State Law Building

State Law Building
State Law Building, 2024
Alternative names	Batman Building
General information
Status	Opened
Type	Office
Location	50 Ann Street, Brisbane, Queensland
Current tenants	Queensland Government
Completed	Completed in 1977;48 years ago (1977) Reclad in 1995;30 years ago (1995)
Height	128 m
Technical details
Floor count	30
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Sipen Rojnavibul
Architecture firm	Conrad Gargett & Partners

The State Law Building, commonly known as the Batman Building, is an office building at 50 Ann Street in Brisbane, Australia, which hosts offices of the Queensland Department of Justice and other government agencies. ^[1]

History

It was completed in 1977 as Comalco House and featured aluminium external cladding (as Comalco was an aluminium manufacturer). It was refurbished in 1993 when the aluminium cladding was removed. ^[2] Both the original construction and the refurbishment were overseen by local firm Conrad Gargett & Partners. ^{[3] [4]}

Following its complete refurbishment in 1995, the State Law Building became an iconic feature of the city, widely referred to by locals and the media as "Gotham Tower" and the "Batman Building" for its perceived resemblance to the architectural style of the fictional American city of Gotham appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Geography

The State Law Building is close to the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law (which includes the Supreme Court of Queensland and the District Court of Queensland), as well as the Commonwealth Law Courts.

Photos of the State Law Building

• 
  The Adelaide Street facade of the now-defunct Law Courts Complex with the State Law Building behind it
• 
  State Law Building
  George Street facade
• 
  State Law Building
  view from the Law Courts Complex

References

1. "About Us". Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
2. "Discover Brisbane Architecture" (PDF). State Library of Queensland . Retrieved 1 January 2016.
3. "Riddel, Conrad Gargett Architecture to merge". Australian Design Review. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
4. "Discover Brisbane Architecture" (PDF). State Library of Queensland . Retrieved 31 December 2015.
5. "'Gotham City' tower bids top $130m". The Australian Financial Review. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
6. "Brisbane is the new Gotham City - here are 10 reasons why". The Courier-Mail . Retrieved 31 December 2015.
7. "Brisbane's 'Gotham Tower' State Law Building up for sale". Domain.com.au. Retrieved 31 December 2015.