List of tallest buildings in Sydney

Aerial view of Sydney central business district

This is a list of the tallest buildings in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, which measures all structures to the highest architectural detail. Since August 1981, the tallest structure in Sydney is the Sydney Tower, at 309 m (1,014 ft). However, according to the international standard of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, observation towers are not fully habitable and do not count as buildings. Excluding the Sydney Tower, the tallest building in Sydney is the Citigroup Centre, which was completed in 2000 and stands at 243 m (797 ft). It is also the eighth tallest building in Australia. Sydney originally had a 46 m (151 ft) height limit that was enforced until 1957, which saw a construction boom for skyscrapers and buildings. Its height limit now stands at 235 m (771 ft), which doesn't allow for buildings as high as for example in Melbourne.

Tallest buildings and structures 150m+

Rank	Name	Image	Height (m)	Floors	Year	Purpose	Address	Notes
-	Sydney Tower		309	19	1977-1981	Observation Tower	100 Market Street		Although the tallest structure in Sydney, Sydney Tower is not considered a habitable building by the CTBUH as it is primarily an observation tower. 275m to Roof.
1	Citigroup Centre		243	50	1998-2000	Commercial	506 George Street	Officially the tallest habitable building in Sydney since 2000. =8th tallest building in Australia.
2	Chifley Tower		241	50	1991-1992	Commercial	122 Phillip Street	A 3-metre lightning rod was added in 2000 but does not constitute an architectural feature, leaving the building with an official height of 241m. 206m to roof. Tallest building in Sydney from 1992 to 2000. Was one of the most expensive buildings in the world at A$1.2 billion. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox.
3	Deutsche Bank Place		240	39	2003-2005	Commercial	126 Phillip Street	The second-tallest building in the world with fewer than 40 floors (Al Faisaliyah Center (Riyadh) is taller at 267m). 160m to roof. Designed by Norman Foster.
4	Meriton World Tower		230	75	2001-2004	Residential	85 Liverpool Street	Tallest residential building in Sydney since 2004. Tallest building in Sydney without a spire. Part of the World Square complex. Designed by Nation Fender Katsalidis.
5	MLC Centre		228	60	1975-1977	Commercial	19 Martin Place	244m to antenna and 227m to roof. Tallest building in Sydney from 1977 to 1992. Designed by Harry Seidler.
6	Governor Phillip Tower		227	54	1991-1994	Commercial	1 Farrer Place	254m to antenna and 227m to roof. Tallest Building in Sydney to antenna. Designed by Denton Corker Marshall.
7	Ernst & Young Tower		222	45	2003-2004	Commercial	680 George Street	190m to roof. Part of the World Square complex.
8	RBS Tower		219	41	1999-2001	Commercial	88 Phillip Street	More commonly known as Aurora Place but officially RBS Tower. 188m to roof. Designed by Renzo Piano.
9	ANZ Tower		195	46	2010-2013	Commercial	163 Castlereagh Street
10	Suncorp Place		193	48	1970-1982	Commercial	259 George Street	Construction began in 1970 and was not completed until 1982, as the project was delayed many times.
11	AMP Centre	N/A	188	45	1973-1976	Commercial	50 Bridge Street	Tallest building in Sydney from 1976-1977. Currently undergoing major redevelopment. Designed by Peddle Thorp & Walker.
=12	Capita Centre		183	31	1987-1979	Commercial	9 Castlereagh Street	Designed by Harry Seidler.
=12	Century Tower		183	50	1994-1997	Residential	343 Pitt Street	Tallest residential building in Sydney from 1997-2004.
14	Grosvenor Place		180	45	1985-1987	Commercial	225 George Street	Designed by Harry Seidler.
=15	Australia Square Tower		170	46	1965-1967	Commercial	264 George Street	Tallest building in Sydney from 1967-1976. Designed by Harry Seidler.
=15	Meriton Tower	N/A	170	48	2004-2006	Residential	551 George Street	Designed by Harry Seidler.
17	The Peak		168	46	1992-1996	Residential	2 Quay Street	Tallest residential building in Sydney from 1996-1997. Part of the Market City complex.
=18	1 O'Connell Street		166	36	1991	Commercial	1 O'Connell Street	Designed by Peddle Thorp & Walker.
=18	Westpac Place		166	35	2003-2005	Commercial	251 Kent Street
20	201 Elizabeth Street	N/A	165	40	1976-1978	Commercial	201 Elizabeth Street
21	Gateway Plaza	N/A	164	46	1987-1990	Commercial	1 Macquarie Place	Designed by Peddle Thorp & Walker.
22	HSBC Centre	N/A	162	37	1986-1988	Commercial	586 George Street
23	The Cove	N/A	158	45	2001-2003	Residential	129 Harrington Street	Designed by Harry Seidler.
24	Hordern Towers	N/A	156	48	1997-1999	Residential	401 Pitt Street	Part of the World Square Complex.
=25	Angel Place	N/A	152	35	1995-2000	Commercial	117 Pitt Street	Designed by Peddle Thorp & Walker.
=25	Sydney Central	N/A	152	31	1990-1992	Commercial	477 Pitt Street
=27	85 Castlereagh Street	N/A	151	32	2009-2012	Commercial	85 Castlereagh Street	Part of the Sydney Tower complex. Designed by John Wardle Architects.
=27	Lumière Residences	N/A	151	47	2004-2007	Residential	487 George Street	Designed by Norman Foster.

Major future projects

This is a list of 150m+ proposed, approved and under construction skyscrapers in Sydney. Note that a 336m supertall skyscraper, Aspire Tower, has been proposed for the Parramatta CBD. See List of tallest buildings in Parramatta for a list of proposed, approved and under construction buildings within Parramatta CBD.

Name	Height		Storeys	Purpose	Completion	Location	Status
	m	ft
Aspire Tower	336	1,102	90	Residential	TBA	Parramatta	Proposed
Crown Sydney	250	820	70	Hotel/Casino	2018	Barangaroo	Proposed
Sydney Greenland Centre	236	774	70	Residential	TBA	Sydney CBD	Proposed
International Tower 1	217	712	49	Commercial	2015	Barangaroo	Under construction
1 Alfred Street	185	607	55	Residential	2014	Sydney CBD	Approved
International Tower 2	178	584	43	Commercial	2014	Barangaroo	Under construction
Metro Grand	170	560	46	Residential	2015	Chatswood Station	Under construction
International Tower 3	168	551	39	Commercial	2014	Barangaroo	Under construction
33 Bligh Street	165	541	30	Commercial	TBA	Sydney CBD	Approved
200 George Street	155	509	35	Commercial	2016	Sydney CBD	Proposed
Metro Spire	155	509	42	Residential	2015	Chatswood Station	Under construction
Centrium	154	505	48	Residential	TBA	Chatswood	Proposed

Timeline of tallest buildings

Includes tallest structures for comparison.

Name	Years as tallest	Height (m)	Floors	Notes
St James' Church	1824-1875	52	-
Town Hall	1875-1879	57	4	Clock tower added in 1875.
Garden Palace	1879-1882	64	2	Destroyed by fire in 1882, site is today part of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Town Hall	1882-1891	57	4
General Post Office	1891-1939	73	5
Sydney Harbour Bridge	-	134	-	Tallest structure in Sydney 1932-1956.
AWA Tower	1939-1962	112	14
TCN TV Tower	-	171	-	Tallest structure in Sydney 1956-65, replaced by taller 233m tower in 1965.
AMP Building	1962-1965	115	26
TCN TV Tower	-	233	-	Tallest structure in Sydney 1965-81, tallest lattice tower in Australia, replaced original 1956 tower.
State Office Block	1965-1967	128	32	Demolished in 1997 to make way for Aurora Place.
Australia Square Tower	1967-1976	170	46
AMP Centre	1976-1977	188	45
MLC Centre	1977-1992	228	60
Sydney Tower	-	309	19	Tallest structure in Sydney 1981–present.
Chifley Tower	1992-2000	241	50
Citigroup Centre	2000–present	243	50	Tallest building in Sydney, =8th tallest building in Australia.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Parramatta
• List of tallest buildings in Australia
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Australia
• Buildings and architecture of Sydney

References

• Emporis (General database for Skyscrapers)