55 Southbank Boulevard

The adaptive reuse of 55 Southbank Boulevard and accompanying Adina Hotel is Australia’s first cross-laminated timber extension project and the world’s tallest mass timber vertical extension. The development’s innovative use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) facilitated the addition of ten levels onto an existing 8-storey building, which was originally designed to only support an additional five floors of concrete framed structure. Cross-laminated timber presented a more sustainable and efficient approach to increasing density, providing 15,000 square metres of new floor space and 220 hotel rooms. Significantly lighter than concrete, no other material aside from timber would have allowed the additional ten levels to be built, with benefits including reduced carbon emissions, lower transport costs and time savings from off-site manufacturing. The use of approximately 1,730 tonnes of CLT absorbed nearly 2,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, converting the building into a carbon sink in the process. The new levels amplify the curved architecture of the existing building with a more contemporary articulation. Rather than simply repeat the prevailing spandrel banding, the addition responds with a series of recesses to deliver an elegant and dynamic, complementary façade expression. Representing a new paradigm for sustainable construction, this globally significant approach to adaptive reuse with 55 Southbank Boulevard is an approach that can be deployed in any number of global contexts and paves the way for a more sustainable future.