A pivotal new workplace for National Australia Bank (NAB), 700 Bourke Street is a building designed around the aspiration and future work styles of the organisation, rather than the organisation adapting to the constraints of the building.

Following the establishment of a collaborative working process, a rigorous consultation period commenced using the site and an innovative approach to workplace design as the catalyst to provide a fully flexible, agile working environment for NAB.

The integration of the project from both sides of the design team (Base Building and Tenancy) enabled all the initiatives to be incorporated into the building seamlessly from the start of the project rather than a tenancy demand and then an add-on. The same companies worked on both the base building and the tenancy for architectural and interior design as well as services. This project was a true integrated design which also flowed into the construction phase.

A radical architectural intervention provided the building’s signature triangular form; a 75,000m2 vertical campus typology inverted to become a horizontally displaced mega-floorplate, unified by a central atrium. This has a fundamental impact of spatial connectivity which wraps itself around the organization in a true integrated matrix arrangement.

The design takes a real-time working approach, using the science of information-age mobility to create a collaborative environment achieving real efficiencies and improved business performance.

Key initiatives:

  • 6 Star Green Star Office Design v3
  • To minimise energy usage onsite, energy efficient light fittings have been installed alongside equipment which minimises energy usages such as variable speed drive motors for fans and pumps
  • For the base building, a gas-fired Tri-Generation system is in place to not only generate some electricity onsite, but also for use in heating hot water, domestic hot water and in the absorption chiller system to provide cooling for the base building air conditioning system.
  • Water efficient fixtures, fittings and white goods
  • The black water treatment system is provided for the building to collect and recycle black water onsite to be reused for the cooling towers
  • Rainwater harvesting is reused onsite for toilet flushing
  • Up to 30% of the concrete used in the building’s structure is recycled. Sustainable recycled timber flooring and joinery was used. Recycled formwork of certified timber and reused timber from previous projects. Over 80% of construction waste materials recycled
  • During construction, 90% of the waste collected onsite were either reused onsite or were diverted from landfill
  • A 700m2 roof top garden - provides NAB workforce with an outdoor space and enables NAB’s childcare facility to introduce an outdoor education programme
  • 600 bicycle spaces for our 5,600 occupants - provided onsite with 1,000 lockers and changing facilities which exceed the minimum planning and Green Star requirements
  • Solar controlled atrium to introduce natural light levels into the office space and to allow for air flow through the centre of the building, removing the need for exhaust fans

Photography by Shannon McGrath, Trevor Mein and Glenn Hester