ANZ Headquarters—Innovative and Sustainable Engineering Approaches

With a total capacity of 6,500 occupants, ANZ’s Dockland’s headquarters operates with the consideration of a small municipality rather than an office block. The center is the largest, single-tenanted commercial office building in Australia. Spaced over 13 floors and 83,600 square meters (900,000 square feet), every conceivable effort has been made to create a positive external and internal environment. The building encompasses no less than 44 different hubs and break-out spaces, a six-story atrium to increase natural light to office floors, and retail and food outlets, which are open to the general public.

Design challenges for the project included provision for outstanding interior comfort, proximity of location close to transport, and consideration of impact to the surrounding community. Perhaps the most challenging of all was earning a 6 Star Green Star energy rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, attained through a collection of unique and innovative engineering solutions.

The center generates most of its own electricity through 1,700 photovoltaic solar panels on the roof, covering 14,000 square feet. Together with the wind turbines—also on the roof—they generate hundreds of kilowatts of power with the remaining energy requirements supplied by the grid.

With a large occupancy ratio, air quality was another significant engineering consideration. This challenge was addressed through the innovative use of underfloor air conditioning for ease of employee experience. Air quality is maximized by drawing almost 100 percent external air from the plant room in the roof, pumping it down through the building, and supplying it through a false floor. This enables the air to wash up through the office space, thereby flushing the building and avoiding the build-up of any particulates or contaminates.

Tetra Tech cleverly exploited the building’s natural environment, rejecting waste heat from the server rooms and data center into the nearby Yarra River via a series of heat exchanges, thus saving both water and energy by avoiding the use of cooling towers.

Overall, the building is a masterpiece of engineering considerations which respects the environment both functionally and aesthetically. The design team has created a thriving community where work, rest, and relaxation are combined in one seamless space.