1200 buildings mcc 500 collins st case study

8/8/2019 1200 Buildings MCC 500 Collins St Case Study

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500 Collins Street

MELBOURNE

Building Refurbishment Projec t

About 500 Collins Street

The c onstruction of 500 Co llins Street wa s c om pleted in 1970. For many

years the building enjoyed an enviable reputation for its quality of

construc tion reflec ting mod ern building standards and services of the

time . As a c onseq uence it attrac ted a high tena ncy p rofile.

By 2002, however, when the building was put on the market, it had

deteriorated to a low B grade standard through gradual ageing and

obsolescence.

Despite its general decline, it had managed to retain the support of

ma ny qua lity tena nts. This wa s in part a reflec tion of the strong

fundamentals intrinsic to the building (its floor plate size and

configuration, first rate location) but also the sound on-site building

management.

It was these attributes that led the building’s new owner to decide

tha t it wa s suitab le for a substa ntial refurbishment . Two key cond itions

atta c hed to the d ec ision to undertake the project were:

1. The p reservation o f the ma jority of the p rop erty’s renta l inc om eduring up grad e through tena nt retention: and

2. The a ttainment of the highest p rac tic al environmental

effic ienc y upo n co mp letion of the projec t.

These fa c tors p resented significant c ha llenge s, as d id the need for the

projec t to deliver a c omm erc ial outcom e.



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The up grade p roc ess c an be summ arised as follow s:

Ide ntificat ion of b roa d p roject objec tives

Formation of a projec t tea m Master planning

Construction

Indep end ent c om missioning and review

Prior to the refurbishment the building comprised approx. 26,000m² of

office spac e p lus three reta il shop s and parking fo r 140 c ars. The

refurbishment a c hieved a slight inc rea se in office net lettab le a rea , 10

additional shops (bringing the total to 13), a small decrease in carpark numbers but the addition of secure bicycle racking, change

rooms with shower facilities, disabled access and amenities, all to A

grade b uilding standa rd.

In short the building has been completely transformed, gaining a 5

Gree n Sta r v1 Design rating in the p roc ess. It was the first CBD build ing

refurbishment in Australia to ac hieve this ra ting. Moreo ver the

building’s occupancy has not fallen below 70 per cent during the

upgrade p rojec t.

KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:

The objec tives of the p rojec t we re a s follows:-

• Ac hievement of an A grad e building standa rd.

• Attainment of a high degree of environmental efficiency both

during the upg rade works and post-upg rad e op erations.

• Maximum tenant retention during the upgrade to maintain

optimum cash flow and provide a potential pool of long term

tenants.• Elevation of the tenancy profile through an increase in the

ave rag e size o f tena ncy, length of tenure a nd qua lity of tena nt.• Ac hieveme nt of a c om merc ia lly justifiab le return on investment.



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PROJECT TEAM

Of p articular signific ance is the fac t that an ESD consultant w as an

integ ra l pa rt of the projec t from the outset. Besides the p rojec t

ma nage r and ESD consultant, the projec t tea m included the follow ing

consultants:

• Architectural• Engineering (mec hanic a l, elec tric al, structural, hydraulic )• Planning

• Qua ntity surveying

•

Building surveying• Disability

• Fac ad e engineering• Hazardous Ma terials

• Waste M ana gem ent

• Acoustic• Car Park• Traffic

• Landscape design

• Property advisory• Independent Commissioning Agent

•

Art c onsultant• Plus active involvement by representatives of the committed

building owner.

MASTER PLANNING

Given the complexity of the project, a lengthy master-planning phase

wa s c omme nc ed in mid-2002 and too k almost a yea r to fina lise. This

master-planning was led by the Project Manager and involved all the

c onsultants and the build ing ow ner working in c lose lia ison.

Desp ite it b eing the first time mo st o f the c onsulta nts had worked on a

projec t w ith susta inab ility at its c ore a nd with a n ESD consultant as a

significant voice, the team quickly developed an ‘environmental

culture’ and with it a n expec tation that all de sign w ork would de velop

ag ainst the b ac kdrop of environmental effic ienc y.

The te am a lso a c c ep ted a strong d isc ip line o f analysing all elements

of the upgrade d esign a gainst ESD princ iples.



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During this time a wide range of initiatives were tested against the

broa d ESD ob jec tive, but as it wa s befo re the formation of the G reenBuild ing Counc il and pre-Green Sta r, there wa s no c lea r ra ting tool

available in Australia against which the anticipated design

performa nce c ould be mea sured.

It was important that the project team’s master-planning and

feasibility testing was not hurried but allowed to evolve in a cohesive

and c oordinate d m anner. By the end o f this pha se the projec t had

be en c lea rly defined.

This a llow ed op timum c onfidenc e in its outc om e, althoug h som eelements were left as optional for further investigation for

environmenta l and c om merc ia l merit (for example, VAV verses c hilled

be ams for air cond itioning).

CONSTRUCTION

The imperative of w orking a round an a lmo st fully oc c upied building

mea nt that the projec t had to b e c arefully stag ed . For examp le, the

ea rly foc us wa s on the upg rade (and in mo st c ases rep lac eme nt) of

the ma jor item s of ba se build ing plant and eq uipme nt. But this wa scomplic ate d b y the need to run existing p lant in tande m w ith the new

eq uipm ent to enab le the un-renova ted floors to c ontinue to op erate.

In many insta nc es the sta ge s ove r-lapped .

The sta ges were broa d ly as follow s:

Stage 1 - Plant replacement/upgrade – including chillers, cooling

towers, building maintenance unit, security system upgrade, main

electrical switchboard, building automation system, lift controls,

upgrade of lift ca rs, ga s fired boilers, insta lla tion o f solar panels on the

roof, upgrade of air handling units and emergency lighting inc omm on a rea s.

The fac ad e wa s a lso renovated . This involved replac ement of the

glazed spandrel panels, repair and refurbishment of the vertical

columns, repainting of the whole facade and erection of new

build ing signa ge a t roof leve l on a ll 4 fac es of the b uild ing. The a ir-

tightness of the facade was also checked prior to the installation of

the new chilled beam air conditioning as this is fundamental to the

performa nc e o f this system.



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Stage 2 - Maximisa tion of the reta il spac e – this inc lude d mo d ific a tion

and expa nsion of the Co llins Street reta il fronta ge , c rea tion of four

new shops along Church Lane plus a further six shops on the Little

Co llins Street p laza (now known a s ’Mc Crac kens’ ), and c rea tion of

back- of- house wet and dry storage facilities for the retailers plus

go od s delivery bay. New sec ure b ic yc le parking, new chang ing

rooms including shower and loc ker fac ilities we re p rovided ;

Upgrade of entries and public areas – this included new building

ent ries a t Collins and Little Co llins Streets, upgrad ing o f the ma in foyerand insta lla tion o f com missioned artworks.

Stage 3 - Office floor upgrades – rolled out progressively as leases

expired (ge nera lly three leve ls at a time). The ma jority of refurbished

floo rs have been leased to existing tena nts of the build ing. Works

included the complete strip out of each floor including lobbies and

amenities and replacement with new finishes plus the installation of

chilled bea m a ir cond itioning. Works also include the p rovision of

d isab led ame nities on va rious levels.

An extension of level 3 is being undertaken onto the podium roofspace of Level 2 to create a unique series of external meeting rooms

together with outdoor recreational areas and associated

landscaping.

At this time, all external work has been finalised and approx. 80 per

cent of the offic e floo rs have been c om pleted . The remaining five

are expe c ted to b e c ompleted within 18 months.

Two things have b een funda menta l to the suc c essful imp lementa tion

of this project:

1. Communication with tenants. Inevitably a project such as this

involves a level of disturbance but the impact of this is

manageable provided there is a high degree of

communication so that tenants are aware of what is

happening at any point in time and moreover aware in

ad vanc e of likely imp ac ts on their oc c upa ncy.



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2. Strong projec t ma nage me nt lea dership which rec og nises the

on-going operational imperatives of the building and itsservic es. Eleme nts suc h as noise c ont rol and temporary shut-

do wn o f servic es have to b e m ana ged to the highest level and

this has been rec og nised and prac tised throug hout this p rojec t.

ESD FEATURES OF THE PROJECT:

The p rinc ipa l ESD features of the p rojec t c an be g roup ed under the

follow ing hea d ings:-

Energy Savings – A significant reduction in energy consumption (30pe r c ent a ir c ond itioning, 50 per cent light ing, 15 per cent hot w ater) is

expec ted from the fo llow ing initiatives:

• installation of energy efficient Chilled Beam air conditioning

technology reducing the number of fans required for air

c ond itioning from four to two;• new energy e ffic ient chillers and c oo ling tow ers;

• solar pa nels for hot w ater supp lying 25 per cent of the d om estic

hot wa ter;• gas fired boilers (rep lac ing o il fired );

•

low energy T5 light fittings; and• strong focus on commissioning of plant and equipment for

effic ient op eration.

Materials – Materials selection criteria included:

• low emb od ied energy;

• PVC free whereve r po ssible;• low volatile orga nic c om pound s emissions;

• preference for materials containing a high recycled content;

and

•

selection of materials for durability and from sustainablesources.

Water – Very significant savings in water consumption (40 per cent to

50 per c ent) through:

• insta lla tion of wate rless urina ls;

• 3/6 litre c iste rns;

• flow restric ting devic es on fixtures; and

• rainwate r and c ondensate c ap ture for land sc ap e irriga tion.



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Maintenanc e – Red uce d m aintenanc e c osts due to :

• red uct ion in plant a nd eq uipm ent;• more effic ient p lant (in p articular the c hilled be am air c on w ith

less moving parts); and

• better monitoring of plant though a new building automation

system.

Indoo r Environment Quality – Improved IEQ achieved through:

•

an increase of 50 per cent more fresh air through the use ofc hilled bea m tec hnology ;

• rad iant c ooling p rovide d b y the chilled beam s;• low VOC materials and finishes; and

• red uc tion in indoo r ambient noise leve ls.

Social Dividends – Initiatives to improve occupant quality of life

including:

• provision of a dedicated secure bicycle compound for 82

bicycles plus visitor parking;

•

shower and c hange room fac ilities;• new d isab led toilets;

• c om missioned artwo rk embrac ing the history of the site; a nd

• c rea tion o f a vibrant retail precinct.

An independently conducted ‘productivity study’ jointly

com missioned by Susta inability Victo ria and the build ing ow ner to

examine pre- and po st-occ upa ncy tenant respo nses wa s c ond ucted .

The results found both qua lita tive and quantitative evidenc e o f the

benefits of the building’s green initiatives which in totality represented

imp roved workplac e satisfac tion and produc tivity.

This study wa s c ond uc ted with two e xisting tenants who moved from

un-refurbished floors to newly refurbished space and whilst this study

was small numerically, the following results give a clear indication of

the me rits of the ESD foc ussed projec t, for exam ple:

• 39 per cent reduction in average sick days per employee per

month after the m ove to the new offic e;

• 44 per cent reduction in average cost of sick leave after the

move;



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• Nine per cent improvement in average typing speeds of

secretarial staff and a significant improvement in overall

accuracy;

• A seven per cent increase in billings ratio, despite a decline in

averag e monthly hours wo rked. This wo uld ind ic a te that

desp ite wo rking less hours a fter the m ove , the time wo rked wa s

spent on b illab le wo rk.

There was a lso significant imp rovem ents in sta ff percep tion of the ir

hea lth in the ir two new o ffices, as shown b elow (bo th firms shown):

• Hea da c he – 7 pe r c ent / 20 pe r c ent red uc tion• Co ld a nd Flu - 21 pe r c ent / 24 pe r c ent reduc tion

• Fatigue - 26 pe r c ent / 16 pe r c ent reduc tion

INDEPENDENT COMMISIONING AND REVIEW

An independent commissioning agent (ICA) was appointed during

the d esign a nd c onstruc tion pha ses of the p rojec t. This role wa s

created to specify commissioning and tuning criteria and timing for

the project, plus to witness and overview the installation andcommissioning of the building services during the construction phase.

The ICA will have a n ong oing performa nc e monitoring a nd b uild ing

tuning role, to assist the op timal op eration o f the build ing.

OUTCOMES:

By any mea sure this unique projec t has been suc c essful. It has –

at tained an A g rad e status building;

ac hieved a higher than expec ted environme ntal effic ienc y – 5Green Sta r design rat ing incorpo ra ting 5 sta r ABGR (now

NABERS) design;

ma intained the on-going supp ort o f tena nts throughout w ith a n

oc c upa ncy not falling below 70 pe r c ent;

elevation of the tenancy profile – now 20 per cent less tenants

meaning tha t the ave rag e size o f tena ncy has inc rea sed ;

indicatively, achieved a commercial outcome in line with the

ad op ted c riteria.

1200 buildings mcc 500 collins st case study

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