This presentation has important lessons in the promotion of heritage engineering, demonstrating how existing buildings can be economically and sustainably reused rather than demolished. Design of the Quay Towers was by 3XN Australia and BVN Architecture, and engineers were Arup Pty Ltd and BG&E Consulting Engineers.

This reconstruction won two major awards in 2022.

1. International High-Rise Award, awarded by the City of Frankfurt, The German Architecture Museum (DAM), and DekaBank, the prize recognises a high-rise of “exemplary sustainability, outer shape, inner spatial qualities, and social aspects to form a superior building”. The Quay Towers came first out of a field of 33 world-wide contestants, with it being singled out for its “radical sustainability” that saved 7500 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions, compared to the impact of demolishing and rebuilding on the site
2. World Building of the Year Award, at the World Architecture Festival. Paul Finch, Programme Director of the Festival commented: “The winner was commissioned to provide a building on a world class site, and to retain a huge proportion of an existing fifty-year-old commercial tower. The result was an excellent example of adaptive re-use. It has an excellent carbon story, and it is an example of anticipatory workspace design produced pre-COVID which nevertheless has provided healthy and attractive space for post-pandemic users. The client was prepared to risk building out an idea on a speculative basis – it worked”.
   
   The presentation will cover the following learnings:

• Approach: The first aspect is a story of establishing the viability of a circular economy and reuse at an immense scale. Highlighting how the design team demonstrated that a solution based on reuse of the building fabric could be achieved in an economical manner.
• Implementation: How these very challenging objectives were practically achieved.
  
  Further learning outcomes will include:
• Space optimisation: How the building services, structure and architecture allowed for an effective reuse solution.
• Design: The structural “gymnastics”, the engineering involved in converting a 1970s building into a 21st Century, post-Covid office space, and the digital strategy across all engineering design elements.
• Innovation: Such as double deck lifts, the first such installation in an existing commercial office premium grade building in the world.
• Façade design: How the façade was engineered to balance daylight, energy, glare and views.
• Outcomes: Including the overarching sustainability outcomes of the project, beyond just the reuse).

About the Speakers