Monday 25 July 2016

1998: Bruno Grollo & Sydney

This week, I thought I'd share a feature report on Bruno Grollo, that was written by Mark Skelsey of The Daily Telegraph in late 1998. Grollo was the head of Grollo Constructions (now Grocon).

At the time, he was in Sydney to attend the final concrete pour of their first project in Sydney - 1 Martin Place. It included the restoration of the famous GPO Building. Behind the stone facade, would rise a 25 level office and hotel complex. 1 Martin Place would open to the public less than a year later.

  

Source: Skelsey, M. 1998. "Grollo has high hopes for Sydney". The Daily Telegraph, December 11: 35

Grollo was keen to see if Sydney could end up with its own Grollo Tower, which believe it or not was at the same time he had won approval to build his 120 level, 560 metre tower in Melbourne which at the time would have been the world's tallest skyscraper.

The article mentions that Sydney's height limits (Capped at 235 metres) was due to the need to protect the views from Sydney Tower, which from what I am aware of, is not correct. From my understanding, Sydney's current height limits have stemmed from the need to allow sunlight to penetrate into city streets, public spaces and parklands.

This article from 1995 explains why:



Source: Skelsey, M. 1995. "The sky's not the limit: New city plans could reign in high-rise boom ". The Daily Telegraph Mirror, February 3: 14.

Earlier this month, Sydney City Council announced that it is proposing to increase the city's height limit from 235 metres to a maximum 310 metres., Already, there are proposals that are testing the waters for taller towers in central Sydney, with negotiations currently taking place between developers and the council. One proposal is for a 248 metre office tower at Circular Quay and a 260 metre apartment tower above the Event Cinemas complex in George Street.

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