A beautiful expression of light and glass The design for Cbus Property and Charter Hall’s 171 Collins Street has been developed directly out of the richness of its inner city location and showcases large open floor plates with unsurpassed views across Melbourne’s river corridor. Opened in June 2013, the crystalline tower glistens on Melbourne’s skyline. With its gently folding facade, 171 is Collins Street’s first Premium Grade office building in 20 years. The building consists of 17 large campus-style floor-plates in a side core configured tower. The lower levels incorporate a business centre and high-end retail space including restaurants facing Flinders Lane and a luxury fashion retailer addressing Collins Street.
The design concept for the tower building addresses the façade’s relationship to the St Paul’s Cathedral spires, which sit directly in front of the building when viewed from Southbank. This new insertion provides a consistent backdrop to St Paul’s Cathedral, previously lost amongst the mixed assembly of taller structures beyond. The Cathedral’s fine architecture can now be clearly discerned against the elegant white glass of the building. The façade glass frit provides a quiet background to St Pauls Cathedral – like a piece of sky or an undulating curtain drawn down behind it. The gently folding tower façade glazing uses a white ceramic frit pattern that gives the building the appearance of a jewel like monolithic object. The frit serves to reflect light from the outside and reduce heat and glare.
From Collins Street the commercial tower is set behind the heritage listed Mayfair building and the two buildings are separated by a spectacular nine storey atrium. The carefully crafted ground floor lobby, defined by its extensive use of travertine, is dramatised via a shimmering woven glazed screen. This screen provides the frame for the undulating tower that extends through the glazed roof 18 storeys above ground level. The Flinders Lane facades have been developed into a series of new crystalline podium elements that incorporate machine grooved glass assemblies that emulate the textures of brick warehouse buildings that surround it. 171 Collins Street is officially Victoria’s first PCA Premium Grade building awarded the coveted 6 star Green Star – Office Design (v2) Certified Rating from the Green Building Council of Australia representing ‘World Leadership’ in environmentally sustainable design.
Sustainable features: The building’s impressive environmental credentials are the result of a range of sophisticated initiatives and advanced design technology. The building has achieved Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star 6 Star design rating, signifying world leadership in sustainable design. By applying world leading ESD principles 171 Collins Street provides long-term efficiencies and healthier, better quality working environments for tenants.
The base building works were also designed to achieve a 5 Star NABERS Energy rating. This rating is reserved for buildings that achieve exceptional energy performance. However, the building has exceeded this expectation and has now achieved a 6 star NABERS rating. The tower incorporates under floor air distribution throughout, allowing air to be brought into the office space gently, at low velocity via floor level diffusers, the warmth rises through natural convection and is exhausted at the ceiling level.
This air conditioning system provided a range of benefits to occupants and is far superior to the traditional ceiling diffusers which blast conditioned air down on occupants. The building hosts a number of other sustainable features including generous bicycle facilities with storage for 278 bicycles, dedicated ramp access separated from cars, spacious change rooms, drying rooms, and even an air compressor for pumping up bicycle tyres.
