Fender Katsalidis has been awarded the Lord Mayor’s Brisbane Buildings that Breathe Architecture Award for designing the Midtown Centre in Brisbane’s CBD.
Presented by the AIA and Brisbane City Council, the award recognises outstanding subtropical building design in Brisbane and all-around excellence in sustainable construction. The 26-storey building amalgamated two former government office buildings at the junction of Charlotte and Mary Streets.
The adaptive reuse of two existing buildings is regarded as an Australian first by the practice.
“As Architects, we are gifted with both the opportunity and responsibility to create legacy within our cities; Midtown Centre is a wonderful example of how old building stock can be adapted and re-used to successfully create new legacy.” says Fender Katsalidis Principal Megan Rodgers.
“Midtown Centre presented our team with a unique opportunity to provide campus style commercial building accommodation within the Brisbane CBD. Through the injection of a bridging floor plate and external green seam, the two end of life commercial buildings have been amalgamated across adjacent cross-block sites.
The two buildings are connected via a public accessway, which realises the vision of Brisbane City Council for an increase in laneway and city block linkages.
Through adaptively reusing as opposed to knocking down and rebuilding on the site, approximately 11,000 tonnes of carbon emissions have been mitigated, which equates to running the building fully occupied for four years. The two buildings have become a flagship of contemporary workplace design, with 3,000sqm of space dedicated to activated greenery across outdoor terraces, double-height sky gardens, mixed-mode atriums and balconies.
Rodgers says she hopes the process of innovating or ‘relifing’ existing buildings adopted by the practice will inspire other Australian designers to design sustainably.
“Innovation in architecture is paramount to reaching net-zero emissions; by looking at the potential of what already exists, we have been able to significantly reduce the environmental impact a new build of this size would typically create,” she says.
Midtown Centre typifies the practicality and architectural expertise of adaptive reuse, which enables ecologically sustainable commercial outcomes. To find out more, visit midtowncentre.com.au.
