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M. Ramesh

Tall storeys: Q1, the highrise residential building in Gold Coast, Australia. - M. RAMESH

To rise heavenward has been man's most abiding desire. It was this desire that gave birth to the Pyramids, the conquest of Mt Everest and the aeroplane. The same motivation also brought forth the Q1, the world's tallest residential building.

Q1, named after Australia's sculling team of 1920 Olympics, stands 322.5 metres tall in the city of Gold Coast, about 100 km south of Brisbane.

Visitors are allowed to go to the observation deck on the 78th level (for a fee, of course). The deck affords a 360-degree view of Gold Coast city. On a clear day, you can see as far as 80 km away and the views are simply magnificent.

Four levels down, lives the Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, who bought the Penthouse that occupies the entire floor for $12 million. The building has 525 more living units. After completion in October last year, the apartments were put up for sale and today only about 30 remain to be sold.

Going up the Rs 900-crore building is a thrilling experience. A fast elevator takes you to the 77th level in 42.7 seconds. The magic of the place gives you a child-in-a-candy-shop feeling. The vast stretch of the Pacific Ocean, the white waves crashing against the slim beach, the Lilliputian images of the swimmers and surfers — a heady cocktail of ocular delights indeed.

Talking of cocktails — there is a `skybar' for the parched throat as well. It is sheer pleasure to pick up a drink and stand at one of the windows.

Once in a while you see a distant aircraft labouring across the sky and you can't help wondering whether there is someone like Mohammad Atta in the cockpit!

Q1 thumbs its nose at Osama & Co because its construction started in September 2002, exactly a year after 9/11.

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