Riparian Plaza

Riparian Plaza is a skyscraper development which was completed in late 2005. When we first came to Brisbane, there weren't that many buildings which you would have considered skyscrapers, and this was the first to hit the 200 metre mark in Brisbane. We watched it slowly grow from a hole in the ground next to the Brisbane River up to its impressive height, topped off with a communications spire visible from most of the surrounding suburbs of Brisbane. Located at 71 Eagle Street, the main entrance faces the street and has a row of imported palm trees providing some greenery in an otherwise stark concrete landscape. I do, however, find the view from the bottom quite aesthetically satisfying!

Riparian was built by Multiplex from a design by Harry Seidler. There are some interesting aspects to the building in that it is mixed residential and commercial, the car park goes up to the 11th level, and the recreation centre and swimming pool are way up on the 39th floor. Imagine the view whilst you were swimming laps! There are also restaurants around the base, including Kingsley's Steak and Crabhouse who although quite pricey, serve excellent food.

The construction did experience some significant delays. It was due for completion in 2004, but this stretched on. It used to really annoy me, as they blocked the main walkway along the river during construction. There was a sign there I remember which I think said the river walk would be open in September 2004, but it wasn't to be taking a good year more. Thankfully, when it did get close to completion they did reopen it, and now we once again can stroll effectively all the way along the river on the City side. This shot was taken from the walkway towards the Botanic Gardens.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

Click Here for the Google Map Reference for this post.