PROJECT

400 George Street is strategically located in Brisbane city’s north quarter precinct. The A-grade office tower consists of 34 storeys, incorporating 43,000m² of office space, ground floor retail space and food court and four levels of basement car parking.

Floth was appointed as the sustainability professional on the 400 George Street development, and held the responsibility for leading design team to deliver one of the first 5 Star Green Star ratings for a highrise commercial tower in the Brisbane CBD.

Sustainability was a primary focus of the development; however, Floth was required to consider other sustainability factors including the financial cost of the building and maintenance costs. Capital costs and revenue targets were also important factors, particularly in regard to space efficiency which can be significantly affected by the Green Services Design.

Floth was responsible for providing 400 George Street with service solutions which provided the optimal balance between capital, operating costs, revenue and sustainability performance. To successfully deliver on these requirements the Floth team designed mechanical services for the building to include high efficiency chillers, central air handling plant and low temperature Variable Air Volume (VAV) air distribution.

A majority of commercial office air conditioning systems account for 40 to 50 percent of the buildings total electrical power consumption, making the design and application process critical to the building NABERS rating.

The implementation of Floth’s air conditioning system was one of the key features which contributed to the building being modelled at 5 Star + a 10 percent reduction in CO² emission NABERS Energy rating.

Floth performed energy modelling on 400 George Street, estimating the development would use 27 percent less energy or emit 1187 tonnes less CO² per annum than an equivalent 4 Star NABERS rated building.

Allocating a location for the major electrical infrastructure of the substation and standby power diesel generation was another design challenge Floth faced. In order to maximise useable space in the basement, Floth’s design solution positioned the generator and substation over and under the entry driveway respectively. Floth’s design also minimised the basement depth resulting in lower costs and a reduction in construction time.

PROJECT RECOGNITION

• 5 Star Office As-Built (V2) rating.
• 5.5 Star NABERS Energy rating.

PROJECT AWARD WINS

• Finalist in the 2011 Property Council of Australia Innovation & Excellence Awards in the Colliers International Award for the Best Office Development.
• Cox Rayner won a Regional Commendation in the Australian Institute of Architects Awards 2010 in the Art & Architecture Awards.
• Thiess won the 2010 Master Builders Association Regional Queensland Master Builders Housing and Construction Award for Commercial Developments over $15 Million.
• Thiess won the 2010 Master Builders Association Regional Brisbane Regional Master Builders Housing and Construction Award for Commercial Buildings over $100 Million.