During high winds some residents of Australia 108, a partially completed skyscraper in city’s Southback neighborhood, have been hearing cracking noises so loud that they couldn’t sleep. The sounds have intensified in recent days, and were described as something “you might associate with the inner-workings of a ship,” according to The Age.
Currently 75 out of 101 stories of the lavish tower, designed by Fender Katsalidis Architects, have been built and are inhabited. A penthouse on the 100th floor sold for a record $17.1 million to an unnamed Chinese businessman.
When construction is completed next year, Australia 108 will rise more than 1,040 feet—making it the tallest building in Melbourne and “the Southern Hemisphere’s tallest residential tower,” according to construction company Multiplex.
Construction began in November 2015 and the first batch of tenants moved in in June 2018. In a press release at the time, Multiplex said that the early move-in was possible before completion because of “unique” construction method enabling “multiple staged handovers.”
“The first residents moving in will be insulated from the ongoing construction works more than 20 levels above by a buffer zone between major works and everyday living, as well as a variety of innovative techniques including temporary ‘jumping’ lift motor rooms, hoists and cranes,” the company said.
Aside from the cracking noises, residents also said they experienced regular power outages, malfunctioning elevators and windows being jammed shut.
The Victorian Building Authority visited Australia 108 last week to conduct an inspection but did not disclose why.
“There are no structural issues with Australia 108. The building is still under construction and some slight movement is to be anticipated in certain circumstances,” a Multiplex spokesperson told The New Daily. “There is absolutely no risk to current residents. Some minor defects may occur from time to time after the handover of apartments.”
Australia has seen two high-profile evacuations of residential skyscrapers this year because of construction defects: In June, residents of Mascot Towers in Sydney were told to evacuate when engineers found that the building was moving “in a downward motion,” The Guardian reports. In December 2018, Sydney’s Opal Tower was evacuated due to structural cracks.
Mascot Towers is still uninhabited, while about half of Opal Tower’s tenants have returned.
