Australia's largest office building opens - ANZ's Docklands HQ

[tayser]

bringing new meaning to word: "groundscraper" - all 87,000sqm of it.

http://www.theage.com.au/business/an...1106-i2aj.html

ANZ opens grand new HQ
ERIC JOHNSTON
November 7, 2009

THE idea was hatched when the global banking industry was booming. And at a cost of $750 million, little expense was spared on ANZ's new headquarters that now dominates the Docklands skyline.

While banks across Britain and the US struggle with deep losses and some have needed mammoth taxpayer funded bail-outs, inside the vast glass walls of ANZ Centre yesterday the financial crisis was clearly not on the guest list at its opening.

Few banks in the world could now even consider upgrading their headquarters as they struggle with a daily battle to stay afloat. Almost none could afford the ANZ's video art installation in the foyer, its polished stone surfaces, designer furniture and the sweeping atrium hollowing out the 10-storey building.

More than 6500 staff - equal to the population of Castlemaine - will work out of the building, giving much-needed bustle to the pointy end of Docklands. Banks and insurers are finding their feet in Docklands, with ANZ now sharing the neighbourhood with National Australia Bank, AXA Asia Pacific and Medibank.

ANZ was at pains to point out the green credentials of its new headquarters. The building will produce 70 per cent less greenhouse emissions than other commercial buildings. It will tap gas-fired energy and on-site solar and wind power to generate much of its own electricity. Water use will also be down significantly, helped by the storage of rainwater.

Unusually, the building will be kept cool with the help of Yarra River water flowing past.

ANZ chief executive Mike Smith described the move into the building as a new era for the bank.

These days armed with a new logo, ANZ is looking more to the streets of China and Hong Kong for its growth. But the scale of the headquarters sends a signal that it plans to be anchored in Melbourne - for now at least.

In its 171-year history in Melbourne, ANZ has rarely ventured far from Collins Street. It remains on Collins, but is now a little further down the tram line.

pics originally posted by stowers on OzScrapers (6 weeks old):







pics originally posted by Mandelbrot on OzScrapers (6 weeks old):





pics originally posted by Alibaba on OzScrapers:



hahah:

[KevinFromTexas]

Interesting building. I like the color. Is it really the biggest office building? Only 87,000 sqm (936,460 sqft.) I would have thought Melbourne and Sydney had larger buildings than that already.

[tayser]

Largest NLA of any major office building. Rialto & 101 Collins St in Melb and Governor Phillip in Sydney come close (above 80,000sqm).

ANZ have gone from 7 or 8 sites in inner Melbourne to 3: Docklands HQ, the most recent HQ @ 100 Queen St and a campus they built in South Melbourne around 5 years ago.

[ue]

Looks like a very hip building. Thanks for posting these pics, I like it.

[nouveau_Mauvilla]

Cool building, wouldn't think I would like the dark color but it definitely works and looks good. Nice view of the marina, too. Thanks.

And, of course, the fewer greenhouse gas emissions, the better.

[Tom In Chicago]

Cool building. . .

[maxem 2.0]

Simply beautiful!

Greetings from Argentina.

[mrnyc]

this is a much better start on the architecture then it's cousin, the dull london docklands, that is for sure. carry on oz!

[Austinlee]

Gosh darn that is an awesome building. Looks like something from Copenhagen.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Interesting building. I like the color. Is it really the biggest office building? Only 87,000 sqm (936,460 sqft.) I would have thought Melbourne and Sydney had larger buildings than that already.

I agree. It seems like any building around 50 stories is over 1 million sq ft or just over 92,000 sqm. The first tower i could think of is Q1 on the Gold Coast and i googled it and it is 130,610 m2 - much bigger than the project above. Sounds like some bad reporting.

http://www.riderhunt.com/documents/s.../pdf/pp_q1.pdf


....although after reading the article again it did say office building - still seems low though. I mean here in Winnipeg we just built a 22 storey 700,000 sq ft office building. Sydney and Melbourne have lots of buildings taller than 22 stories - the 22 stories are fat i must admit.

[pablosan]

Cool building.

[tayser]

taken recently when the turbines were being installed, note the solar panels.

[krudmonk]

If only Etihad Stadium looked that slick.