Nauru House
Encyclopedia
Nauru House is a landmark 52-story building located in the Melbourne CBD. The building was designed by architectural firm Perrott Lyon Timlock & Kesa
Perrott Lyon Timlock & Kesa
Perrott Lyon Timlock & Kesa is an Australian architecture bureau. In 1973 they won a Victorian Architecture Medal Award of Merit for their MMBW House in Melbourne.-Buildings:* Nauru House, Melbourne, 1972-1977...


History

The land the building sits on was bought in 1972 at a price of A$19 million by the government of the Republic of Nauru as an international investment. Nauru, which had become incredibly wealthy thanks to the selling of phosphate
Phosphate mining in Nauru
The economy of Nauru has been almost wholly dependent on phosphate, which has led to environmental catastrophe on the island, with 80% of the nation’s surface having been strip-mined...

, began the Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust
Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust
The Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust was a sovereign wealth fund developed by the government of the Republic of Nauru in which the government invested money from the state owned mining company, Nauru Phosphate Corporation...

 (NPRT) to re-invest profits in international real-estate.

Controversy was stirred when construction began in 1972, as the government of Nauru decided to raze two buildings with "high heritage value" in order to have the building face the desirable Collins Street, and thus, a Collins Street address. Even amid public outcry, the historic buildings were torn down to make way for construction.

Following decades of mismanagement, corruption, and spiralling loans to General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

, estimated to amount to approximately A$227 million, the NPRT was forced to sell off its international assets to pay loans. Nauru House is now owned by QIC after purchasing the building for $A140 million in December 2004.

Facade

Between 1994 and 1996, the Nauru House went under a facelift to replace the former pebble-concrete facade of the building with new, matte-gray aluminium siding. 12,000 feet of aluminium was used.

Records

Following the building's completion, it was the tallest building in Melbourne until 1980.

Facts

  • Built: 1972 - 1977
  • Address: 80 Collins Street
  • Height to roof: 183 m
  • Height to pinnacle: 190 m
  • Number of floors : 52
  • Total floor space: 50,500 m2

External links

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