Industry House is a mixed-use building of 30,000m2 that completes the built form of City Walk. It incorporates offices for the Department of Industry, Transport and Resources, car parking, a child care centre, retail and café. The building is positioned to retain a mature stand of Casuarina trees and provides a through-site link from City Walk to a pre-existing courtyard. A 30m flag structure marks the entrance to the Government Department
The floor plates are of 2700m2 on five floors and 1800m2 on four and are sized to the department’s brief. The building has two lift cores which are located on the side wall of the building where they abuts the blank walls of neighbouring buildings. Two circulation stairs are located “outboard” of the office floors. These arrangements provide considerable efficiency and planning flexibility.
The design approach to this large building was to integrate the building volume into the pedestrian centre of the city by modulating its mass through large-scale articulations, and to relate the components to the immediately adjacent building forms. At the ground level the public uses are provided with covered walkways; above this are three levels of naturally-ventilated car parking enclosed in louvers to create a neutral base screened by the trees. Integrated with this base is a white “podium” which aligns with the adjacent buildings on Akuna Street. The tenth floor steps-back with smaller floors above which provide a north-facing roof terrace for staff outdoor use.
The differing colours of glass and metal trim help establish scales that relate the building to others in the city centre, and the projecting stairs create “minor buildings” along the lengthy City Walk elevation. The exterior materials are largely of a glazed unitised building system, however, the various formed elements create sub-systems that reduce the impact and make the building a readable composition of constituent parts. Although composed of articulated parts, the enclosure provides a unifying character. The tinted double-glazed windows are of variable proportion related to the orientation, and the building has a 5 star rating.
The main entrance, corner office bay, flag structure and signage are on Binara Street to form highly visible elements and to act as urban markers. The associated conference centre, adjacent to and accessible from the lobby, and the café (which extends into the tree canopy) establish an active identity and contribute to the public realm, and the child care centre adds a social benefit.
The lobby passage and lift foyer are sheathed in satin-mirror and various finishes of stainless steel, all selected to “carry light” into the interior. With the exception of the ground floor lobby with the Casuarina desk, custom rug and light fixtures, the Café, and typical spaces such as toilets, the tenant interior fitout was designed by others.
The building is of a concrete frame structure, utilizes extra high efficiency chillers, and distributes air from roof plantroom air handlers, using “swirl” distribution units to reduce the air requirements by approximately 30%. Heating is provided by natural gas boilers.
