There’s no mistaking Sky Plaza at Woden for any other building in Canberra – it’s hard to miss. Photo: James Coleman.
Nineteen years ago, the first residents were preparing to move into one of Canberra’s most controversial buildings.
Sky Plaza opened in November 2005 as the city’s tallest residential tower at 60 metres – 20 storeys – and there was no missing it.
In the entire Woden town centre, only MLC Tower, aka Lovett Tower, pipped it at 93 metres and 26 storeys. There was also the matter of the colour.
“There were jokes that surely it was the undercoat,” resident Mike Mossop says.
While the majority of the building’s exterior was clad in white and grey, sections of it were also resplendent in purple, red and mustard. Nowadays, it’s best known for the yellow ‘stain’ down the side, visible from Yamba Drive.
“We are now commonly referred to as ‘that yellow building’.”
It stood out like a sore thumb. But two decades later, Mike and most of the building’s other 200-odd residents wouldn’t have it any other way.
In fact, during a meeting in 2021 over whether to repaint the building in more neutral colours, owners voted to continue with a bold colour scheme that reflected the “individuality and character of the architecture, planning and landscaping of Sky Plaza”.
“We’re surrounded by all the typical greys and white, and they’re all very bland, but I think we’re a bit iconic in that sense; we chose not to blend in,” Mike says.
There’s more to love about Sky Plaza, too.
One of Sky Plaza’s views. Photo: Zango.
Mike bought an apartment on the 16th floor of the tallest of the towers, the ‘D Block’, in 2019, initially to rent out.
“It was big and spacious, certainly close to everything in Woden, and the price was right – about two-thirds of the equivalent place on the Kingston Foreshore,” he says.
What it lacked in amenities like a swimming pool or gym, it made up for with “panoramic views” (Mike looks out towards Black Mountain and can see the tip of the Captain Cook Memorial Jet on Lake Burley Griffin when it’s firing) and a north-facing design that’s “absolutely brilliant” in winter.
“The winter sun heats all the units in the morning, and then in summer when the sun climbs higher and earlier, it just goes over the top,” he says.
Where modern developments like Geocon’s Grand Central Towers put 430 units on a 3200 sqm block, Sky Plaza offers a relatively low-density rate of 167 units on 8000 sqm.
“More space means our internal garden is the hidden jewel in our crown,” Mike adds.
“You can’t see it from the road, but it’s fairly large, and now that it’s 20 years old, all the trees are fully mature.”
Being 20 years old, there has also been a “changing of the guard” when it comes to residents, but Mike says the work those early Sky Plaza pioneers put in to “establish a vibrant and caring community” continues to pay off.
“They were running happy hours, gardening clubs, and even a travel club that hired buses and travelled around Canberra,” he says.
“They were very active in that sense.”
An older photo of Sky Plaza showing the original colour scheme with its mustard and purple sections. Photo: Benmax.
During COVID, for instance, when Australians were encouraged to hold a moment of silence for Anzac Day out on their driveways, instead of attending Dawn Services, ‘Sky Plazans’ gathered on their balconies to hear one of their resident returned servicemen play the bagpipes.
Another legacy of the pandemic is meeting for lunch every Tuesday, “rain, hail or shine”.
“As a group, we continue to celebrate and commemorate the major calendar events together – Australia Day, Anzac Day, Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea for the Cancer Council, Remembrance Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Christmas and, of course, Sky Plaza’s birthday,” Mike says.
“We’re very much a classic example of the vertical village. I’d be surprised if the newer buildings have this same sense of community.”
Does he see himself staying there?
“Oh, absolutely.”
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