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30 April 2003
Lend Lease Unveils Australia's First Five Star Greenhouse Office Building
NSW Premier Bob Carr today launched Australia’s first five star greenhouse office building – a $112 million commercial property owned by Deutsche Office Trust (ASX:DOT) and conceived and developed by Lend Lease. Located at 30-34 Hickson Road, Millers Point, Sydney, the building will be Lend Lease’s new Sydney head office.
According to Michael Brown, General Manager of Deutsche Office Trust, “the building provides a leading example for the Australian property industry, setting new standards in environmental sustainability, workplace design and social connectivity.”
The office building will be known as “30 The Bond”, forming part of a newly created destination, “The Bond” at Hickson Road. Named after the historic bond stores originally found in the area, The Bond comprises three adjoining properties:
- 30-34 Hickson Road, owned by DOT;
- 36 Hickson Road, three heritage buildings owned by Delmo; and
- 38 Hickson Road, a residential building also owned by Delmo, all linked by a public plaza to form an exciting new work and living precinct.
30 The Bond will be the first office building in Australia to achieve a five star Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR). It will feature the very latest in environmental design, including 30 per cent lower CO2 emission than a typical office building. The rating will be substantially achieved through the use of chilled beam air conditioning, a first for a commercial building in Australia. The environmental initiatives will be achieved within strict commercial parameters, and will generate savings in operations and maintenance.
According to Michael Brown, “This makes the project a very powerful benchmark for future developments by advancing ESD principles considerably without compromising commercial objectives and in some instances enhancing them. It is an opportunity for the Trust to own a new-generation, showcase office development in the emerging north west waterfront precinct of the Sydney CBD.”
DOT purchased the land at 30-34 Hickson Road in May last year. When complete in early 2004, the complex will comprise approximately 18,700 square metres of office space, a 600 square metre communal atrium and basement parking for 113 cars.
Lend Lease is the development manager for the project and Bovis Lend Lease is responsible for design and construction.
Lend Lease CEO (Asia Pacific) Ross Taylor said, “Creating The Bond has allowed Lend Lease to again push the boundaries of what is possible. 30 The Bond is a fine example of a building that will serve our city into the future and it also continues our involvement with reinvigorating this part of Sydney. We’re confident that this new work environment, with the waterfront location and the internal building design and layout will be a place for our people, that will inspire and drive our distinct culture in years to come.”
The design of the building was driven by Lend Lease identifying the aspirations of its people through workshops and recognises the importance of the work environment in supporting these aspirations.
The building features 100 metre long floor plates, an eight-storey atrium and a façade with sunrooms and operable louvres plus an environmentally friendly rooftop viewpoint, which provides a habitat for primarily native plants.
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For further information contact:
Oona Nielssen
Head of Communications, Lend Lease, Asia Pacific
Phone: (02) 9237 5758
Mobile: 0411 123 815
Fact Sheet 1 - The Parties Involved, 30 The Bond
Deutsche Office Trust – Owner 30 The Bond, Hickson Road
DB Real Estate is one of the world’s largest real estate investment managers, with more than 1500 dedicated real estate professionals managing client investments from fifteen international offices. As a member of the Deutsche Bank Group, DB Real Estate has the support and resources of one of the world’s largest and most respected financial services organisations.
DB Real Estate is one of the largest property fund managers in Australia, with almost A$10 billion in assets under management. This includes the management of listed property trusts, wholesale property funds, syndicates and individual mandates.
This substantial depth provides for a property portfolio covering over 130 properties and more than 3,500 tenancies. The portfolios include assets in all the major property sectors - office, retail and industrial.
Deutsche Office Trust is one of the largest office trusts listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Its assets are valued at approximately A$2 billion. With investments in16 properties across the country’s largest office markets (NSW, VIC, ACT and Perth), Deutsche Office Trust invests in only premium, A and B grade office buildings.
Lend Lease – Development Manager, Design and Construction and Tenant
Lend Lease is a leading global real estate group comprising two businesses: Real Estate Solutions, providing a full range of project management, construction, development, capital structuring and consulting services; and Real Estate Investments, serving clients who invest in real estate equity or debt.
Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, the Lend Lease Group operates in 43 countries on six continents, with a significant presence in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Bovis Lend Lease is one of the world’s leading providers of project management and construction services.
Projects undertaken by Bovis Lend Lease can be found around the world and include: Trump Tower New York, Bluewater – Europe’s largest retail and leisure development, Disneyland Paris, AOL Time Warner Center in New York, Aurora Place and Jacksons Landing in Sydney, and the National Australia Bank headquarters at Victoria Harbour in Melbourne, currently under construction.
Fact Sheet 2 - Environment, 30 The Bond
- ABGR Five Star greenhouse rating achieved – the first for Australia
- Uses chilled beam air conditioning
- Natural ventilation and an operable façade
- Green roof with recycled water for irrigation
- Successful remediation of former gasworks tar pits
Seriously Green
Lend Lease’s new Sydney headquarters represents a total commitment to ecologically sustainable development (ESD) principles.
The Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) has awarded the design five stars under the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating scheme, and Deutsche Office Trust and Lend Lease are committed to achieving this in partnership with SEDA, through the design, development and the ongoing building management.
Since the project’s conception Lend Lease fully embraced the value of incorporating significant ESD initiatives into the design brief, holding employee workshops in early 2002 to identify and define seven ESD priorities.
Aspirations identified by the workshops included greenhouse gas reduction, indoor environment quality, water management, materials selection, waste management, pollution and biodiversity. Employees ranked the aspirations, deciding that reduction in greenhouse gases and enhancement of indoor environment quality were the most important.
Deutsche Office Trust and Lend Lease will achieve all of these environmental aspirations within strict commercial parameters making the project a powerful benchmark for future developments.
Five Star Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR)
The Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) scheme provides accredited assessments of the greenhouse intensity of office buildings by awarding a star rating on a scale of one to five, with five being the most energy efficient. Administered by the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA), the ABGR is now being used nationally by building owners and tenants interested in improving their greenhouse performance.
The use of chilled beam technology and naturally ventilated/mixed mode spaces significantly enhance indoor environment quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, putting the building on target to achieve a five star Australian Building Greenhouse Rating – the first in the country.
Enhanced indoor environment quality for the occupants and reduced greenhouse gas emissions for the building have been a defining principle in the design process. The building design provides 30% lower CO2 emissions than a typical office building.
Chilled Beams
30 The Bond features the use of chilled beams for the first time in a large-scale commercial building in Australia. The local project team was able to gain an understanding of the technology from Bovis Lend Lease’s European colleagues who are experienced in its design and application. The implementation of chilled beam technology provides a real demonstration of Lend Lease’s ability to leverage its global capabilities, locally.
Chilled beams have a marked improvement on the efficiency of the air conditioning and the comfort conditions for the occupants. They also increase the building’s useable space and reduce the building’s height, helping improve views and access to light for neighbours.
Chilled beams operate by pumping chilled water through cooling elements in the ceiling. People and computers heat the air that rises to the ceiling. This hot air is then cooled by the chilled beams and falls, creating a natural convection process of hot air rising and cold air falling. Additional radiant cooling from the chilled beams supports the convection process.
In addition to the chilled beams, fresh air is continually provided to the workplace and exhausted out of the building without being recirculated. This significantly increases the quality of air within the office space and considerably reduces the risk of sick building syndrome.
The implementation of chilled beam technology also enables the overall reduction of the building height by up to one metre below the established maximum building envelope. This is of significant benefit to those neighbours occupying the lower level of the Highgate Building to the east increasing their access to natural light and views.
Natural Ventilation and Sunrooms
The building features a façade with naturally ventilated sunrooms. People working on each level will have access to naturally ventilated spaces, external terrace/balconies or both. There are nominally two sunrooms per floor that offer the occupant the possibility of accessing natural ventilation or outside air. Sydney’s climate will allow the sunrooms to operate for up to 50-60% of the year as naturally ventilated. This contributes to the overall reduction in green house emissions.
A Façade Incorporating Operable Shadings
The main façade of the building faces west and overlooks working wharves. In order to maximise views and minimise afternoon sun impact and thus air conditioning load, Bovis Lend Lease used its global knowledge base to investigate operable shading systems in Europe and the US. The system selected is similar to an external venetian blind that will deploy progressively during the day as the sun moves to the west. Occupants will be able to control the tilt of their blinds to suit themselves. This will provide a sense of diversity across the façade and will also contribute to the reduced demand on air conditioning.
Rooftop Viewpoint
The green rooftop “viewpoint” will be incorporated adjacent to level nine to improve visual outlook and amenity for immediate neighbours who overlook the project and to satisfy Lend Lease’s objective for enhanced biodiversity within the site. The rooftop viewpoint incorporates a planting zone that will provide a habitat for primarily native plants, including a blend of summer and winter grasses for continuous display. Rainwater is also collected on a portion of the roof and stored for irrigation to maximise water conservation.
Site Remediation
The site’s former life as home to Australian Gas Light Company's first gas manufacturing plant in Sydney meant residual contamination including tarry waste, remained beneath the ground.
Bovis Lend Lease carried out the remediation works, which included installing permanent groundwater barrier walls (secant piles), excavation of tar and applying odour suppressing techniques to the removed tarry waste. The project team also applied new on-site mixing techniques which proved successful in turning the semi-liquid tar into a more stable, manageable material for removal, transportation and treatment offsite.
The remediation works were completed thoroughly and quickly and were certified by an independent EPA auditor. The EPA auditor praised Bovis Lend Lease for the way in which they expedited the cleanup of such a complex contaminated site.
Fact Sheet 3 - Design, 30 The Bond
- Huge floor plates with side cores
- Open and transparent including glass lifts and “pods” jutting into the atrium
- Sunrooms with natural ventilation
30 The Bond is a nine storey commercial building of approximately 31,800m2 gross floor area (19,700m2 net lettable area), including ground floor retail space.
Providing a Superior Workplace
30 The Bond features an eight-storey atrium. A four-storey natural sandstone wall, hewn by hand for the installation of the original gasworks on the site, is being preserved as a major feature of the atrium.
The base of the atrium is a public space encouraging interaction between the building’s occupants. Stairs and glass lifts provide regular and convenient access points between floors, as well as offering opportunities for social interaction.
Jutting out into the atrium space are “pods” which may be used as meeting rooms, “greenrooms”, or for other shared activities. The view from these pods provides a sense of connection between the floors and to the atrium. People walking into the building will have a sense of connection with the tenants who can be seen at work.
Large format open floor plates (21m by 100m) offer the potential for high levels of visibility and connectivity through the building, as well as maximising planning efficiencies.
Each level of the building will have access to naturally ventilated sunrooms or to external balconies, or to both.
The site is exposed to low-level western sun, which has been a defining factor in the design of the façade and environmental systems.
External operable and adjustable blinds occupy all of the north, west and southern façades. The blinds offer maximum flexibility and protection from the sun and can be individually adjusted to modify the local environment of the occupant.
The façade presentation evolves during the course of the day in relation to the changing external climatic conditions. The result is a living façade that will constantly move, change and adjust.
The Entrances
The entrance to the building is on Hickson Road. The double height main entry provides a striking view of the atrium’s sandstone wall. A secondary Jenkins Street entrance is intended to be Lend Lease’s “kitchen door” – a convenient access point for Wynyard Station and other amenities.
There is connection through the precinct from Jenkins Street to Hickson Road through a suspended public staircase floating down the hill between the commercial and heritage buildings and through the public plaza area.
Side Cores and Glass Lifts
The cores are located at the side of the building enabling the clear, open and uninterrupted floor plates. The side cores also define the extent of the atrium. Enhancing this transparency is the glass used for internal lifts.
The Rooftop Viewpoint
The rooftop viewpoint is designed to provide a visual amenity for residents living behind the development, and as an accessible outdoor space with a large communal area that opens onto a deck on the roof. This is a pleasant contrast to the utilitarian rooftops of traditional commercial buildings. The planting will be largely native grasses and shrubs and rainwater will be collected for irrigation.
Fact Sheet 4 – History, The Bond precinct
- On an old gasworks site
- Adjacent to Australia’s first high rise – Caltex House
- The name – The Bond – comes from the historical bond stores
The Bond has an interesting history, reflected in its name. The Bond is in Millers Point, traditionally an important Australian global trade centre, where bond stores adjacent to wharves were an important part of the trading infrastructure. This resonates for Lend Lease that grew its international business from Australia.
The precinct site first came into private hands as a government grant to John Macarthur in 1810. Early construction challenges in the 19th century included digging a 1.5m wide and 10m deep trench through sandstone by hand.
The site was the Australian Gas Light Company's (AGL) first gas manufacturing plant, established in 1871 to light the streets of Sydney, and the first gasworks in Australia to distribute reticulated coal gas, known as “towns” gas.
The outbreak of bubonic plaque in the area in 1900 hampered the development of AGL’s operations and the site was vacated in 1921, with gas manufacturing moving to other sites.
The area also has other ties to Lend Lease, Australia’s first high-rise, Caltex House, developed by Lend Lease was built behind the site, on Kent Street, in the 1950s. It was also the location for historic negotiations over the first productivity agreement between Lend Lease founder Dick Dusseldorp and the Building Trades Union in NSW and ACT.
The Bond precinct encompasses three heritage buildings, which together with the plaza area, are central parts of the development. These buildings were constructed from the 1840s and are being preserved for re-use.
Fact Sheet 5 - Community Involvement, The Bond Precinct
- Community relations paramount
- Resident committee formed
- Amenity Deed signed with community
Engaging with the community is especially significant for Lend Lease at the company’s new Sydney head office. Millers Point is a community with a mix of public housing tenants, some who have had family living in the area for generations, and a newer influx of residents who are living in the high rise apartments surrounding the site.
The Hornery Institute assisted in devising a community engagement strategy. The strategy ensured a consistent approach to collaboration was adopted between Lend Lease and residents across all components of the project: construction, design, development, handover and ongoing management. Some components of the strategy include:
Regular Resident Committee Meetings
A regular resident committee was established initially as a forum for communication on relevant issues relating to construction, development and design. With the trust that has developed and the involvement of the City of Sydney, the committee is now an important vehicle for information exchange in the local area. It is intended that the group will continue to meet once the project is complete with the scope of discussion widening to include broader community issues.
Participation in Community Events
From the outset of the project, team members were actively involved in community events. The events covered everything from regular attendance at the monthly Resident Action Group to Christmas parties at Darling House Aged Care Centre.
Workshops
Workshops were conducted with representatives from the entire community. The workshops two primary objectives were to provide input into design of the public domain aspects of the project and also to identify opportunities to partner with the local community.
The Amenity Deed for the Rooftop
The local community and Lend Lease signed an “Amenity Deed” which incorporated each party’s objectives for the use of the outdoor space. Lend Lease and Deutsche agreed to a specific design as well as operating and maintenance arrangements for the roof. The design lowered the height and incorporated a rooftop garden to create a “viewpoint” for local residents. The new “Viewpoint” in the words of Chris Johnson NSW Government Architect “is an asset for everyone - a symbol, a crowd pleaser and an icon of harmonious resolution that makes a grand contribution to the amenity”.
Community Partnering
Assistance has been provided through Lend Lease Community Day, where employees contribute their labour and skills. We are also currently working with the Abraham Mott Youth Centre to address some of the longer-term issues in the area.
The Hickson Road Fish Hoarding
Another project involved working with local schools and community groups to paint a mural on the hoarding. The theme of fish was chosen because of the harbour location, and Lend Lease’s connection to the environment. The mural design has been developed around the “Clean Harbour Partners” program set up by the City of Sydney under the NSW Government Stormwater Trust – “Healthy Water Means Healthy Fish”.
Fact Sheet 6 – The Bond Precinct
- Commercial building – 30 the Bond
- Three heritage buildings
- A residential building
- A public plaza
Centred around Lend Lease’s new Sydney headquarters at Hickson Road, Millers Point, The Bond address is 30 – 38 Hickson Road and comprises four areas: the commercial building (30 The Bond, owned by Deutsche Office Trust), three heritage buildings (36 The Bond, owned by Delmo), a residential building (38 The Bond, owned by Delmo) and a public plaza.
The precinct was conceived by Lend Lease with Bovis Lend Lease responsible for project delivery.
Developer Delmo owns the residential building consisting of 49 apartments over 11 levels and the three heritage buildings comprising 1,100m2 over five levels.
The residential building will be a mix of studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments and includes four basement levels and ground level retail use.
The heritage buildings were constructed from the 1840s and together with The Bond’s plaza area, are a central part of the precinct.
Delmo
Delmo is a family owned and run company, headed by Jose de la Vega. Jose has been involved in the property industry in Australia and internationally for many years. Jose was the catalyst for some of Sydney’s leading waterfront redevelopments such as Woolloomooloo finger wharf, Walsh Bay and the Colgate Palmolive conversion in Balmain.
The Delmo development ethos is always focused on creating sustainable and beautiful world-class urban projects, places where people truly can enjoy a cosmopolitan lifestyle. Delmo’s vision for the re-use of abandoned industrial sites is a model for any vibrant city.
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