Adelaide contains the vast majority, if not all, the high-rise buildings in the Australian state of South Australia. The city is home to 28 buildings with a height of 75 meters (246 ft) or greater as of 2025, 11 of which are taller than 100 m (328 ft). While it is the largest skyline in South Australia, Adelaide is the most populous city in Australia to not have a single building taller than 150 m (492 ft), the height often used as the definition of a skyscraper.
The tallest building in Adelaide is the 37-storey, 138 m (453 ft) Frome Central Tower One, also called the Adelaidean, a mixed-use residential and hotel building constructed in 2019.[1][2] Upon completion, it overtook RAA Place, an office high-rise which had been the tallest building in Adelaide since 1981. Adelaide's skyline grew steadily from the 1960s to the early 1990s, which saw the completion of other notable towers commercial such as Telstra House and the Grenfell Centre. Following a pause in high-rise construction in the 1990s and early 2000s, development resumed in the mid-2000s.
Since the mid-2010s, Adelaide has been undergoing an unprecedented high-rise boom, spurred by steady population growth, that has transformed the appearance of its skyline.[3] Eight of Adelaide's ten current tallest buildings were built after 2018, including Frome Central Tower One and the city's second tallest building, Realm Adelaide. Adelaide's skyline is set to grow further with the approval of the 160 m (525 ft), 38-storey Festival City Plaza 2, an office skyscraper with a floor space of around 50,000 square metres (538,000 sq ft).[4][5] It is expected to be completed no earlier than 2027, and become Adelaide's first skyscraper taller than 150 m (492 ft) if built.[6][7]
The vast majority of the city's high-rise buildings are located in the central business district, a 4.33 square kilometre (1.67 sq mi) built-up area that is encompassed by the Adelaide Park Lands, separating the skyline from the rest of the city. There are also multiple short residential high-rises in the western sea-side suburb of Glenelg, along the coast of Gulf St Vincent. Height restrictions, which have been enforced since the 1990s, have limited the number of high-rise buildings constructed in the city, although they have been eased in recent times.[8]
History
Early history–1960s
Adelaide pictured from the General Post Office in 1935, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church visible on the left.
Adelaide was Australia's third-largest city until the postwar era, having been overtaken by Brisbane and Perth in later years.[9] The first "skyscraper" or "high-rise" in the city is considered by some to be the classically-inspired, six-storey Verco building, which opened on North Terrace in 1912. William Alfred Verco, the building’s developer, was also a physician, one of the first graduates of Adelaide University's new medical school in 1890.[10][11][12] Wanting to pioneer large building construction in Adelaide, Verco adopted reinforced concrete building by liaising with concrete specialists in Adelaide and in Melbourne.[13]
The CML Building took the title of the tallest structure in the city from St Peter's Cathedral when it was completed in 1934, during the Great Depression. At 11 storeys, it was the highest legally permissible size at that time. The Romanseque-style building is most remarkable for the material of its facade, known as Benedict Stone.[14][15] This material was invented in the 1920s by a Queensland mine that crushed porphyry and blended it into a mix that was poured and set in moulds.[16]
Another early high-rise was the Beaux-Arts style AMP Building, completed in 1936; it was built as the new state headquarters of the AMP (then the Australian Mutual Provident Society), replacing smaller premises built for the Society on the same site in 1880. The building is also significant for being designed by the notable local architect Louis Laybourne-Smith, considered one of the key practitioners of architecture in South Australia in the first half of the 20th century.[17][18][19] The AMP moved to a new headquarters at 1 King William Street in 1968; this 19-storey office tower is also considered to be Adelaide's first skyscraper.[20] Upon completion, it replaced the CML Building as the tallest building in Adelaide until 1975.
1970s–1990s
Adelaide skyline in 1995, with Myer Center in middle.
The height of the new AMP Building was soon matched by SKM House in 1971, and hence the two shared the title of Adelaide's tallest building for a while.[21] They would be surpassed definitively by the Grenfell Centre in 1975, which was the first building in the city to surpass 100 m (328 ft) in height, specifically at 103 m (338 ft) tall. Due to its dark exterior and boxy shape, it has been given the nickname of "Black Stump". 13 years later, the Grenfell Centre would be overtaken by Telstra House (now known by its address, 30 Pirie) in 1987. Only a year later, Telstra House would itself be surpassed by State Bank Building, now RAA Place, in 1988. At a height of 132 m (432 ft), it was considerably taller than Telstra Place, and would remain as Adelaide's tallest building for over three decades until 2019. Often considered as one of the city's most iconic edifices, the building has been known under various names before its current designation of RAA Place.[22] Built for and initially named after the State Bank of South Australia, the building was renamed only three years later to BankSA Building, after the collapse of the bank in 1991. It was then purchased by global energy company Santos Limited, and renamed Santos House in 1997. BankSA's new owners, Westpac, then acquired the building in 2007, whereupon it became known as Westpac House. Finally, in 2022, the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) purchased naming rights for the building.
Skyline of Adelaide in 2002, InterContinental in centre on the right of the now-RAA Place.
Adelaide's tallest hotel building at the time, the InterContinental Adelaide (then a Hyatt Regency Hotel), was built between 1988 and 1989. It was located next to, and built alongside the Adelaide Convention Centre, which opened only a year prior in 1987. The building underwent an extensive renovation in 2021.[23][24]
One of Adelaide's most unique high-rises is a tower inside the Myer Centre, a shopping mall that opened in 1991. A six-storey office tower named Terrace Towers was constructed behind the two historic buildings, sitting atop the centre; in total, the high-rise amounted to 18 storeys. The tower and mall's postmodern design was inspired by Victorian architecture,[25] and contains a clock face on the north, western and eastern sides of the tower.
2000s–present
Adelaide CBD in 2013, with ANZ House in focus.
Following the early 1990s recession, high-rise development entered a decline that lasted over a decade. No buildings above 75 m (246 ft) were completed for sixteen years after 1991, until ANZ House was built in 2007. Developed by the Aspen Group, the building was pre-sold to the Commonwealth Office Fund (now Colonial) for the then record price of $143 million, about 18 months prior to completion. It marked a new standard for energy efficiency in the city; according to Matthew Salisbury, director of WSP Lincolne Scott, which designed the building services, the tower "was the first building [in Adelaide] to use passive chilled beams in a speculative building".[26][27]
In the 2010s, high-rise development increased significantly, a trend that accelerated towards the end of the decade and continues presently into the 2020s. In 2016, Vue on King William was completed. At a height of 89 m (292 ft), it was the city's tallest residential building at the time, and was located on the southern end of the city centre.[28] The building won the 2016 Urban Development Institute of Australia SA branch High Density Housing Award. In 2018, residents of the tower planned to take legal action, claiming that their units were uncomfortably hot.[29] Other residential buildings such as Kodo Apartments (2019) and Penny Place (2021) have pushed the skyline southwards.
Adelaide's skyline during the 2022 Australia Day Celebrations
The current building boom is perhaps best encapsulated with the completion of Frome Central Tower One, also known as The Adelaidean, in 2020. At a height of 138 m (453 ft), the 37-storey mixed-use skyscraper took the title of Adelaide's tallest building from RAA Place. Located in the East End, the north-eastern point of the central business district, the tower was "a unique opportunity to lead Adelaide's CBD into a new era", and "will really be an extension of the city's skyline".[30] The influx of buildings in the East End has been attributed to the opening of a new tram line serving the area in 2018.[31] A tower for student accommodation, Yugo Tower, was completed in 2022 next to The Adelaidean. Other high-rises that have extended the skyline towards the northeast include Realm Adelaide, the city's second tallest building, and The Switch. Realm Adelaide, completed in 2020, is the city's tallest fully residential building,[32] signifying growth in the city's luxury apartment market; in 2018, the building's penthouse was sold for A$5.2 million.[33] The Switch is branded as Australia's first "co-living skyscraper"[34]
Festival Centre (left), which will be adjoined to the upcoming Festival Tower 2.
On June 2025, planners approved a proposal for Adelaide's next tallest building, and its first skyscraper above 150 m (492 ft), the 38-storey Festival Tower 2. The tower will rise to 160 m (525 ft) tall, and will adjoin the existing 29-storey Festival Tower, which was built in 2023.[35] Besides its height, the building planned to be sustainable, with "the biggest solar array of any commercial building in the city". It is intended to achieve carbon neutrality by 2028. The mixed-use tower would accommodate up to five thousand office workers, feature outdoor dining areas and retail tenancies on the ground floor, an elevated plaza space on level one, commercial office space, and a restaurant on level 36.[36] The proposal has met some controversy due to its location on public land between the Adelaide Festival Centre and Parliament House.[37] Nevertheless, according to planning minister Nick Champion, the building will "become a defining symbol of a city that is embracing a confident, modern future".[38]
An even taller skyscraper, named the Keystone Tower, was approved in 2024 in the East End. Set rise behind the heritage-listed Grand Lodge of the Australian Freemasons, the 37-storey mixed-use tower is planned to be 183 m (600 ft) tall, and would include the city's first Westin Hotel.[39][40]
Cityscape
A panorama of Adelaide from Morialta Conservation Park, taken in 2021. The city's three tallest buildings can be seen rising above the skyline, from left to right: RAA Place, From Central Tower One, and Realm Adelaide
Tallest buildings
This list ranks completed high-rises in Adelaide that stand at least 75 m (246 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. The “Year” column indicates the year of completion.
Was the tallest building in Adelaide upon completion
[41][42][43][44]Also known as The Adelaidean; mixed use residential and hotel skyscraper, with a Crowne Plaza hotel. Current tallest building in Adelaide. Tallest building completed in Adelaide in the 2010s.
[46]Formerly known as Westpac House, Santos House, BankSA Building, and State Bank Building. Tallest building in Adelaide from 1988 to 2019. Tallest office-only building in Adelaide. Tallest building completed in Adelaide in the 1980s.
The following table ranks high-rises that are under construction in Adelaide that are expected to be at least 75 m (246 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. Buildings that are on hold are not included.
The following table ranks approved and proposed skyscrapers in Adelaide that are expected to be at least 75 m (246 ft) tall as of 2025, based on standard height measurement. The “Year” column indicates the expected year of completion. A dash “–“ indicates information about the building’s height or year of completion is not available.
This map displays the location of buildings taller than 75 m (246 ft) in Adelaide, all of which are in the city centre. Each marker is coloured by the decade of the building's completion.
1 2 Development, Department for Housing and Urban (12 June 2025). "Adelaide's first skyscraper approved". Department for Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
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