Portal:Western Australia/Selected article/22

Central Park is a 51-storey office tower in Perth, Western Australia. The building measures 226 m (741 ft) from its base at St Georges Terrace to the roof, and 249 m (817 ft) to the tip of its communications mast. Upon its completion in 1992, the tower became the tallest building in Perth, however it will be overtaken in height by the City Square project in the coming years. It is also currently the seventh-tallest building in Australia.

The approval of the tower was controversial due to the plot ratio concessions made by the Perth City Council to the developers. These concessions enabled the developers to construct a tower more than twice the height which would otherwise be allowable on the site. There was also opposition to the Council's decision to ignore its own town planning experts in allowing a large car park to be constructed underneath the site.

The building is formed by a composite steel and concrete frame, with various step-backs in its profile meaning the upper floors are much smaller in area than lower levels. Outrigger trusses at the top of the building and at the various set-backs help to stiffen the building's reinforced concrete core against the strong winds prevalent in the area. The base of the building features a small park, for which the tower is named.