Quay Quarter Sydney is a new precinct at Circular Quay. The anchor for the precinct is Quay Quarter Tower (QQT) was designed by 3XN in partnership with BVN. It is jointly owned by Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, Mirvac Wholesale Property Fund and Rest Super. The project client was AMP Capital and was built by Multiplex.
One of the world’s most complex adaptive re-use projects, QQT demonstrates the possibilities of upcycling existing buildings to give them a new life and reduce the impact of construction on the planet. It has been described as a once-in-a-generation project in terms of the bold undertaking and foresight to radically adapt an aging asset and up-cycle the 1976 50 Bridge Street into a future-proofed sustainable exemplar that integrates technological innovation.
Achieving a 91% pre-let rate at base-build completion (April 2022) is a testament to overcoming the ultimate redevelopment challenge as well as illustrating the market success in a post-covid era of shrinking workplace tenancies and hybrid working models. The commercial success of the project is represented in the rental values and lease durations that are amongst the highest in Australia. The project was recently voted World Building of the Year at the World Architecture Festival and has won the prestigious Deutsches Architekturmuseum International High-Rise Award.
The upcycled tower doubles the area and quadruples occupancy compared to the original building – from 45,000sqm to 90,000sqm of usable area, and from c2,500 to c10,000 users across 49 office levels.
In a world-first, approximately 65% of the original structural frame and 95% of the central core was retained. AMP Capital’s assessment of this key design move shows that c12,000 tonnes of embodied carbon was conserved compared to a conventional construction approach for a project of this scale in addition to reduced construction time and environmental impact.
