Olderfleet

Olderfleet is designed as one of Melbourne’s exclusive PCA Premium Grade commercial buildings. Its Collins Street address comprises the existing ‘Olderfleet Buildings’, significant heritage fabric which is respectfully restored and unified with a new 40-storey commercial workplace tower. Situated between the heritage and contemporary buildings is a 25-metre-high atrium which serves as Olderfleet’s lobby. It’s light-filled, lofty interior heralds the premium experience on offer, placing the building’s occupants front and centre by providing comfort and convenience akin to a fine hotel. Rather than starting with a single vision, the design process began with an internal design charette held between Grimshaw’s London, Melbourne, New York and Sydney studios. This enabled four distinct concepts to be created, and, in turn, a diverse pool of progressive thinking to draw upon for the evolution of the final design undertaken by the Melbourne studio. In response to unique tenant requirements, the tower comprises three vertical neighbourhoods. Expansive client floors situated between each feature increased floor-to-floor heights and recessed external terraces to accentuate the tower’s mass. Floorplates are designed to create highly flexible, contiguous space, with fire-stairs serving as both fire egress and tenant circulation stairs to optimise area and flexibility. Through the position and configuration of a side-core arrangement that exploits the leasable area, the tower form maximises commercial area beneath the height restriction set by the solar envelope. This arrangement creates a flexible workplace with optimal natural light and views, allowing tenants to reconfigure fitouts or subdivide floors for sub-lease – a design approach that’s been successfully tested with the event of COVID and the need to provide ‘COVID safe’ workplaces. Furthermore, the design integrates smart building technology that not only improves the quality of the interior environment but also the poetic interpretation of such. This is demonstrated through the artwork, Solar, designed specifically for the lobby by the artist, Wolfgang Buttress. Solar is a suspended sphere that harnesses natural light and responds to the real-time building data feed of solar radiation, connecting those that journey through the lobby with the environmental aspirations for the building. Olderfleet is the first building in Australia to achieve a Platinum WELL pre-certification for the base building due to its incorporation of numerous health and wellbeing initiatives, including an internal feature staircase to promote active workplaces, improved air quality, health stations for tenants, access to facilities such as childcare and gym, and carefully selected low-VOC interior materials and finishes. The project also targets 6-star Green Star, 5-star NABERS Energy, and 4-star NABERS Water ratings. The building’s high-performance double and triple-glazed façades with external shading and solar control minimise energy demand. Greenhouse gas emissions are further reduced through the incorporation of a PV array on the roof of the development. Designed as a workplace precinct to create a rich urban-community experience, its flexible design and abundance of co-working spaces allows Olderfleet to be an important addition to Melbourne’s commercial landscape, especially so during the circumstances of COVID-19.