Dexus Property’s 1 Bligh St. in Sydney Recognized as World’s Most Innovative High-Rise

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Deutsches Architekturmuseum, in association with DekaBank and Stadt Frankfurt am Main has awarded “The International High-rise Award 2012” to 1 Bligh St. in Sydney. The office tower has been recognized as the world’s most innovative high-rise building, a first for an Australian building.

Co-owned by Dexus Property Group, Dexus Wholesale Property Fund and Cbus Property, the award-winning office tower was designed by Düsseldorf-based Ingenhoven Architects and Sydney-based Architectus. 1 Bligh St. was designed to reflect sustainability and has earned the highest Green Star rating, a Six Star Green Star Office Design v2 Certified rating. The construction is also designed to achieve a Five Star NABERS Energy rating.

The 27-story premium high-rise building features 42,700 square meters (459,619 square feet) of office space and was completed in 2011. Sustainability features include a full-height naturally ventilated glass central atrium, an energy efficient double-skin glass façade which protects the computer-controlled sun shades that shield the double glazed curtain wall from the sun. The hybrid air conditioning structure is designed to maximize comfort levels and reduce energy consumption. Cooling, heating and electricity are generated using an innovative tri-generation system which utilizes gas and solar energy. The cooling systems are driven by the energy provided through curved solar thermal collectors. Decorative plantings throughout the building are irrigated by recycled rain water and a black water recycling system reduces water consumption and provides clean, recycled water.

Talking about the recent award, where 1 Bligh St. overtook other finalists such as the residential high-rise Pinnacle@Duxton in Singapore, Eight Spruce St. in New York, the Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Ontario and the towers of The Troika in Kuala Lumpur,  Dexus CEO Darren Steinberg said: “This is an outstanding achievement for all those involved in the creation of this iconic property and this accolade aligns with our vision of being globally recognized as the leading real estate company in Australia.”

Dexus Property Group has also announced it has entered into a contract to acquire 40 Market St. in Melbourne for $46.7 million. Located in the center of Melbourne’s central business district, the nine-story, Class B office building features 11,711 square meters (126,056 square feet) of office space, 300 square meters (3,229 square feet) of retail space and 85 car spaces. The office space is fully leased to Powercor Australia until December 2018.

“This purchase offers an opportunity for us to demonstrate our property expertise in driving enhanced performance, and is further evidence of the execution on our objective of being the leading owner and manager of office property in Australia,” said Darren Steinberg. “Our proven ability to move quickly and complete this transaction in a timely and efficient manner was a key factor for the vendor.”

The acquisition will be funded from existing debt facilities and is immediately accretive to earnings. The deal is expected to be concluded on Dec. 20, 2012.

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