It was a “challenging project” involving technical smarts and a lot of early collaboration but at last the much vaunted solar “skin” on the facade of Cbus Property’s 435 Bourke Street in Melbourne has been completed.
The building now boasts a facade covered with 2679 square metres of a building integrated photovoltaic systems spanning the tower’s facade, crown and rooftop. It comprises 1391 integrated solar panels with a peak capacity of 375 kilowatts. The developer claims it will be one of the world’s first large scale solar facade in a commercial office tower.
The solar skin which sits within the building envelope will generate renewable electricity while also providing passive shading in selected areas. CBUS Property said this was part of an emerging movement to combine on site renewable energy with elements of architectural design.
Modelling showed the facade will generate up to 20 per cent of the building’s base electricity requirements on site and the rest supplied through an offsite renewable energy arrangement. The building is targeting a 6 Star Green Star rating.
Collaborators on the project, which is close to practical completion, are architects Bates Smart and builder Multiplex, BG&E Engineers, amid a list of other specialist project partners.
Cbus Property chief executive Chris Kakoufas said this was a “defining moment for sustainable commercial development in Australia.
“Successfully installing 435 Bourke Street’s solar skin is a significant achievement for our project team and partners, not to mention a tangible demonstration of how innovation and sustainability can be embraced to enhance a building’s performance while contributing to its architectural identity.”
He added that the facade will reduce operational costs for tenants and emissions from grid consumption “while creating a distinctive visual identity for the tower”.
Multiplex regional managing director for Victoria and South Australia, Ross Snowball, said installing the solar skin had been “one of the most challenging aspects of delivering the project”.
“Integrating nearly 1400 photovoltaic panels into the building envelope required not just technical smarts but also extensive coordination between the facade, structural and services teams to ensure no impact to quality or program,” Snowball said.
“It’s a great example of how early collaboration between project partners enables innovation to be embedded into the delivery of a project rather than bolted on at the end.”
Bates Smart director Cian Davis said “the role of a tower facade has always been to protect the interior from the sun.
“At 435 Bourke Street, it does that while also generating the building’s power, through one of Australia’s first solar skins, with solar ‘leaves’ that shade the workplace as they produce energy.
“Beyond the technology itself, the building demonstrates that energy generation can be part of a tower’s architectural expression, giving form, texture and identity to the facade, rather than sitting invisibly within it.”
The construction is expected to be completed later this year providing about 62,000 sq m of premium office space as well as hospitality and hotel-style amenity.
The construction process is estimated to have created about 3500 jobs with 300 workers on site daily and up to 490 workers during peak periods.
