52 Goulburn Street, Sydney, NSW

Located within the World Square landmark development in Sydney’s CBD, 52 Goulburn Street underwent a major refurbishment in 2022 aimed at modernising the commercial space of this 10-storey A-Grade building which features a stunning 338 m² central atrium. Initiated following the departure of a long-term tenant, the project involved returning 9 levels of office to a base building state and introducing premium end-of-trip (EOT) facilities, bike storage and a wellness room.

The goal was to revitalise the building and position it as an attractive, sustainable and technologically-advanced space for future tenants. At the core of our client’s vision was a commitment to the circular economy, focusing on the sustainable reuse of the existing building, optimising on-site materials and minimising waste throughout the project. The refurbishment was designed with people and the planet front of mind, aiming to attract tenants while maintaining and enhancing the site’s impressive existing sustainability credentials.

The building was already operating at 6 star NABERS Energy and 4.5 star NABERS Water, far above many of its peers. Therefore, with the addition of the EOT facilities (another great sustainability initiative for the site to decrease the emissions of its visitors), it was a priority that the NABERS ratings were not impacted.

NDY undertook a comprehensive technical audit to understand the building operations and how the upgrades would impact current performance. Through detailed engagement with our sustainability team, we were able to ensure neither the NABERS Energy nor NABERS Water ratings would be compromised. In fact, our sustainability team enhanced the ratings at the site, delivering the 4 Star Green Star Performance rating for 52 Goulburn – the first in the Brookfield Portfolio to achieve this rating and the catalyst for the extended portfolio to be rated.

The challenges encountered during the project added complexity that required meticulous coordination and innovative engineering solutions. For example, to overcome limited head heights due to the existing car park structure, NDY’s in-house CAD team used regularly-maintained 3D fly-through models to ensure the services would fit in the limited space. An external contractor also conducted a survey to navigate this spatial constraint effectively.

Another challenge was compliance with the Design and Building Practitioners (DBP) Act, introducing a new layer of regulatory demands that necessitated a higher level of design documentation and coordination with contractors before production of final drawings. Finally, working within a building previously occupied by high-security tenants presented another challenge, limiting accessible information before the design phase.

Throughout these challenges, the engineering design solutions showcased ingenuity and adaptability.

Our in-house lighting team provided the architectural lighting design for the repurposed lobby and atrium spaces. A key focus of the lighting design was to highlight and celebrate the architecture and materiality of the lobby space and to create an exciting welcome experience. This was achieved by providing a layered lighting solution, focusing on accenting vertical surfaces with lighting and introducing feature decorative lighting elements to provide a sense of warmth and ambience.

A comprehensive assessment of existing electrical system capacities and the reticulation of cabling through 11 stories was conducted to facilitate the installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargers for the building while helping ensure future readiness for additional chargers.

Fire-protection measures were tailored to the unique requirements surrounding the EV charging systems, ensuring safety and compliance with current regulations.

New drainage and water services were introduced into an existing concrete slab and complemented by a smart command system allowing building managers to monitor water usage across the facility. The building’s sustainability is enhanced by the utilisation of heat pumps for hot water, replacing the conventional gas system.

The provision of 3 new lifts, as well as a destination control system for new and existing lifts, marked a significant upgrade in vertical transportation.

The introduction of an industry capability network (ICN) serves as a new communications backbone for all base-building engineering systems consisting of both active and passive network infrastructure. The ICN is provided with dual core switch for redundancy. In addition, managed IT services were provided to support ICN resiliency and enhance cyber security features, as well as a new centralised and virtualised machine (VM) server for all base building engineering software to operate on.

The building management system (BMS) underwent a substantial upgrade to offer tenants and base-building management enhanced visibility into operations, encompassing equipment functionality, data usage, energy tracking, instantaneous data and trend logs.

The implementation of a new security management system supports the entire base building, seamlessly integrating with various other systems including the lift destination control system (DCS), video surveillance, intercom, smart locker and fire systems. This integration extends to the EV charger control system, enabling authorised users to activate and use the chargers. Additionally, a new video surveillance system has been provided to enhance security measures for 52 Goulburn Street, covering all publicly accessible areas (including lift lobbies and lifts) to protect building tenants, visitors and assets.

Overall, the refurbishment successfully overcame multifaceted challenges through collaborative and innovative engineering solutions. The result is a revitalised commercial space that not only fulfills current tenant requirements but also positions itself for the future, embracing sustainability, technology and transparency.