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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Allendale Square
Allendale Square is a 32-storey skyscraper in Perth, Western Australia. When opened in 1976, the 132-metre (433 ft) building surpassed the AMP Building to become the tallest completed building in Perth, a title which it only held until 1977 when St Martins Tower opened.

Allendale Square taken from St George's Tce

Site history and construction

The corner of St Georges Terrace and Sherwood Court where Allendale Square now stands was owned as early as 1829 by the Leake family. Later, it was home to Warwick House, the Bank of New South Wales, the Commercial Travellers Association and the Daily News Chambers. These buildings were demolished in 1974 for construction of Allendale Square.

The tower, which was designed by Architects Cameron, Chisholm and Nicol, was built by Multiplex. The building's anodised aluminium cladding was extensively weather tested to ensure it could resist atmospheric corrosion. Although this cladding covers a 70% of the exterior of the building, all cladding units were installed from inside the tower without the use of external scaffolding.

The building was officially opened by Premier Sir Charles Court on 3 August 1976. Also attending the opening were descendants of the Leake family which had owned the site from the earliest days of the colony.

Post-completion

Allendale Square has been used for abseiling for charity down its side. The first of these events was held in November 2002, and its success led to it being held annually thereafter, until the change in the building's ownership forced the end of this charitable event. The tower has also been used as a base from which to launch shells in the Lotterywest Skyworks annual fireworks display.

The building's prominent tenants include ANZ Bank (which also owns the signage rights over the building), Qantas and Francis Burt Chambers.

Ownership

A half share in the building was bought in 1988 by Armstrong Jones Perth Property Fund for $41.63 million. This half share was later purchased for $39.35 million by GEM Commercial Property Trust in 1995, which was acquired by the General Property Trust when it took over GEM in 1996. In mid-2000 General Property Trust put its half-share in the tower up for sale for $44.25 million, but no offers it received came close and it was forced to take the building off the market.

Meanwhile, in 1995, the other half share in the tower was acquired from an MLC Life fund by the Australian Prime Property Fund in a package that cost a total of $125 million.

Western Australian property mogul Ralph Sarich's investment company Cape Bouvard Investments bought Allendale Square in two steps for $93.03 million between 2001 and 2002. It bought half from the General Property Trust in September 2001 and the other half for $48 million from Australian Prime Property Fund in April 2002.

Later, General Electric bought the tower in December 2006 for $154 million from Cape Bouvard. GE put the tower up for sale in 2008, however the tower was taken off the market after none of the offers received met the desired $200 million sale price. The tower was sold for $231m in May 2013 to Mirvac.

Refurbishments and complex expansion

The building has been refurbished three times since it opened in 1976. In 1989 the building underwent a minor refurbishment at a cost of $1.5 million. Then, starting in 1999, the building underwent an extensive internal refurbishment which cost $2.5 million. The project involved a refit of the lobby, replacement of lift cars and improvement to core services like lighting. Architect Anna Meszaros from firm Cameron Chisholm and Nicol was responsible for this refurbishment.

Most recently, the building was refurbished from 2001 to 2002, which also involved remodelling of the three-storey building adjacent to the tower. This involved an upgrade of some floors, the lobby and the adjoining ANZ Bank branch. The outdoor plaza was also to be revamped for the first time since the building was opened in 1976.

The complex was expanded with the completion in early 2006 of the Allendale II building on the site of the former CTA building at the rear of the Allendale Square site. This seven-storey building is connected to Allendale Square and its underground shopping centre, and boosted the total lettable space in the complex to 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft).

Design

The south-facing windows of the tower

The tower is located on a 4,053-square-metre (43,630 sq ft) site, 15 metres (49 ft) above sea level, however the tower itself only occupies 25% of this land area. Designed by architects Cameron Chisholm Nicol, the building is rotated 45 degrees relative to St Georges Terrace, in order to secure a plot ratio concession from the Perth City Council.

The walls of the tower are stepped in plan, creating V-shaped protrusions along each face. In order to maximise views towards the Swan River whilst reducing heat loads, the building has windows only on the north and south-facing sides of these steps, and the remainder of the tower is clad with aluminium. The 400 tonnes (880,000 lb) of aluminium panels were created from locally mined bauxite, refined at Kwinana by Alco in the largest aluminium task ever undertaken in Australia at that time. On its opening, the building was the largest fully aluminium-clad freestanding tower in Australia, and one of the largest in the world.

The 992 windows of the tower are solar-bronze glass, up to 12.7 mm (0.50 in) thick on upper levels. Ninety percent of the tower's levels had uninterrupted views to the river upon its opening, and all of the office levels are free of internal columns. When it was opened, the tower's lobby had red carpet at the entrance, high ceilings and marble columns.

In addition to a lift between the 99-bay basement car park and the lobby, the tower has nine high-speed lifts, divided into two zones. When the tower opened, these lifts were among the most advanced in the world, improving travelling times and halving the plant room space they required. The electronic security devices and air conditioning systems were also advanced. The roof of the building's mechanical penthouse, which is adorned with the ANZ Bank logo, is designed to be able to function as a helipad if necessary.

The building has 34 levels, made up of a basement car park, an underground retail arcade, the ground floor lobby, a conference suite, 29 office levels and the plant level at the top. The tower has 27,700 square metres (298,000 sq ft) of lettable space and a "spacious" lobby.

The building has been described as a "fine example" of high-rise architecture, "timeless", "one of Perth's most prominent office buildings", a building of "considerable elegance" and a good building in its time which still remains relevant.

...The basic design is innovative and displays both structural and technological sophistication. The tower and its associated concourse exhibit clarity of thought, consistent detailing and finishes of a high standard.

— 1978 Royal Australian Institute of Architects WA Design Award jury

Awards

Allendale Square was named as one of the Top 20 Australian 20th century icon buildings by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. The building has also won several architectural awards, including:

References

  1. ^ "Allendale Square" (PDF). Cape Bouvard Investments. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
  2. ^ "Allendale Square (Place ID 16678)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  3. ^ "Allendale Square". Emporis. Archived from the original on 1 March 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Seddon, George; David Ravine (1986). A city and its setting: images of Perth, Western Australia. Fremantle: Fremantle Arts Centre Press. pp. 191, 207, 220, 231. ISBN 0-949206-08-3.
  5. ^ "Announcing: the birth of Perth's most exciting building [Advertising feature]". The West Australian. 4 August 1976. pp. 37–40.
  6. ^ Gibson, Dawn (27 June 2001). "Allendale Square Gets $2m Facelift". the West Australian. p. 57.
  7. ^ Staff writer (4 August 1976). "Back to the Beginning". The West Australian. p. 12.
  8. ^ Cornish, Patrick (29 January 2002). "A life of best practice". The West Australian. In 1936 the corner of St Georges Terrace and Sherwood Court held Warwick House; the much taller Allendale Square is there now.
  9. ^ Cook, Tracey (23 April 2003). "Multiplex develops business and dominates the skyline". WA Business News.
  10. ^ See e.g. Staff writer (21 September 2003). "Do you dare enough to care?". Sunday Times.
  11. ^ "Urban Descent 2008". Adventure Out. 2008. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
  12. ^ Fitzpatrick, Catherine (25 January 1997). "Police Warn About Drink At Skyworks". The West Australian. p. 3.
  13. ^ Saunders, Cathy (20 March 2008). "Big CBD office sales to reap millions". The West Australian. p. 51.
  14. ^ Petchell, Lee-Anne (9 November 2005). "Allendale II fits bill for new, old tenants". The West Australian. p. 64.
  15. ^ Spencer, Fran (27 January 1999). "Allendale Square". The West Australian. p. 51.
  16. ^ Gibson, Dawn (30 August 2000). "Allendale Half Share Off Market". The West Australian. p. 61.
  17. ^ Gibson, Dawn (3 July 2002). "Buyers turn up for healthy year". The West Australian.
  18. ^ Staff writer (29 May 2002). "Allendale sale final". The West Australian.
  19. ^ Dyson, Noel (16 May 2002). "Empty shops the harbingers of Arcade's refurbishment". WA Business News. Ralph Sarich confirmed he had bought the second half of Allendale Square for $45 million last month through his company Cape Bouvard Investments.
  20. ^ Saunders, Cathy (8 August 2008). "Big towers off market as offers fall short". The West Australian. p. 45.
  21. ^ Dan Wilkie & AAP (10 May 2013). "Allendale Square sold for $231m". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  22. ^ Staff writer (27 January 1999). "Work will lift rents at Allendale Square". The West Australian. p. 51.
  23. ^ Gibson, Dawn (11 September 2001). "Sarich signs off on Allendale stake". The West Australian.
  24. ^ Petchell, Lee-Anne (22 July 2005). "Alinta snaps up Allendale II for HQ". The West Australian. p. 42.
  25. ^ "Property details — Allendale Square". Brookfield Multiplex Corporation. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  26. ^ Staff writer (28 May 2003). "Leasing Sites Available". WA Business News.
  27. ^ Barrass, Tony (2 October 2004). "Buildings that talk to us". The West Australian. p. 2.
  28. ^ Riley, Sam (31 October 2007). "Icons or eyesores?". The West Australian. p. 3. WA president of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Rod Mollett, said there were a lot of good buildings in Perth from these decades. ... "I think that things like the R&I (BankWest) Tower and Allendale Square were good buildings in their time and still remain relevant, the Education Department and the police building opposite the WACA are also good buildings," he said.
  29. ^ Rasdien, Peta (11 December 2000). "City Heritage At Risk, Says Watchdog". The West Australian. p. 6. Institute of Architects associate and heritage subcommittee member Ralph Hoare said there was no doubt the State was losing too many of its important buildings. ... The institute has identified 20th-century icon buildings - one of those named in the top 20 in Australia is Allendale Square.
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