ARTICLE ANALYSIS 2: The Wave, Broadbeach, Queensland

The Wave is a building rightly named as its the balconies string around the structure in an ovoid shape, creating an extraordinary profile.

Located in the Broadbeach CBD in Queensland, it is the site of this Multiplex building which makes the construction process all the more fascinating. The 37 level building is located on a site only 3,400 metres squared. In addition to this, the small site is on the edge of a busy three street intersection. This indicated special circumstances would need to be taken to ensure the building process did not disrupt everyday city life. For example, during construction the upstairs site office overhung the footpath, and left only a 3m clearance for construction work. Furthermore, concrete trucks had to attach to a mobile pump and extremely large loads had to be installed in the early hours of the morning. Despite this, The Wave is a successful combination of concrete slab flooring and post-tensioned transfer slab floors, precast balconies, and reinforced columns and walls with a central lift core. The building comprises of 29 residential, 1 retail, 2 commercial, 3 basement and a top club floor, took two years from Feb 2005 to Feb 2007 to build, and is valued at $80.8 million.