1 Bligh Street achieves world leadership 6 Star Green Star and highest rating in Sydney

Co-owners of 1 Bligh Street DEXUS Property Group, DEXUS Wholesale Property Fund and Cbus Property today announced that the 1 Bligh Street office development in Sydney has been awarded a 6 Star Green Star Office Design v2 Certified rating.

1 Bligh Street has also been awarded the highest Green Star rating score in Sydney/NSW, which includes the maximum allowable five points for innovation in categories such as environmental design initiative and exceeding Green Star benchmarks.

DEXUS CEO, Victor Hoog Antink said “Every aspect of 1 Bligh Street, from Australia’s first high rise double skin facade to the unique full building height naturally ventilated atrium, is designed to optimise sustainability and tenant amenity throughout the 28 level development. As co-owners, we are delighted that our vision to deliver the next generation of sustainable office buildings has been recognised through the achievement of a world leadership 6 Star Green Star rating.”

The double skin facade system is a major contributor to the 6 Star Green Star rating and allows the energy consumption of the building to be kept at a minimum, and facilitates the energy performance to be maintained at 5 Stars NABERS Energy levels with a 42% CO2 reduction when compared to a similar sized conventional office tower.

Other innovations which contributed to 1 Bligh Street’s leading score and sustainability credentials include:

• the solar cooling system which feeds into the tri-generation system that reduces the strain on the CBD grid infrastructure by a further 25% and provides free cooling for the building
• the specially formulated high strength concrete used and the column design which reduces the number of columns, and therefore minimises the amount of concrete used
• the first use of a black water recycling in a high rise office building that will save 100,000 litres of drinking water a day, equivalent to an Olympic swimming pool every two weeks
• state-of-the-art water efficient fittings, rainwater harvesting and fire system water reuse
• all timber and plywood used in the structure is recycled or from FSC accredited sources
• 90% of all steel used in the project comprises more than 50% recycled content

80% of all PVC type products have been replaced with non PVC materials
Grocon CEO, Daniel Grollo, who is also a founding member of the GBCA, said he was proud that all involved had shown world leadership on this project. “This is a fantastic project in the centre of Sydney and symbolises a new way forward in sustainability features,” he said.

“The use of unique high strength concrete with a lower cement content means there is 5,768 tonnes less of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere and to date, we have recycled 37,000 tonnes or 94% of all construction waste produced on the project.”

Green Star is a comprehensive, national, voluntary environmental rating system undertaken by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) that evaluates the environmental design and construction of buildings. The 6 Star Green Star Rating is the highest awarded by the GBCA.

“We congratulate the co-owners DEXUS Property Group, DWPF and Cbus Property for this world class achievement,” says the Chief Executive of the GBCA, Romilly Madew. “Achieving five innovation points (out of five) reflects that 1 Bligh Street is a truly ground-breaking green building. Following DEXUS’s 123 Albert Street in Brisbane receiving a 6 Star Green Star and DEXUS’s/Cbus Property’s pursuit for sustainability throughout their respective portfolios, 1 Bligh Street further confirms the co-owners’ commitment to sustainability and green building innovation.”

When 1 Bligh Street is completed in May 2011 the building will provide a new benchmark for sustainable office space. 1 Bligh will provide the highest levels of tenant amenity including spectacular views in all directions, in particular, the premium northern aspect over Sydney Harbour and Circular Quay.

The unique full height atrium and elliptical shaped floor plates enables 74% of the building to be within 8m of either the facade or the atrium, providing large amounts of natural light into the building and spectacular views in all directions. Occupying a premium corporate address in the heart of Australia’s financial capital, 1 Bligh will be a striking new addition to the Sydney skyline.
For further information contact:

DEXUS/DWPF/Cbus: Emma Parry 0421 000 329
Grocon: Jane Wilson 0407 831 456

Published at http://www.gbca.org.au/media-centre/industry-news/1-bligh-street-achieves-world-leadership-6-star-green-star/2878.htm 29/3/2010