one40william Gets Five

February 11th, 2009

The contemporary one40william project in Perth has achieved a ‘5 Star’ Green Star rating, setting the bar for future developments in the CBD.

“The business case for the project is compelling. One40 William is the first 5 Star Green Star building in Perth and it is located above the William Street Train station with direct access to the platforms, which not only provides prime commercial space but also a myriad of retail opportunities,” says Design Principal Dirk Collins.

The multilevel design places the highest tier on the north side to provide a natural shading system for the lower office levels. This, paired with the use of a single glazed façade, prevents excessive heat gain in summer while radiating warmth to its surrounds at night.

The stepped and angled floor plan places more than 80 percent of its area within eight metres of full height external windows. This allows for minimal artificial light. In addition the landscape is irrigated using rainwater harvested on site.

Featuring rooftop and surrounding gardens as well as a high proportion of fresh air circulation in the office spaces, the design has a focus on worker comfort.

This $350 million project will provide the CBD with 36,000sqm of commercial office space and 6,000sqm of retail, food and entertainment tenancies. “[Our] intention for the project was ideally that the users could not tell where the street stopped and the new development began. There is an inherent sense of respect for the surrounding fabric and of being a ’good neighbour’,” Collins says.

With the Western Australian Government taking on a major tenancy, the objectives were to provide a public amenity and iconic form, which Hassell has aimed to achieve with superior design and materials rather than size.

The building’s unique design is intended to give one40william landmark status. The project is expected to be completed in early 2010.

HASSELL
hassell.com.au

Cbus Property
cbusproperty.com.au

More from the Project Architects:

“Our client’s brief was to produce a landmark development which provided a public amenity and iconic form whilst meeting the project’s commercial requirements. It is important to realise that CBus Property’s instruction to Hassell was that the best development for the site need not mean building to maximum potential at the expense of amenity or public spirit.

“The retail levels respond to the scale of the adjacent heritage buildings and are designed around an arcade arrangement which replicates the layout of laneways which might have broken up this city block in earlier times. The next three levels of the building, which relate to the adjacent mid-scale buildings such as the GPO, step back from the retail levels to emphasise their difference.

“Above this are the 15 floors of the office building, forming three distinct wings which rise up from the south to a high point to the north. This stepped arrangement has several advantages – it brings the building scale back down to Murray Street, allows sunlight to street level and makes the building self-shading.

“The built form generally conforms to the north-south grid so that the distant view of the building is in harmony with the cityscape. On closer view however, the wings of the building are angled so that the perspective as you move around it keeps subtly shifting and hopefully continually surprising people with a new way of seeing.“

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