To celebrate its major one-year milestone since grand completion, the tallest residential tower in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia 108, will officially unveil its spectacular lighting display on the building exterior this week, coupled with fireworks show for all Melburnians to enjoy.
The unveiling of what will be the highest building lighting system in the Southern Hemisphere, 319-metres above ground, and fireworks show will take place from 8:00pm on Friday 6 May.
The building’s 18 backlit white stripes spanning a total of two linear kilometres will form a series of glowing hoops that define Australia 108’s form in the night sky. The custom made, spandrel lighting network conceived by leading Australian architect Fender Katsalidis and the multi-award-winning team at Electrolight can be programmed in four vibrant settings:
- Wave – drawing connections to Melbourne’s surrounding water features, this sequence creates an elegant wave-like effect up and down the building’s exterior
- Starburst – inspired by the night sky and Australia 108’s ‘Starburst’ architectural feature, shooting radiant light bands (like a supernova) from the centre of the tower
- Ripple – channelling Australia 108’s organic building form, depicted as a smooth elevated ripple effect from the base to the top of the exterior façade
- Pulse – a dynamic illumination setting that transforms Australia 108 into a flashing urban beacon
David Ng, CEO of developer World Class Global, urged Melburnians to come together and join the Australia 108 community in enjoying the unique lighting and fireworks display to mark its exciting one-year anniversary milestone.
“Since reaching grand completion last year, Australia 108 has become a prominent sight on the spectacular Melbourne skyline in just a short period of time. Now, the official switching on of its dazzling lighting display will ensure it’s a view to behold on many evenings throughout the year,” said Mr Ng.
“While static testing has been taking place for some months now, the full sequences have not yet been unveiled. The lighting display will put Australia 108 in the company of dramatically lit buildings worldwide.”
Melburnians are encouraged to view the special event from several venues and public viewing vantages across the city including:
- Birrarung Marr – Melbourne, VIC, 3004
- Shrine of Remembrance – Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne, VIC, 3001
- Albert Park Lake – 22 Aughtie Drive, Albert Park, Melbourne, VIC, 3205
- Yarra Park – Cnr Vale Street and Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, VIC, 3002
- State of Grace – 27 King Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3000
Following the one-year anniversary celebrations, further lighting displays will be programmed throughout the year to mark special events including Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Craig Baudin, Director at Fender Katsalidis, the architecture firm behind Australia 108, explained: “An integral part of the design of Australia 108 was considering the role that the tower’s built form plays in Melbourne’s skyline at night.
“The use of the façade lighting was considered in the early design process to highlight its three dimensionality. These glowing contours offer constantly shifting and intriguing aspects of the architectural form in the night skyline as you move through the city.”
Australia 108 features the highest residences in the Southern Hemisphere as well as Melbourne’s most extensive five-star residential amenity, situated across level 11 and within the building’s iconic golden ‘Starburst’.
Inside the Starburst across floors 70 and 71 sits the 2,800 square metre Star Club, which includes twin infinity edge pools that cantilever over the streets 210 metres below and are set against floor-to-ceiling glass in a double-height space.
Cloud-breaking residences are available at the luxury address from $1.57 million, including a collection of four limited edition Nova sub-penthouses on level 97. These three-bedroom prestige apartments offer double-height ceilings in living spaces and span up to 202 square metres.