Grenfell Centre

Grenfell Centre, formerly known as Oracle House and JLW Building, nicknamed Black Stump, is a high rise office building located at 25 Grenfell Street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.

Not to be confused with Grenfell Tower in London.

Grenfell Centre
Alternative namesOracle House,
JLW Building,
Black Stump (nickname)
General information
Architectural styleInternational
Location25 Grenfell Street, Adelaide, South Australia
Construction started1973
Completed1975
Renovated1979
Height
Tip114 metres (374 ft)
Top floor26
Technical details
Floor count27
Lifts/elevators8
Design and construction
Architect(s)Cheesman Doley Neighbour & Raffen Hannaford, Pellew & Hodgkison
Architecture firmMPH Architects
Awards and prizesRoyal Australian Institute of Architects Commercial Architecture Award of Commendation

History and description

Brookman Building(s), December 1907

The Brookman Building(s),[lower-alpha 1] designed by Alfred Wells and built in 1897,[1][2] once stood on the site of the present Grenfell Centre.[3] It was originally three storeys high, with an oriel window creating a fourth storey. In 1914, another two storeys were added. The building was owned by South Australian mining entrepreneurs George Brookman and his brother William Brookman, who founded the Coolgardie Gold Mining and Prospecting Company in the gold fields of Western Australia.[4] A building of the same name still exists at the University of South Australia's North Terrace campus, originally the South Australian School of Mines and Industries.[5]

After the Brookman Building was demolished in the early 1970s,[5] the new office tower was completed in 1973. It was the tallest building in Adelaide[6] at 103 metres (338 ft),[7] until surpassed by the Telstra House[7] in 1987.[6]

The building has 26 floors. In the 1980s, the building's foyer and interior were refurbished. A 10-metre (33 ft) antenna was attached in 1980, and upgraded with digital transmitters in 2003, increasing the height a metre further.[6]

In 2007, the building was redeveloped, and two frameless glass cubes were constructed at the entrance of the building. This redevelopment earned it the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Commercial Architecture Award of Commendation.[8]

Other names during its lifetime have been Oracle House and JLW Building. Its nickname, "black stump",[6] in reference to the building's appearance, is also a colloquial Australian phrase.

In October 2021 the Grenfell Centre was acquired by Centuria and MA Financial JV, at a purchase price of A$166.6m. With a vacancy rate of 10%, the company planned to refurbish the building.[9][10]

In February 2023, re-cladding of the building was complete, after works had been undertaken to replace the aluminium composite cladding (which had been implicated in the rapid spread of the fatal Grenfell Tower fire in London, as well as other fires around the world[11][12]) with solid 3 mm (0.12 in) aluminium cladding. The project included extra insulation behind the cladding.[13]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Not to be confused with the present Brookman Building.

References
  1. "Building Details". Architects of South Australia. University of South Australia. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  2. "Brookman Buildings, Grenfell Street" (photo & text). State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  3. Ntafillis, Viki (24 February 2023). "Thebarton Police Barracks to join list of Adelaide architectural wonders that have disappeared". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  4. "Brookman Building". Adelaide City Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  5. "Brookman Building, Grenfell Street, 1896". Experience Adelaide. National Trust of South Australia. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  6. "Grenfell Centre". Emporis. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  7. "Adelaide - Statistics". Emporis. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015.
  8. "Grenfell Centre Upgrade". Australian Institute of Architects. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  9. "Centuria and MA Financial acquire Adelaide's The Black Stump". Centuria. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  10. Pallisco, Marc (27 October 2021). "Adelaide office collects $167m from Centuria, MA Financial". realestatesource.com.au. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  11. Booth, Robert; Bowcott, Owen (30 October 2019). "Grenfell Tower inquiry: the chair's findings so far". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  12. Wahlquist, Calla (15 June 2017). "Cladding in London high-rise fire also blamed for 2014 Melbourne blaze". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  13. "Project Update: 25 Grenfell Street Recladding, SA". Hindmarsh. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.

34°55′29″S 138°36′2″E

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