215 Adelaide Street, Brisbane, QLD

The 215 Adelaide Street tower block (circa 1984) is located in the heart of the Brisbane CBD and comprises approximately 30,000 m² of commercial office and retail space. The building footprint includes 29 levels of commercial office, retail and food courts on the ground level and three levels of underground car parking.

NDY has had involvement with 215 Adelaide Street since the early 1990’s, providing specialist services for control upgrade projects, chiller refrigerant conversions, food court developments and tenancy reviews.

In 2008, NDY was commissioned to undertake a NABERS energy assessment to determine potential upgrade options. On the basis of the initial report computer thermal modelling and a detailed investigation was commissioned. The energy modelling provided a strong foundation for a scope of major building upgrade works to be agreed with the building owner.

In 2010, the building underwent a comprehensive $5.4 million building services upgrade. The primary objective was to improve the building’s NABERS Energy Base building rating from 2.5 to 4.5 Stars whilst modernising key services elements including the chilled water system and light fittings.

Key components of the upgrade package included:

Three replacement chillers
New cooling towers
Building Management System (BMS)
Installation of a Smart Metering System.

After a year of planning, six months of upgrading and a further year of fine tuning, a 4.5 Star NABERS Energy Rating was achieved at the end of 2011 and a 5 Star NABERS Energy Rating at the end of 2012. The building also achieved its first 4.5 Star NABERS Water Rating in 2012.

The upgrade works were carried out whilst the building was almost 100% occupied and was largely managed with minimal impact to tenants.

Awards

2013 Property Council of Australia Innovation & Excellence Awards – Winner, Thinc Award for Best Sustainable Development – Existing Buildings
2013 Qld Premier’s Sustainability Awards – Finalist, Built Environment Category.