The Batman Building

When you're a kid, its easy to delight in the absurdity of what adults say, and take what they say as the truth. As a father, I am guilty of this with my kids. That's why this little divergence I feel is relevant. This building is what we know as the Batman building in our family. I'm sure I'm not unique with this. Why Batman you ask? Well, when Batman fights the evils of the city, and when he's away from Gotham visiting Brisbane, he still needs a place to work from. Hence, the Batman building.

The building is actually the State Law Building, located at 50 Ann Street, on the corner of George and Ann Streets. Appropriately, with its association with Batman, it is part of the law precinct with offices of the Queensland Department of Justice housed inside. Designed by Sipen Rojnavibul, the State Law Building was a refurbishment of Comalco House, a 25 storey commercial building designed by Conrad, Gargett and Partners Pty Ltd in 1977. In 1993,a process of upgrading services and amenities, including plant facilities, as well as giving the building a new identity was undertaken. It was then that they came up with the idea and benefit of concealing the plant facilities with a new Gotham City style "crown" which has become an iconic element in Brisbane's skyline.

The building is considered one of Brisbane's skyscrapers. It stands at 128 metres with the new structure on top. My kids are now convinced that this is where Batman lives. At night, they look out for the Bat Signal. I can't help but sing, "Na na, Na na, Na na, Na na, Bat Man" when I see it.

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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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.

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