171 Collins Street achieves a 6 Star Victorian first

171 Collins Street achieves a 6 Star Victorian first
Mark BaljakAugust 20, 2016

Three years after its completion, 171 Collins Street has achieved a milestone by becoming the first building in Victoria to notch a 6 Star NABERS Energy rating. In doing so it becomes only the second commercial office buildings in Australia to gain the rating.

Jointly owned by Cbus Property and Charter Hall, 171 Collins Street's gong is in line with the objectives of City of Melbourne's concerted sustainable building push which in part encourages developers, building owners and facility managers to constructing or retrofit their buildings in order to become as efficient as possible.

Built by Brookfield Multiplex, 171 Collins Street is the design work of Bates Smart with engineering by Umow Lai. In taking the 6 Star NABERS Energy rating, the commercial tower achieved its target of emitting 50% less greenhouse gases than a building with a 5 Star rating; a 5 star rating was long considered the benchmark for contemporary sustainable office buildings.

Sustainability features

  • 9 storey glass atrium that maximises natural light
  • Floor to ceiling double glazing with thermal insulation to help maintain occupant comfort
  • High-performance ceramic fritted glass façade to reduce heat gain and glare
  • Dedicated waste storage area for separation, collection and recycling
  • Advanced rainwater and greywater reuse system
  • Highly flexible under-floor air distribution system for superior indoor air quality
  • Highly optimised lighting design with extensive controls for occupancy and daylight harvesting
  • Energy-efficient fixtures and fittings
  • Low-VOC and formaldehyde emissions
  • Premium end-of-trip facilities with 280 bicycle spaces, showers, change rooms and lockers
  • Destination controlled lift systems
171 Collins Street achieves a 6 Star Victorian first
171 Collins Street from above. Image: Cbus Property

What these sustainability features equate to, relative to a 5 star rated building, is a real world saving of more than 1.3 million kilograms of carbon dioxide per annum, or put differently 568,000 litres of petrol or the annual energy use for 139 homes. 171 Collins Street's 6 Star NABERS Energy rating is in addition to the development being awarded a 6 Star Green Star As Built Office V2 rating by the Green Building Council of Australia. The latter was done so with a record score on the rating scale.

Additionally, 171 Collins Street features an Australian-first ceiling tile system that absorbs office pollutants and creates a healthier office environment for workers. The development also includes a greywater treatment program that collects used water from the end-of-trip facilities for reuse throughout the building’s cooling towers and toilets, allwoing for a 90% offset of the cooling towers’ water consumption.

The building's radiant cooling and heating system and an under-floor air distribution network also provides an energy efficient thermal outcome internally.

What the say

171 Collins Street is a lighthouse example of how premium grade buildings can deliver architectural beauty, world leading sustainability and exceptional occupant amenities without compromise.

It is a true 21st century workplace and embodies all that we strive to achieve at Cbus Property in delivering projects that are of international architectural value and achieve exceptional environmental outcomes. This milestone caps off several years of dedication by the entire project team as well as 171 Collins Street’s tenants in delivering and maintaining a truly green and sustainable building.

Adrian Pozzo, Chief Executive Officer, Cbus Property

We are very pleased with the performance of 171 Collins Street. It is a building that continues to be recognised for its innovation in sustainability and we hope sets the benchmark for the industry into future.

It has been a terrific effort to get to where we are today and key to that has been ensuring all team members, contractors and tenant customers share our vision to create a sustainable workplace

Adrian Taylor, Head of Office, Charter Hall

Mark Baljak

Mark Baljak was a co-founder of Urban.com.au. He passed away on Thursday 8th of November 2018 after a battle with cancer. He was 37. Mark was a keen traveller, having visited all six permanently-inhabited continents and had a love of craft beer. One of his biggest passions was observing the change that has occurred in Melbourne over the past two decades. In that time he built an enormous library of photos, all taken by him, which tracked the progress of construction on building sites from across metropolitan Melbourne.

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