Description of the attraction
The Q1 skyscraper (which stands for Number 1 in Queensland) overlooks the surf in Surfers Paradise on Australia's Gold Coast. It is the world's tallest residential building, the tallest building in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, and the second tallest free-standing building in the Southern Hemisphere after New Zealand's Sky Tower in Auckland. The height of Q1, opened in November 2005, is 322.5 meters. The skyscraper was named one of the icons of the state of Queensland right after the opening. For a time, one of the Q1 apartments, bought for AU $ 9 million by a Japanese restaurateur, was the most expensive purchase ever made in Queensland. True, Q1 will soon lose its status of the tallest residential building in the world - it will be the Princess Tower skyscraper with a height of 414 meters, which is being built in Dubai (UAE).
The architects working on the skyscraper project were inspired by the shape of the Olympic torch lit in Sydney in 2000. And the name of the skyscraper was given in honor of the members of the Australian Olympic rowing team in the 1920s.
The building is supported by 26 piles (each 2 meters in diameter) driven 40 meters into the ground. In the building itself there are 1, 2 and 3-room apartments. The inhabitants of the skyscraper have at their disposal 2 swimming pools, a sports pool, a gym, a small theater stage, a dance hall and a spa center.
At the 77th and 78th floors (at an altitude of 230 meters), there is the Sky Point Observation Deck, Australia's only observation deck over the beach. It can accommodate 400 people. A breathtaking panorama from dizzying heights gives you the opportunity to see Brisbane in the north, the Gold Coast hinterland in the west, Byron Bay in the south and the vast Pacific Ocean in the east. The express lift takes 43 seconds to reach the 77th floor. From here, fireworks are also launched during various holidays, for example, in the New Year. And in the early morning of March 28, 2007, two base jumpers made a cable jump from the northern part of the skyscraper. Considering that base jumping is illegal in Queensland, the daredevils were fined 750 Australian dollars.
