Office building retrofit at 55 St Andrews Place, Melbourne – Turning a Sparrow into a Peacock

This note was reviewed in September 2018 and has been retained for legacy.

This article describes the upgrade of an existing government building, 55 St Andrews Place in Melbourne’s Treasury Reserve, utilising an unconventional design process and with a strong emphasis on integrated design from the outset.

The aim of the project was to transform a poorly performing building, from both an energy efficiency and indoor environment quality perspective, into a building that meets current best practice for greener office spaces. The building is owned and occupied by the Victorian Government.

Two of the buildings, 1 Treasury Place and 1 Macarthur Street, commenced construction from 1963, while 3-5 Macarthur Street (later renamed 55 St Andrews Place) was constructed as a four-storey building in 1967.

note summary
  1. Project details
  2. Introduction
  3. History of the building
  4. Victorian government accommodation standards
  5. Problems
  6. Developing a building improvement plan
  7. Implementing the improvements
  8. Design process
  9. Overview of green building initiatives
  10. Construction
  11. Performance
  12. Conclusion