According to the engineers who are keeping a close eye on the Atlassian building at Central Station in Sydney, when the stories finally break on exactly what the designers, builders and tech specialists are cooking up for this project the impact will be “out of the box”.
That’s how one engineer put it when we asked him our usual question of “what’s new?”. He said the building would have the same impact that City of Melbourne headquarters CH2 had when it was completed in 2006, when then city architect Rob Adams gave the green light (green in more ways than one) to some daredevil innovations – not all of which worked but which served nonetheless to amp up innovation and ambition.
The same goes for the impact from the Lendlease headquarters at 30 The Bond in Sydney, completed in 2004.
Our engineer wouldn’t be drawn on any details he was privy to but said the ambitions will set new standards for things like how to mix fresh and conditioned air, the nature of the concrete and timber hybrid structure and the embodied carbon targets. The results would be far cry from “chasing the same old 5 star”.
And it all started with a spot of dreaming. Instead of Atlassian boss Mike Cannon-Brookes asking what was possible, he asked “why not?”.
It’s about having aspirations, our source said. “It started with that dreamer stuff, which is great!”
We were chatting to our source about the best possible inclusions we could have in our upcoming masterclass series on net zero and electrification of buildings. (Details out soon). So, it was all music to our ears.
In Adelaide things are hopping too
We checked in with Paul Davy of D Squared Consulting who set up shop there with business partner Deborah Davidson in 2012, after leaving Cundall. There’s local investment ramping up Davy says, alongside investment from outside coming into the city.
Davy’s company is likewise prospering with a round of new hires in the past 12 months that have taken the business from 11 staff to 22.
The big round of growth has seen the company move to new old premises, in a retrofitted heritage listed building at 199 Rundle Street, which has heritage listed timber floors. Naturally there’s been a “very sensitive fitout” completed with retention of much of the original structure, to 6 Star Green Star standard.
The company maintains its Climate Active carbon neutral certification that it gained in 2017 but interestingly the pressure now is to look for how to improve this.
Turns out scope 3 emissions – the emissions the company induces other business to expend or to save – can be added to the tally.
It makes sense. “The work we do significantly influences the carbon impact of our work,” Davy says. “It’s part of our scope of influence on our carbon footprint.” That’s what happens when you get your scope 1 and 2 emissions down to such “tiny” levels, he says.
So, what’s driving the increase in work for the team?
According to Davy it’s a combination of the industry and the market becoming more developed. “There is a greater number of clients and they’re taking sustainability more seriously”. It’s a sector that’s “developing really strongly with sustainability policies and project requirements. So, the actual size of the market is growing, and we are growing our market.”
The connectivity that comes from being in business for a while helps. “So, awareness of who we are and what we do has grown.”
Among key projects the company is working on is the large Lot 14 redevelopment of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital by the state government. This precinct is not only slated for 6 Star Green Star Communities but it’s also believed to be the country’s only pre certified Well Community Standard, which Davy says involves a review of the masterplan.
In Victoria the team has just completed work on projects such as 143 Foundation Road with GPT believed to be the first Climate Active upfront emissions certified building, 33 Alfred Street in Sydney for AMP Capital and a range of university and TAFE projects in Queensland.
So what do Davy’s clients care about the most these days?
“From what we see they want to achieve exemplar sustainability outcomes bit they need to understand what the costs are and where to get good value for money.”
On electrification, Davy says “everyone is taking it seriously from our perspective.”’
And yes, it’s tough to convert buildings, but he says, “the challenge is being embraced.”