Positioned just east of Melbourne’s famous South Melbourne Market, Hickory’s Market Lane development is the office of the future. Designed by Elenberg Fraser and built by Hickory Group, the mixed-use commercial building comprises five levels of office accommodation, ground floor retail space as well as a hotel-standard end of trip facility in the basement. The development features a lush atrium that enables filtered natural light and fresh air to be distributed across every level, this is the high-tech office of the future.

Market Lane features Caroma Smart Command® in its bathrooms and end-of-trip facilities as a means of both boosting the overall sustainability profile, and gaining important usage data that can be used to drive progressive efficiencies over time. Caroma Smart Command is an ecosystem of intelligent tapware, showers, urinals, Invisi toilets and leak detection valves that enable building managers to monitor water use in real-time and make smarter decisions that reduce maintenance costs, while improving hygiene and up time.

In total, there are 84 Caroma Smart Command touch-free toilet panels at Market Lane, installed in every bathroom with Caroma Sanitaryware; 16 Caroma Smart Command Urinals in men’s bathrooms; 33 Caroma Smart Command touch free taps, optimised to 3.5 Litres per minute in every bathroom; and 12 Caroma Smart Command Intelligent Showers, installed in the End of Trip Basement.

The fixtures were installed with clear goals in mind focused on water savings and improving the tenant experience, namely:

  • Reduce the water usage in bathrooms and give guidance on how to improve
  • Measure the tenant experience and improve it
  • Provide a pathway to maintenance cost reductions during building lifespan
     

So how did Caroma Smart Command stack up?

Water efficiency was approached from two angles, the technical features of the Caroma Smart Command fixtures which save water (optimised tapware and shower pre-warming recapture) and the close monitoring of behavioural data and education for tenants on water saving behaviours (using more half-flush, choosing urinals rather than toilets and shorter showers)  With the building only 30% occupied throughout the study, Caroma Smart Command has driven almost 37kL in water savings (5% of the required savings for a NABERS half-star improvement), along with $132.50 in direct cost savings, 33kg fewer carbon emissions. With consultation from leading independent engineering consultants in sustainable design solutions, Floth, these numbers are expected to rise to 486kL water savings, $1750 cost savings, 433kg carbon emissions, and 67% of water savings required for a half-star NABERS uplift at full occupancy.

Perhaps one of the most valuable features is the ability to monitor the number of activations across each fixture and for the fixtures to alert if they require maintenance. Number of activations is a key indicator of required maintenance, and by keeping track of which fixtures are used most, building managers can undertake predictive maintenance, rather than waiting for something to break before fixing it. This not only saves time and money, but greatly improves tenant experience by ensuring fixtures are in working order more of the time.

Finally, the cost savings over the 15-year lifespan of Caroma Smart Command are truly eye-opening. It’s estimated that fixture lifecycle savings will be in excess of $49,000, while the potential predictive maintenance savings could exceed $388,000.

With savings like this, it’s easy to understand why Caroma Smart Command is a smart choice from efficiency, sustainability, and financial perspectives. But add to that the range’s sleek, modern aesthetic and the added insight into hygiene and behavioural benefits the data enables, and it becomes clear that Caroma Smart Command really is the full package. 

Caroma Smart Command fixtures and fittings supplied by Harvey Norman Commercial Victoria.