megablock stage 1 is under way at filinvest city | michael banak architect

megablock stage 1 is under way at filinvest city | michael banak architect

Project Megablock is a BPO office development located in Alabang, Philippines designed for Filinvest land Inc. BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing and a good example would be a telephone company that outsources its Help Desk services overseas. The design took into consideration BPO working environments, including a daytime and graveyard working shift to cater for companies all around the world. Food and Beverage retail outlets and an expansive green space were designed by Crone Architects, providing areas of quiet respite for BPO workers and other workers in the Northgate Cyberzone Precinct of Filinvest City.

The development has 4 office towers of approximately 20 levels each and a total GFA of 180,000m2. The floor plates have an NLA of 2,000m2 giving a NLA/ GFA efficiency over 90%. The floor plates are designed to be open planned, with large structural grid bays and side core arrangement.

Below are recent site photos of the stage 1 works.

180b time lapse photography | michael banak architect

180b time lapse photography | michael banak architect



I love time lapse photography. This is a video showing time lapse photography of 180B under construction from Sept 2013 to Jan 2015. Watpac Constructions setup the camera on a building adjacent to our site. 180B is a 34 level commercial office tower designed by Crone Architects in 2012 and located in Brisbane, Australia. It is a 6 Star Green Star Sustainable Development designed for Japanese developer Daisho, due for completion in Nov 2015.

333 george street work in progress | michael banak architect

333 george street work in progress | michael banak architect

how do you put a super-graphic on the facade of a 34 level tower? | michael banak architect

how do you put a super-graphic on the facade of a 34 level tower? | michael banak architect



So you've come up with this great idea to superimpose an image of the Brisbane River on the facade of a 34 level tower. Now.....how the hell do you do it?



Not that easily actually. During Design Development, we decided we would use a ceramic frit pattern on the glass to create the image. The frit pattern would give a solid appearance to the glass panels, these combined over the face of the building to form a large pixelated image of the river. To further emphasize the image we changed the colour of the glass to be clear, contrasting with the green DGU (Double Glazed Unit) panels adjacent to it. The final touch was to remove our horizontal sunshading devices where the graphic was to appear, to let the river pattern flow across the facade.



Now the tricky bit. A Double Glazed Facade Unit is made up of 2 sheets of glass with an air gap. The numbering of surfaces goes from 1 to 4. 1 being the outside surface (exterior of the building) and 4 the inside surface (Interior of the building) . Typically the Ceramic Frit pattern is applied to surface 2 or 3. The problem with this, is the pattern gets lost behind the glass, it becomes green in appearance due to the natural colour of glass. What we ended up doing is something a lot more sophisticated and expensive. It's called a Triple Glazed Unit. Two sheets of glass make up a laminated panel using low iron glass, there is an air gap and then a 4th sheet of glass. Confused yet? I would be too if I was reading this. I'm hoping my crude little sketch will explain things better. Low iron glass is an ultra clear glass and because of this the pattern appears clear on the facade. We will see over the next few months if our assumptions are correct, but what we have reviewed of mock-up panels and the panels on site, everything is looking good!

5 Of The Best Sydney Developments Of 2014 - TheUrbanDeveloper.com

2 of our buildings were featured in the Urban Developer end of last year as the 5 best Buildings in Sydney. Yeehar! The project names are 333 George Street and 20 Martin Place.


5 Of The Best Sydney Developments Of 2014 - TheUrbanDeveloper.com

which one do you think is the best? | michael banak architect

I'm undecided.

which one do you think is the best? | michael banak architect

the butterfly scheme won in the end | michael banak architect

During our Concept Master Plan Design Phase, we presented a multitude of Design Options to our friends at Filinvest Land Inc. including; Central Park, The Cross, The Spine, Pinwheel, Blades, Fingers, Butterfly, Wiggles, Cut Sandwich, The Great Wall and Rotunda. Though everyone was amused by the name "Cut Sandwich", down deep, we new this wouldn't fly. My favourite schemes were Fingers and Butterfly. In the end there was unanimous support for the "Butterfly" scheme.

Megablock is a commercial office development located in the Northgate precinct of Filinvest City, Alabang, Philippines. It targets a LEED Silver environmental rating, illustrating the collaborative Design Team's commitment to Sustainable Design. The “Butterfly” arrangement of buildings, consists of 4 commercial office towers, 25 levels in height, with a total GFA of over 180,000m2. It was designed for our client Filinvest Land Inc., to cater for the BPO market which works both day and night/ "graveyard" shifts.

In-between the butterfly wings is a luscious green landscaped park and retail centre. These spaces can be used for seasonal events or simply to relax in the pleasant garden surrounds.The public Park is an amenity to be shared by the Northgate Community and gently ramps up above the retail spaces creating a natural amphitheater. Bridge links connecting the towers at high level act as break-out spaces and informal meeting rooms promoting interaction.

the butterfly scheme won in the end | michael banak architect

Schuurman Group / Bekkering Adams Architects | ArchDaily

Schuurman Group / Bekkering Adams Architects | ArchDaily

lloyds | michaelbanak

lloyds | michaelbanak

180B comes to life | michael banak architect

180B comes to life | michael banak architect

New Super Green Commercial Tower under construction in Brisbane

Construction has recently commenced on 180 Brisbane, a stunning new $300 million 34-storey office tower, located at 180 Ann Street in Brisbane.

The ambitious project is being developed by Daisho Group, constructed by Watpac, designed by architects Crone Partners and project managed by Savills. Hyder has been appointed to provide civil, structural and façade design for the development.

It will also include a huge artistic imprint of the Brisbane River on its façade; the first artistic imprint façade in Brisbane. An ambitious green rating target is also featured; the aim to be Brisbane’s first 6 Star Green Star V3 Office grading and aiming for a 5.5 Star NABERS Energy Rating.
When complete this iconic building will truly transform the CBD and set a new standard for commercial buildings.

a stair with bling

 



If you are not aware of who Austereo is, they are a radio station company, worth nearly $700m and responsible for two major radio stations brands, MMM and 2Day FM.

 

Austereo is located at the World Square site in Sydney and moved to these premises in 2006. The building, is located at the corner of George Street and Goulburn Streets, at the Western end of George Street, near China Town. At World Square you can find commercial offices, residential  apartments and retail uses, surrounding a central public plaza space.

Crone Partners, designed the World Square Master Plan and were invited to design an interconnecting stair in the Austereo Fitout and a rooftop amenities area. The works included; a stair that connected 3 levels of the tenancy, glass lift, toilets and kitchen provisions, as well as a multi-purpose room on the rooftop, that could be used for special events.

 

The interconnecting stair provides a space where employees can interact in a dynamic environment. The steel stair uses a steel channel stringer and balustrades, set-out perpendicular to the stringers. Patch fitting connect the glass to the balustrades and a 50mm diam Stainless Steel handrail borders the edges. The treads are finished with a dark grey rubber finish and set in a Stainless Steel pan, that spans between the stringers creating a clean and simple soffit. The colour wall to the side of the stair is a feature of the space. The wall is made from Barrisol and the lighting is connected to a computer system, allowing the colour's to change on demand or on a loop system. The "communication" stair encourages people to use the stair to travel between floors, instead of using the lift. Eco friendly! 

 

The total Fitout costs for the project was approx. $10m.

  

 

 

 

pearl river commercial tower china

Crone Partners worked on the Design Competition for a commercial office tower in China, with a local firm based in Guangzhou, named IAPA. Unfortunately we did not win the project but the experience, designing a major tower in the city and travelling to Guangzhou was memorable.

The project was run by the Guangdong Tobacco Company. Considering the project promoted good Environmental Sustainable Design it seemed a little strange to be working for a Tobacco Company client.
The project was located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, near to the Pearl River, about 120km North West of Hong Kong. Guangzhou is known as a key transportation hub and trading port for the country of China.

The concept was based on the idea of duality. A situation prevalent in nature, having 2 states, that are complimentary or opposed to each other. The idea of duality is clear in the massing of the tower, the relationship between solid and void, lightness & darkness, private versus public spaces and the clear separation between vehicular and pedestrian movements.

The project is made up of a 68 storey, commercial office tower, with convention centre facilities, restaurants and speciality retail outlets. Four levels of basement car parking are located below ground, including a loading dock and a combination of stackable and conventional car parking spaces, to maximise efficiency and minimise basement excavations, due to the water table. The total GFA for the project is 170,185m2.

The 290m tall tower is orientated towards park views and desirable, southerly aspect, for warm winter sun access.

The tower project was designed using Environmental Sustainable Design principles to minimize the energy consumption of the building and to conserve water usage. A combination of passive and active environmental strategies was used in the areas of; Energy, Water, Transportation, Land Use and Ecology, Indoor Environmental Quality, Management, Materials and Emissions.

I like the photo below of the "little" model we had made for the competition.

 

180 brisbane website goes live!

The 180 Brisbane website went live last week with the catch phrase; "Introducing a New Direction in Prestige Office Space"

180 Brisbane is a 35 level commercial office tower, with Retail and basement Car Parking and a NLA of 60,000m2. The building has 5 basement levels, is targeting a 6 Star Green Star, environmental rating and has an estimated Construction Cost of $300m.

Watpac were recently awarded the contract, to build the Japanese client Daisho's, flagship project in Brisbane. Crone Partners designed the building in 2010, with construction to be completed by 2015.

For more information please visit the website below.

http://180brisbane.com/

a new direction in prestige office space - 180B

See below a link to a 3D flythrough of 180B in Brisbane. The 34 level office tower, designed by Crone Partners in 2010, is to be built by Watpac for Japanese client Daisho. 180B has a new website that went online this week. Have a look at the future of hi-rise commercial, green buildings in Australia!

http://www.180brisbane.com.au/gallery/http://www.180brisbane.com.au/gallery/

new $300m cbd tower heralds rising economic confidence

Crone Partners designed 180B in Brisbane.

http://brisbanedevelopment.com/180-brisbane/