Located near the crest of the western hill of Bourke Street, the skyscraper was built in the mid-1970s as a speculative office tower, which was fully occupied by the National Bank of Australia as their headquarters. In 1982 they merged with Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to form the National Australia Bank, known as the NAB. In 2004, the NAB moved their global head offices to 700 - 800 Bourke Street, "National @ Docklands", both located in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, but the bank still remains a full tenant of National Bank House. In 2009, the building was fully refurbished by then owner ISPT in order to increase energy efficiency to 5 stars,[4][2] and the ground level was rebuilt with a new lobby, refurbished rear plaza cafes and street canopy designed by John Wardle architects.[5]
National Bank House reaches 161 metres in height, and comprises 40 storeys of offices. At the time of its completion in 1978, it was the third-tallest building in Melbourne; the commercial building is as of 2024, the 62nd tallest in the city.[1]
Melbourne skyline in 2015