8 Chifley named Australia's best development

At the 2015 Property Council of Australia/Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards, held in Sydney on 1 May, Australia’s best developments, projects and professionals were acknowledged and celebrated for their achievements.

Dominating the awards was the 34-storey office building 8 Chifley, owned by Mirvac Group and located in Sydney’s CBD. The building not only took out the Best Sustainable Development - New Buildings and Best Office Development awards, but also the prestigious Australian Development of the Year award.

The building is made up of two stacked modules of 12 and nine floors, with seven ‘vertical villages’ ranging between two and four storeys. According to Ken Morrison, the CEO of the Property Council of Australia, Mirvac “capitalised on the constraints of a relatively small site to design a groundbreaking building that delivers an extremely flexible working environment able to respond quickly to changing demands in the marketplace”.

8 Chifley recently achieved a 6 Star Green Star rating and is currently targeting a 5 Star NABERS Energy rating. Its many sustainability features - including a trigeneration system, T5 lighting, active and passive sun shading, chilled beam air conditioning and natural ventilation, blackwater treatment and water recycling, and building intelligence and monitoring systems - contribute to emissions which are 75% lower than those of a typical Sydney CBD office building.

The managing director of RLB NSW, Matthew Harris, said the judges were impressed with Mirvac’s commitment to create a new Sydney landmark that was both efficient and elegant. He said, “Australia has an international reputation for delivering smart, sustainable office buildings, and we applaud Mirvac for setting future workplace trends both nationally and globally.”

To view the full list of 2015 award winners, visit https://www.etouches.com/ehome/awards2015/2015winners/.