Government office achieves 6 star for design

Sustainable design uses bushfire-affected timber

The Hassell-designed Government Services Office development in Dandenong, Victoria, has achieved the highest sustainability rating available from the Green Building Council of Australia.

A 6 star Green Star Office Design base building sustainability rating is considered a ‘world leadership’ category.

The building, which is being developed and built by Grocon, is part of the VicUrban-led Revitalising Central Dandenong urban renewal initiative and co-locates four different state government departments into a single, purpose-built workplace.

Among sustainable design merits contributing to the rating is the introduction of a patterned frit element to the external glazing of the building. It acts as a veil to reduce thermal heat load and solar glare while allowing natural daylight to permeate the building’s interior.

The project features more than 14,000 m2 of PCA A-Grade open-plan office space that is linked through naturally ventilated pocket atria and a landscaped roof terrace for communal use by staff and visitors. An underfloor air distribution system provides healthy indoor air quality for staff and is far less energy intensive than traditional mechanical ventilation systems.

An initiative to use bushfire affected timber - sourced from trees destroyed during the 2009 Victorian bushfires - has perhaps cemented the project as a benchmark for sustainable design.

Along with the 6 star rating, it is also designed to achieve a 4.5 star NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) base building rating and fitout ratings of 5 star Green Star and 5 star NABERS.

The Government Services Office is due for completion at the end of 2011 and is set to be an instantly recognisable icon of the ‘new Dandenong’.