Landmark Status

It takes more than energy-efficient windows to create a sustainable commercial building. The structure should be functional as well as cost-effective and being attractive never hurts.

Trinity Development Group project partner Toby Lewis says the group didn't want its newest asset to be an ordinary office block. The listed property group wanted AM-60 to stand out for design as well as sustainability.

"We strove for difference. We didn't want to end up with just another blue-green glass box," Lewis says.

Architects Donovan Hill, known for sustainable design, created a different look for the office building. Metal architectural elements placed in the floor-to-ceiling windows add interest to the structure. Instead of the typical curtainwall glazing where spandrel panels are opaque or solid. AM-60's spandrels are made with a clear glass outer skin protecting a coloured pressed metal inner skin.

"Colours and texture of this spandrel detail co-ordinate with details that are present at the street and lobby level," Lewis says.

AM-60 is literally green, with a garden on the roof of the 20-storey building. Besides helping diminish the office block's carbon footprint, the greenery muffles the noise from the air conditioning units on the roof to the building users and surrounding neighbours.

For water-hungry Brisbane, it was important that the plants didn't require much watering and were low maintenance. For this reason, the garden is filled with resilient native trees and succulents. With drought conditions dominating in the past decade, how commercial buildings use water has been rethought.

"The drought taught us a lot," Lewis says.

AM-60's eaves and overhangs were specifically designed to minimise the need to wash the windows. Although rainwater may be sparse, holding tanks in the basement will recycle any available rainfall for cleaning and irrigation. For further efficiency, waterless urinals were installed.

Trinity contracted Hutchinson Builders to the project. As sustainability calls for new techniques, the workforce needed to be up to speed in green construction.

"If you build something and it doesn't work properly, you won't achieve a Green Star rating," Lewis says. "There's no room for error."

As an asset of Trinity, the building must reflect the top of the real estate market. This means incorporating amenities that tenants find attractive, and achieving a Green Star rating will be a plus, especially for companies espousing corporate social responsibility. AM-60 is aiming for a 5-Star Green Star rating.

Currently leased at 70%, when full the building will be able to hold a workforce of 1500 to 2000.

Trinity Development Group can provide an integrated fit-out to the tenants who buy before construction is complete, allowing savings of 20% to 30%.

Among the sustainable innovations in the structure is active chilled beam air conditioning. It uses 40% less power and keeps the building's air fresher.

"The system means workers enjoy 100% fresh air all the time," Lewis says.

To make it easier for people working in AM-60 to use alternative transportation, the finished building will include 190 bicycle racks along with 19 showers, and lockers for storing gear.

For more information contact James Palmer, Jones Lang LaSalle, 0438 155 359 or Trinity Development Group, phone (07) 3002 4200. Visit the website: www.trinitydevelopment.com.au.

Story by: Trendsideas