Project Profile: Centrelink NSO
Centrelink NSO By Dan Stojanovich
The “green imperative” is changing the whole approach to designing and constructing all sorts of buildings. For office buildings for both government and commercial clients, green is the new black.
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t starts with the overall design concept and goes right through to even tenancy lease restrictions that define what tenants can and cannot do within their own tenancies in order to achieve “green” performance. Green considerations can affect everything…
Conceptualisation & Design
The new office accommodation for the Centrelink NSO (National Support Office) building in Canberra had to set a few standards. It targeted and has achieved a 4.5 star ABGR rating. Set on a 5.4 hectare greenfield site in Tuggeranong, the $130 million building provides some 50,000m2 of gross floor area for
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approximately 2,800 employees, many of whom had been accommodated in sub standard buildings around the city, many of which did not meet Commonwealth environmental standards, particularly with regard to energy consumption. Occupants are increasingly seeking out greener buildings, because they can deliver a range of advantages such as financial benefits through direct operational savings, healthier workplaces, increased productivity and recruitment and marketing opportunities. The complex essentially comprises two separate medium rise rectangular buildings, each some 180m long , on either side of a 6-level glass atrium which runs the length of the buildings and faces north. The buildings share a common single level basement that runs under the atrium as well the two buildings, and there is also an access tunnel underneath the building that provides access to all lifts and service risers without affecting occupants. Construction of the office buildings commenced in September 2005, and was completed in July 2007. As well as being the most striking visual feature and the iconic architectural statement for the complex, the atrium is the social focus of the development and the core common activity centre where occupants can interact. Shaded by louvres, the atrium can be accessed by staff by way of breakout spaces, meeting rooms and cafes. The atrium was the most challenging part of the project for builder Brookfield Multiplex, largely because of its size, and because it was also one of the most expensive features of the project. Canberra’s hot summers and cold winters also presented numerous special challenges, with particular attention required to ensure careful control of both structural movement and thermal transfer within the building and between the exterior and interior.