PROJECT

The 1,000m² office building in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley quietly beat the field to receive the first Green Star Design and As Built v1.1 certified rating in Australia. Remarkably 69 Robertson Street’s project team did this by achieving the highest possible rating of 6 stars, with an impressive score of 83.3 points awarded in just one round of the assessment process.

Floth developed and occupy the three-level office building and undertook the building services and sustainability design and moved into the upper two levels in August 2015. The constrained zero lot line building designed by Mondo Architects includes green trellis walls with drought tolerant climbing vines growing up the external faces of the central light well and rear decks. While the planting has been carefully selected to thrive without additional irrigation, roof rainwater is collected for the green wall and for toilet and urinal flushing.

The office building is fitted with the latest occupancy- and daylight- controlled direct- indirect LED lighting systems. Heat recovery variable refrigerant flow air conditioning systems are literally able to move heating or cooling from one part of the building to another as required. High indoor air quality is assured with a 50 percent increase in outside air being delivered to occupants via variable air volume systems that are demand controlled in response to zoned carbon dioxide sensors. Many other features and a host of GBCA-recognised innovations were elegantly integrated in the otherwise conventional building without significant additional cost.

Floth shares a distinguished history with the site, which was bought back in 2000 when it was occupied by a venerable Queenslander that was actually built by the Robertson family (after which the street is named). The converted Queenslander served as the Floth state offices until 2003. The Queenslander was eventually removed from the site and preserved for future generations by being transported to Esk to become the new home of a family who lost their house to fire.

Beyond Green Star, this is the first building that has formally and publicly adopted the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council’s (ASBEC) standard definition of a zero carbon building and certified as the first Carbon Neutral building in Queensland by the Australian government’s National Carbon Offset Standard for buildings.

A 53 percent reduction in operational carbon emissions was predicted from facade and integral building services improvements (compared to an equivalent Building Code compliant energy model). A roof-mounted solar photovoltaic system achieved a further 13 percent reduction, also equivalent to offsetting 28 percent of the building’s final operational energy. 100 percent accredited GreenPower purchased from Origin was the final piece of the zero carbon puzzle.  Over the base building, both Floth’s and the Level 1 tenant’s fitouts are effectively zero carbon in operation by virtue of the 100 percent GreenPower supply.  Notably the free electricity generated by the solar photovoltaic system has more than offset the additional operational cost of the GreenPower. Given the cost effectiveness of the building, it would be difficult to come up with a better solution.

PROJECT RECOGNITION

• The first Green Star Design and As Built v1.1 certified rating in Australia.
• The first building formally and publicly recognised as a Zero Carbon Standard Building by the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council’s (ASBEC)
• Certified as the first Climate Active Carbon Neutral building in Queensland, certified in accordance with the National Carbon Offset Standard for Buildings.
• The first 6 star NABERS Indoor Environment rating in Australia for the Floth tenancy at Level 2 & 3
• 5.5 Star NABERS Energy rating (without Green Power) and 6 Star with Green Power.
• 6 Star NABERS Water rating.
• The first WELL v2 Certification in Queensland to the highest level of Platinum.
• Floth has received further global recognition for its innovative Brisbane headquarters, which is the only building in Australia nominated as a “Game Changer” in the World Green Building Online Case Study Library. In fact, as of December 2019 it is one of only 3 buildings designated as such out of 128 projects in the world. The Library showcases examples of the most cutting-edge examples of sustainable building around the world, with each case study demonstrating a building that has enhanced performance in relation to health benefits and net zero operational carbon, as verified by established certification schemes, rating tools or other verification systems.

AWARD WINS

• Winner of the 2017 Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Business Awards for the Energex Award for Sustainability in Business.
• Winner of the 2017 Property Council of Australia Innovation and Excellence Awards for the Best Sustainable Development – New Buildings.
• First Australian Winner of the World Green Building Council 2016 Asia Pacific Leadership in Green Building Awards for the Leadership in Sustainable Design and Performance category.
• Winner of the 2016 UDIA (Qld) Awards for Excellence in the Consultants Excellence category.
• Finalist the 2016 AIRAH Awards for Excellence in the Sustainability category.
• Finalist in the 2016 Premiers Sustainability Awards in the Built Environment category.