zone above Skytower’s 274m height limit during daylight hours to productively construct the top of the tower, and then lowered down each evening.

The crane was designed and constructed by Hutchies for the Skytower project, and was submitted to the Australian Construction Awards 2020 for the Innovation of the Year.

Previously construction of a tower of this scale would have been unachievable and cost prohibitive due to the constraints of traditional tower crane systems which would have to protrude upon controlled air space.

Another innovation was the formwork system which was designed to enable an all encompassing and versatile self-climbing jump form system to construct all vertical elements of the Tower enabling completion of a structural floor cycle every week. The system was also combined with a undercarriage crane system to enable the building façade and internal finishes to follow at the same pace.

Other innovations included ;

• a specialised water and sewerage drainage system to control the discharge of water and sewerage, which would otherwise build up pressure and speed as it moves down the building.
• a specialised pressure relief window closing system which allows high rise windows to be opened during normal conditions but will shut during periods of high wind and excess pressure.
• an integrated digital backbone which facilities the distribution of internet, telephone and other systems through the building
• a refrigerant measurement device to determine and allocate the costs of using air conditioning systems to individual apartments.

The tower was designed and developed in four vertical components, with separate services and amenities but working together as single building. The design and development process effectively enabled residents to occupy the lower levels of the building in safety and comfort prior to completion of the upper levels of the building above. This unique delivery method enabled revenues to flow from settlements two years before the project’s scheduled completion.

The staging of the project also provided an opportunity to procure an innovative development funding package. Capital Management Australia assisted Billbergia to procure an initial funding package from Invesco Real Estate for stage 1 and 2 of the project which was repaid via early settlements and prior to being rolled into a secondary package from MaxCap to complete the project.

Of course, few of these innovations are evident to those who live or pass by the tower, but it will remain an icon of Brisbane innovation for years to come.