Eureka+Skydeck+88

**About the Tower -**
The Eureka Tower is a 297.3metre (975 ft) skyscraper located in Southbank, Melbourne. The construction of the Building began in August 2002 and was completed in June 2006. The the building was officially opened on 11 October 2006. The project was designed by Melbourne architects. It was the world's tallest residential tower when measured to its highest floor, but other buildings in the world when measured were taller. The tower is named after the Eureka Stockade. This was incorporated into the design, with the building's gold crown representing the gold rush and a red stripe representing the blood spilled during the battle. The blue glass that covers most of the building represents the blue background of the stockade's flag and the white lines also represent the eureka stockade flag. The building stands 297 metres in height, with 91 stories above ground plus a basement level. It is one of only seven buildings in the world with 90 or more stories and is the equal 77th tallest building in the world. It is also the second tallest building in Australia. There are a total of 84 floors of apartments with the rest being used for building facilities and the observation deck.

Features:

556 apartments 13 lifts traveling up to 9m/sec 52,000 square m of windows 3680 stairs 110,000 tonnes of concrete 5000 tonnes of reinforced steel Building weighs 200,000 tonnes

**Tourism Aspect -**
The observation deck (Eureka Skydeck 88) takes up the entire 88th floor of the Eureka Tower and is the highest public veiw point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere at 285m. It opened to the public on 15 May 2007. The Skydeck features thirty viewfinders that help visitors to find various significant landmarks around all parts of Melbourne, along with the free binoculars. There is a small outside area called 'The Terrace'. There is also a glass cube called 'The Edge', which extends itself from the building to hang over the edge of the tower and add to the amazing experience.

The Edge:

The Skydeck features 'The Edge' which is a glass cube which extends 3m out from the building with visitors inside, suspended almost 300m above the ground. When you enter, the glass is opaque as the cube moves out over the edge of the building. Once fully extended over the edge, the glass becomes clear.