Section 63

Client confidence is an essential aspect of any large commercial development and several factors can imbue a project with a solid, bankable future. A key inner-city location is one driver, while another is the integrity and imagination of an adept, experienced developer. Then the design has to work in terms of day-to-day functionality, arresting aesthetics, and a world-class focus on energy use and sustainability.

Developed by household names Leighton Properties and Mirvac, managed by Leighton Properties and designed by various architects from Woods Bagot, Section 63 is set to be the largest mixed-use project planned in the ACT to date. The highly contemporary project will contain over 125,000m² of total space.

The Section 63 project will provide a significant boost to ACT and its economy in general. It includes investment approaching $1 billion and the potential to create over 1500 on-site jobs, with over four times that number created in the wider economy. It will also bring demonstrable benefit for local businesses. Tenantinterest has already been strong, with the developer's name and the location two huge commercial positives.

Section 63 is an integrated urban renewal project with a strong vision linking each distinct element. Buildings at Section 63 respond to core design principles that include sustainability, usability, high energy efficiency, visual connectivity to the outdoors and modern, inspiring architecture. Each distinctive structure, designed individually by various Woods Bagot architects, is interlinked via a central pedestrian spine. From this spine, intricate laneways connect civic settings, public spaces, retail shops and businesses. This dynamic, modern urban development balances amenity with functionality; sustainability and efficiency with value; and business with relaxation. Retail will include everything from specialty shops to convenience stores, supermarkets and medical centres.

In terms of setting, the development is of national significance due to its size and location on the West of City Hill, Civic. Working within Walter Burley Griffin's far-sighted plan for Canberra, the concept was to create a modern, harmonised, campus-style workplace in the heart of the city. The completed development will be a central focal point for West Civic, with dynamic, eye-catching individual building forms. Seen together, they will have a cohesive look, creating a signpost for the area's commercial and retail vitality.

The development will break down into around 8000m² of retail space and approximately 120,000m² of A-grade office space over four buildings. Building one will have 54,000m², building two 18,000m² and building three and four will together have space of around 48,000m². In all, the project is designed to accommodate up to 8000 office workers and will have 2000 car parks and an associated public carpark for approximately 1000 cars.

However, it is the ecological and functional features that really give Section 63 its commercial pulling power. Designed to meet tenants' needs now and in the future, all the principal buildings in the development have soaring, glassed atria that flood natural light into the ecologically attuned buildings. Flexible, large floor plates in all four buildings provide maximum versatility for tenants, including the ability to incorporate tenant initiatives into the building design. These elements avoid both the time and cost of retrofitting interiors and also make Section 63 an attractive proposition for large-scale companies, or those seeking to consolidate previously disparate commercial operations under one roof.

The entire project is designed to actively seek best practice in Ecologically Sustainable Development. Energy-saving and energy-harnessing initiatives potentially include a Tri-Generation plant, use of photovoltaics, wind power, a 5-Star Green Star rating, a 5-Star NABERS Energy rating as built (replacing the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating), a grey waste system, bore water use for irrigation, a precinct-wide car-bike share programme, and even provision for charging electric cars. Leighton Properties has looked at every aspect of the design, from its power-efficient makeup to the aesthetic impact it will have on the workers to arrive at this dynamic commercial and retail development. Section 63, as Leighton Properties sees it, will provide the way forward for commercial business, retail vitality, and a physical and fiscal stimulus for the greater city.

To contact David Patmore of Leighton Properties, phone (02) 9925 6666. Web: www.leightonproperties.com.au. To contact Woods Bagot, phone (02) 9249 2500. Or visit the website: www.woodsbagot.com.au.

Story by: Trendsideas