A benchmark in workplace evolution

Collaborating with client Cbus Property, Woods Bagot and Multiplex, the $150 million project involved WGA’s cross-discipline expertise, with its Adelaide-based team delivering structural, civil and geotechnical engineering solutions for the multi-storey office building that also encompassed the design of carparks and met the brief of achieving Green Star sustainability certification.

83 Pirie Street is a 21-level office tower with 30,000m² of commercial office space with large flexible floor plates of 1,780m² and 360m² of ground floor and laneway lettable retail space. The building also includes a much-coveted 3-storey carpark with 120 spaces, a triple-height foyer, a wellness centre, end-of-trip facilities and a rooftop terrace with panoramic city views.

The building was very much designed with sustainability in mind, looking ahead to what the ideal workplace of the future will look like. This includes the incorporation of sustainable design features including electric car charging stations, considerable natural light from the building’s three street frontages, and drought-resistant landscaping on the rooftop terrace. The building has achieved energy approvals, including 5.5-star NABERS Energy 6-Star Green Star Base Building rating and a Gold WELL rating.

Notable features and design elements of 83 Pirie Street

A number of interesting features and facets have been incorporated, including:

• Raking or vertically-inclined columns from the ground up to level 4 — an architectural feature that allows for increased floor area at higher elevations.
• An integrated building maintenance unit — essentially a crane on a rail — to allow for safer façade and window cleaning.
• Ability to withstand a 1-in-1000-year extreme wind or earthquake event, meeting the National Construction Code’s Building Importance Level 3 criteria.

The integrated design and construction team led to rapid build efficiencies

The collaborative working relationship between WGA and architects Woods Bagot led to various initiatives that aided in the rapid construction of the commercial building:

•  A column grid for the structure worked across the various competing retail, carpark, and office floor types, and allowed for the columns to run continuously through the building. This resulted in the following benefits:
• Transfer structures could be excluded from the building, which resulted in significant cost, material and time gains for the construction works
• A consistent column grid resulted in an efficient and cost-effective floor plate design, which was replicated throughout the building
• By incorporating car parking levels above the ground floor, offering significant cost and time savings to the project while also mitigating the risk of encountering contaminated material during the excavation of the basement levels of underground car parking had been required.

Precast Concrete Elements

Early in the design and construction phase of the project, Multiplex identified concrete elements that could be precast offsite, rather than poured onsite. This allowed for both time savings to the overall program of works and reduced manual handling on site, reducing occupational health and safety risks during construction.

Multiple Facade Types

The architectural design called for multiple facade types throughout the building. Each facade required unique structural responses from the base building, however, WGA’s design team could meet facade load requirements without requiring significant changes to the overall structural design.

Combined, these initiatives assisted Multiplex to achieve its fastest rate of constructability ever achieved on a multi-storey building project and in it completing the build three months ahead of the original contracted schedule.

The anchor tenant for the building is South Australia’s Department for Infrastructure and Transport, consolidating the department’s seven city locations into one when the lease agreement for ten floors begins in 2023.

With a prime location, high-end facilities and smart approach to office design, 83 Pirie Street is forecast to be one of the most coveted commercial properties in Adelaide’s central business district.

With offices located across Australia and New Zealand, our buildings portfolio is ever expanding, with major projects currently underway for public and private sector clients across health and aged care, education, commercial, retail and justice.

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