The Northbank Plaza project is one of Brisbane’s newest major commercial refurbishments and a great example of ‘retrogreening’. It serves as a model of how older buildings can be improved to achieve positive economic and environmental outcomes.
The building was originally opened in 1976 as the Brisbane Administration Centre. It was home to the Brisbane City Council until the beginning of 2007. The extensive refurbishment was completed over 22 levels of office (NLA of 26,300 m²). The total project value was A$25 million, of which building services represented almost 70%.
The main client requirements were to: refurbish the building to achieve PCA ‘A Grade’ standard; achieve a minimum 4 Star NABERS Office Energy with a 4.5 Star target; upgrade building fire and life safety to meet current standards; incorporate ESD initiatives possible within the constraints of the existing structure; ensure Telstra Building Engineering Performance Benchmarks were achieved; maximise the building’s NLA; and work within the project budget, which was initially set in 2004.
NDY incorporated the following initiatives into the building: a building user guide, carbon dioxide monitoring and control, daylight glare control, swirl diffusers to maximise comfort levels, dedicated tenant exhaust at each level. NDY applied a practical but innovative ESD approach to the upgrade and in doing so improved the performance of this 1970s building’s from a position of significant energy inefficiency to a 4 Star NABERS Office energy with a target of 4.5 Stars.
