88 GEORGE STREET
by Candice Lim

Carbon neutral by 2010, 80 percent reduction in carbon footprint of its precincts by 2020—Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority is moving towards sustainability in a big way. The New South Wales government agency responsible for managing the city’s waterfront locations announced its sustainability strategy in 2007, and the refurbishment of 88 George Street is the first of many projects “along the way to achieving those goals”, says Dr. Robert Lang, the agency’s Chief Executive.

FIRST SUSTAINABLE HERITAGE LISTED BUILDING
And it was a successful first step: In December 2007, 88 George Street was acknowledged by the Green Building Council as the first State heritage listed building to be awarded a 5-Star Green Star “Office Design” rating, setting a new benchmark for green design for heritage buildings.

Still undergoing progressive upgrading, the project—made up of two interconnected warehouses number 88 and number 86—will offer approximately 2,200 square metres of commercial office and retail space when completed. More importantly, it will result in a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of around 136 tonnes per year (equivalent to removing 30 cars from the road).

SUSTAINABILITY
The refurbishment takes into consideration the main objectives of incorporating sustainable design principles; conserving the building’s heritage and character; and optimising the use of all the spaces, location and harbour views.

The sustainability initiatives demonstrated in the project include:
• Indoor Environment Quality

• High ventilation rates (50 percent higher than the Australian standard)
• Thermal mass of existing sandstone walls and floor helps stabilise internal temperatures
• Use of low volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, adhesives and sealants and low formaldehyde medium density fibreboard (MDF) during construction
• Operable windows enable tenants to turn off air-conditioning and make use of external air conditions
• More than 60 percent of office space has an external view
• Use of insulation reduces internal noise levels and improves occupant comfort
• Installation of air exhausts on each floor to help eliminate indoor air pollutants created by activities such as photocopying and printing

• An innovative approach to air-conditioning using a future district cooling system will deliver energy savings of up to 40 percent and cut carbon dioxide emission by an estimated 136,000 kilogrammes per year
• Installing individual tenant metering to allow better management of energy use
• Installing lighting zones of less than 100 square metres on every floor to reduce energy consumption
• Lighting on daylight sensors

• Use of water-efficient fittings and fixtures
• Installation of a Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV) air-conditioning system linked to a future harbour heat exchange will save an estimated 3.8 million litres of potable water each year, the equivalent of 1.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools
• Tenant metering

• A dedicated recycling facility for tenants
• Reduction of builders waste to landfill
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) alternatives have been used to replace 60 percent of the PVC normally installed in such a building

• Installation of cycle facilities including bike racks, lockers and showers
• Fewer parking spaces to encourage walking, cycling or taking public transport to work
• 25 percent of parking spaces allocated for small cars only

• Using the harbour to exchange heat from the building’s air-conditioning system to replace cooling towers and reduce water flow to the sewer
• Use of no ozone-depleting refrigerants in the cooling system
• Minimisation of façade lighting, thus limiting light spill to the surrounding environment
  

HERITAGE
In terms of design, it was driven mainly by the building’s history and character. The heritage fabric was limited predominantly to the perimeter walls, which were left largely intact. The work done both inside and outside the building was clearly contemporary. Internally, the foyer was conceived as a concrete bridge between George Street and the lift core and stair which was re-clad in steel plate. These raw, self-finishing materials link the project to its industrial past.

At a precinct level, an existing triangular remnant of the main street configurations was developed into a new public space. While part of the project, this space was understood separately to the building as part of the complex landscapes characteristic of The Rocks area. Thus, the relationship between the urban space and the heritage fabric is incidental at this point, preserving the identity of both. The use of concrete and galvanised handrails again ties the materiality of the project back to the history of The Rocks.

The building’s heritage and sustainability initiatives were recently recognised at the 2008 Energy Australia National Trust Awards with 88 George St building upgrade receiving the Energy Australia Award: Conservation–Energy Management.

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