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The Australian Institute of Architects and Brisbane City Council have jointly awarded the 2022 Lord Mayor’s Brisbane Buildings that Breathe Architecture Prize to Fender Katsalidis’ flagship Midtown Centre development.
Located in the heart of the Brisbane CBD, the 26-storey Midtown Centre project demonstrated important sustainability principles by turning a pair of dated office buildings, at 155 Charlotte Street and 150 Mary Street, into a single A Grade office tower.
The 46,000 square metre contemporary of?ce building features 3000 square metres of landscaped activated greenery across outdoor terraces, double-height sky gardens, mixed-mode atriums and balconies.
Connecting the two buildings was a serious challenge for structural engineers, Inertia Engineering, and one that hadn’t previously been attempted before in Australia.
Choosing adaptive reuse, rather than demolishing and rebuilding, is estimated to have saved around 11,000 tonnes in carbon emissions, which is equivalent to running the building fully occupied carbon neutral for four years.
The building, which is owned by Ashe Morgan and DMANN Corporation and built by Hutchinson Builders, has also received 2019 Property Council of Australia A-Grade with Premium lifting, Gold WELL International (core and Shell), 5 star Green Star and 5 Star NABERS Energy Rating certifications.
Midtown Centre is a wonderful example of how old building stock can be adapted and re-used to successfully create new legacy,” Fender Katsalidis principal Megan Rodgers said.
“At ground level, the success of this amalgamation has created an internal, publicly accessible cross-block connection, realising Brisbane City Council’s masterplan vision for laneway and city block linkages.”
The technique of connecting and repurposing two adjacent buildings was recently also used at 185 Clarence Street in Sydney’s CBD for international construction tech company Procore’s new offices.
The Lord Mayor’s Brisbane Buildings that Breathe Architecture Award was created through a partnership between the AIA and Brisbane City Council. It seeks to recognise buildings that meet high standards of design and construction, celebrate Brisbane’s subtropical lifestyle and stimulate economic activity.
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