List of tallest buildings in Melbourne

thumb|right|300px|The skyline of Melbourne in January 2024, as viewed from the [[Shrine of Remembrance]]

Melbourne is home to approximately 758 completed high-rise buildings. Of those completed and topped-out, 79 are defined as "skyscrapers" – buildings which reach a height of at least – more than any other city in Australia. Overall, Melbourne's skyline ranks as the tallest in the Oceania region and the 24th-tallest in the world by the number of completed skyscrapers. , the tallest building in Melbourne is the 100-storey Australia 108, which stands in height; whilst being the second-tallest building in Australia, it is the tallest to roof.

Geographically, most of Melbourne's tallest skyscrapers are concentrated in the central business district (CBD); however, other locations of prominent skyscrapers and tall buildings in Melbourne include Box Hill, Carlton, Docklands, Southbank, South Melbourne, South Yarra and St Kilda Road. The CBD, defined by a grid of streets known as the Hoddle Grid, has a historically low central shopping area with a high rise cluster in the western financial district and another in the eastern end. Buildings are more densely packed in the west than the east, although the latter has some of the CBD's tallest buildings to architectural feature – 120 Collins Street and 101 Collins Street – whilst West Side Place Tower A, located in the western district, is taller to roof. In the 2010s, another skyscraper cluster rose in the northern section, which contains the CBD's tallest building, Aurora Melbourne Central.

Historically, Melbourne has been associated with several architectural milestones and building height records in Australia. During a brief skyscraper boom from 1888 to 1892, the city was one of the first in the world to build numerous tall office buildings, alongside New York City and Chicago in the United States. This period produced the APA Building (1889), which was among Australia's first high-rise and its tallest at the time.

Melbourne later played an important role in post-war high-rise development with the construction of ICI House (Orica House) in 1958, widely regarded as Australia's first modern skyscraper. All except two were torn down in the post war boom of the 1960s and 1970s, with the APA controversially demolished in 1981.

20th century

Following much discussion, a height limit was introduced to Melbourne in 1916, along with regulations concerning fire-proof construction. This height is often said to have been the limit of fire ladders at the time, but this was an idea that the then fire chief allowed to be widely circulated even though the tallest ladder rose to only , in order to ensure that fire safety was paramount. The main reasons for the limit, as well as fire proofing, were the preservation of light and air to the streets, avoiding congestion, and the influence of the City Beautiful movement, preferring evenly scaled streetscapes over those with buildings of varying heights. The height limit remained in force for nearly 40 years, allowing only uninhabited architectural features to project beyond the 40 metre limit. The Manchester Unity Building (1932), for instance, achieved a total height of to the top of its corner tower. ICI House (1955) was constructed after being granted a variation to the height limit; at a height of , the building was Australia's first International-style high-rise. Its variation was on the basis that the design included an open garden space at ground level, introducing the concept of floor area ratio, where a total allowable floor area is used instead of a specific height limit. This was formalised by "plot ratios" of 1:8 to 1:12 for different areas of the CBD in the "Borrie Report" in 1964, which was modified into a series of "plot ratio benefit" schemes in the early 1980s, where the upper level of floor area could only be achieved in return for certain public benefits, such as a public arcade. Plot ratios remained in force for every site until 1999, when the "New Format" Planning Scheme included plot ratios for entire city blocks rather than individual sites, a control that was mostly ignored.

In 1972, BHP House (now 140 William Street) became Melbourne's first building to surpass the height of , and thus was Melbourne's first "skyscraper". BHP House was the city's tallest for a few years, and remains one of the few heritage-registered skyscrapers in Melbourne. Slightly taller, the Optus Centre was completed in 1975, and then in 1977, Nauru House became the tallest building in Melbourne, at a height of .

By the early 1980s, Melbourne had a total of 6 buildings above , with the completion of the Wentworth (later Regent then Sofitel) Hotel at Collins Place in 1980. In 1986, the Rialto Towers surpassed Sydney's MLC Centre as the tallest building in both Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, with a height of . At the time of its opening, it was the 25th-tallest building in the world. The 1990s brought Melbourne another 9 buildings over , 5 of which exceeded heights of . Specifically, 1991 saw the construction of the 101 Collins Street, which became the tallest building in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere; it was surpassed in height later that year with the completion of the nearby 120 Collins Street. The skyscraper, which stands at in height, held the titles for tallest building in Australia and in the Southern Hemisphere for fourteen years, until the completion of the Gold Coast's Q1 in 2005.

21st century

thumb|200px|right|Melbourne's two tallest buildings, [[Australia 108 (left) and Eureka Tower (right), were constructed in 2020 and 2006, respectively.]]

During the 2000s, over 20 high-rise structures were completed, including the Eureka Tower (2006), which overtook 120 Collins Street as the tallest building in Melbourne and became the second-tallest in Australia (although tallest to its roof). Eureka Tower was also the tallest residential building in the world to roof, until surpassed by Ocean Heights and the HHHR Tower in Dubai. It is currently the 15th-tallest apartment building in the world.

Construction trends significantly increased throughout the 2010s, which included the completion of Prima Pearl (2014) and Aurora Melbourne Central (2019), both of which exceed in height. Throughout the decade, the city experienced an "unprecedented" skyscraper construction boom, with 22 skyscrapers constructed between 2010 and 2019. This feat had been described as the "Manhattanization of Melbourne".

During this period, new towers in the CBD had average plot ratios of 37:1. In September 2015, the Minister for Planning, Richard Wynne, introduced a 12-month height limit of approximately for all buildings proposed in the Melbourne central business district and segments of Southbank, along with interim planning laws that re-introduced a floor area ratio of 18:1, which could be exceeded up to a maximum of 24:1 only with the provision of certain public benefits. Should projects exceed the plot ratio, developers will need to make a special case to the Minister, outlining the proposal's state significance. Buildings proposed prior to September 2015, such as Australia 108, which has a plot ratio of 46.6:1, were exempt from the new law.

The beginning of the 2020s saw the completion of Australia 108, which surpassed Eureka Tower as the tallest building in Melbourne and the tallest building in Australia to roof in 2020. It also became the Southern Hemisphere's first skyscraper to comprise at least 100 floors, and Melbourne's first building to be defined as a "supertall" skyscraper (buildings between the heights of and ). In 2021, 12 skyscrapers were completed in the city – five more than the previous peak in 2020, and more than double the prior peaks in 2017, 2005 and 1991. Among the tallest built in 2021 were West Side Place Tower A and Queens Place North Tower, both of which exceed in height. The tallest currently approved is the dual-skyscraper project STH BNK by Beulah. Tower 1 will rise to in height – supplanting Australia 108 as the tallest building in Melbourne and Q1 as the tallest building in Australia – whilst Tower 2 will rise to , taller than any other completed building in Australia outside of Melbourne and the Gold Coast. Whilst the first skyscraper in Australia was constructed in Sydney in 1967 (Australia Square), Melbourne has had the most skyscrapers in the country and within Oceania for over 35 years in total: from 1972 to 1989 (equal first with Sydney during 1972–74 and 1976–77), from 1991 to 1999, in 2006 (shared with Sydney) and again (equal to Sydney from 2015 to 2016).

Precincts

thumb|200px|left|Since the 2000s, high-rise density has taken form in [[urban renewal regions like Southbank.]]

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:center;"

|+Skyscrapers in Melbourne by precinct

! Precinct of Melbourne !! !! style="background:#FFFF00;"| !! style="background:#FFB347;"| !! style="background:#FF4545;"| !! style="background:#87CEFA;"|

| Carlton || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

| City Centre || 58 || 0 || 2 || 1 || 7

| Docklands || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1

| Port Melbourne || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1

| Southbank || 15 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 12

| South Melbourne || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3

| South Yarra || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

| St Kilda Road || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

| Total || 78 || 1 || 4 || 1 || 24

The CBD skyline constitutes two distinct sections: the east and west, divided by Swanston Street. The tallest buildings on the eastern side of the skyline are 120 Collins Street and 101 Collins Street, whilst the tallest on the western side are West Side Place Tower A, Rialto Towers and Premier Tower.

Significant new skylines have emerged outside of the CBD, especially within the inner-city suburb of Southbank. This precinct, located adjacent to the City Centre, includes some of the tallest buildings in Melbourne, such as Australia 108, Eureka Tower and Prima Pearl.

South Yarra, St Kilda Road (a locality adjacent to the City Centre) and Carlton each comprise a skyscraper. Other inner-city suburbs such as Port Melbourne, South Melbourne and Box Hill each have skyscrapers in proposed or approved stages of development.

Functions

Most of Melbourne's skyscrapers constructed by the 1990s were built for commercial purposes – specifically, used as offices, with 88% being designated as office space. Exceptions to this include the mixed-use building Sofitel Hotel (1980) on Collins Place, and the all-hotel Crown Towers (1997) in Southbank. Melbourne's first residential skyscrapers were constructed in 2005, with two built that year. By 2010, 72% of skyscrapers built in Melbourne were of commercial use, 12% residential, 12% mixed-use and 4% hotel. The trend towards residential skyscrapers has continued significantly; in 2015, 58% of skyscrapers within the city were of commercial use, 26% residential, 13% mixed-use and 3% hotel. These figures were set to change dramatically by 2020; when factoring the buildings that were still under-construction (but to be completed by 2020), 44% of the city's skyscrapers were to be of residential use, 35% commercial, 18% mixed-use, 2% hotel and 2% government.

Tallest buildings

thumb|center|800px|The skyline of Melbourne city as viewed from [[Williamstown, Victoria|Williamstown in January 2020. Prominent skyscrapers visible in this image include West Side Place towers A and B (then under construction); far left: Aurora Melbourne Central, Premier Tower (then under construction), Bourke Place and 568 Collins Street; left of centre: the Rialto Towers; centre: 120 Collins Street, 101 Collins Street, Freshwater Place North, Prima Pearl, Eureka Tower, Australia 108 (then under construction) and Melbourne Square Tower 1 (then under construction).]]

Overall

Melbourne has 79 skyscrapers completed or topped out, comprising the 24th-tallest skyline in the world and tallest in Oceania. These skyscrapers are defined as standing at least tall based on height measurement used by the Council on Vertical Urbanism. Recognised in 7th place for the 2020 Emporis Skyscraper Award.

|-style="background:#ddffdd;"

| style="word-spacing: -5px; font-weight:bold" | _row_count

|Eureka Tower (7 Riverside Quay)

|100px

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|

|91

|2006

|Residential

|Southbank

|3rd-tallest building in Australia; 2nd-tallest building in Australia to roof. First proposed in 1999, construction commenced in 2001 and was completed in 2006, becoming the world's tallest residential tower when measured to its highest floor, until surpassed by Ocean Heights in Dubai, and the 35th-tallest building in the world overall. , it is the 15th-tallest residential building in the world. Recipient of the 2006 Bronze Emporis Skyscraper Award.

| style="word-spacing: -5px; font-weight:bold" | _row_count

|Aurora Melbourne Central (250 La Trobe Street)

|100px

|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|

|85

|2019