Westpac House

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Westpac House
Westpac House Adelaide.jpg
Westpac House in 2008
Former names
  • State Bank Building
  • Santos House
EtymologyWestpac
General information
StatusComplete
TypeCommercial
LocationAdelaide, South Australia
Coordinates34°55′29″S 138°35′54″E / 34.92472°S 138.59833°E / -34.92472; 138.59833Coordinates: 34°55′29″S 138°35′54″E / 34.92472°S 138.59833°E / -34.92472; 138.59833
Current tenants
Completed1988
Owner
  • Abacus Property Group (50%);
  • Inheritance Capital Asset Management (50%)
Height132 m (433 ft)
Technical details
Floor count31
Floor area3,170 square metres (34,100 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architecture firmRod Roach Architecture
in association with Woods Bagot
DeveloperState Bank of South Australia
Main contractorBaulderstone Hornibrook
References
[1]

Westpac House (formerly Santos House and State Bank Building) is an office building in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is also known by passersby as "Westpac Tower" or as “The Westpac Building”. It is a 31-storey office tower, reaching 132 metres (433 ft) at its roof, with each level approximately four metres (thirteen feet) in height. From 1988 until 2019, it was the tallest building in Adelaide. It is set back from Currie Street near the intersection with King William Street, and is connected to two adjacent office buildings on Currie Street. It has four street frontages, and various pedestrian thoroughfares. The building was originally known as the State Bank building, before the 1991 State Bank Collapse, when it was purchased by Santos and renamed the Santos Building in February 1997. Since 2007, it has been known as Westpac House.

History[]

Opened in 1988 as the State Bank building, it became Santos House after the collapse of the State Bank in the early 1990s. Its major tenants have included Santos, PricewaterhouseCoopers, HWL Ebsworth, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Securities Exchange. In 2007, Santos moved its headquarters into a new building on Flinders Street, and Westpac acquired the naming rights to the building.[2]

In the lead up to (and during) major holidays, the windows are selectively lit up in formation. These include a white cross for Easter and Anzac Day, and a tree (in fluorescent green) for Christmas.

Abacus Property Group acquired a half interest in Santos House in October 2004 and the remaining 50 per cent in 2015.[1] It sold 50 per cent to Inheritance Capital Asset Management in 2016.[3]

Being the tallest building in Adelaide, it was chosen as the venue for the stair race events at the 2007 World Police and Fire Games.

Between 11 and 15 May 2007, the 'Santos' sign on the building was removed and a single red 'W', the Westpac logo, had replaced it by 21 June.

In October 2019, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat database,[4] Westpac House was the 167th tallest building in Australia.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Westpac House". Abacus Property Group. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Westpac House". Emporis.com. Emporis. n.d. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  3. ^ Lenaghan, Nick (31 October 2016). "Boutique investor joins Abacus in Adelaide's tallest tower". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat database". Retrieved 10 October 2019.
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