Workzone, Perth

The site is approximately 10,144sqm in area and is located in the City of Perth on the northern side of the main railway line adjacent to McIver Station. The site is approximately 300m north of the Perth CBD and 400m from Central Station. Currently, this precinct is in a transition stage with a number of new developments underway and the quality of the urban environment is steadily improving. The site is within an area zoned "City Centre" with the majority of surrounding buildings being commercial in use, with a number of warehouse and showroom buildings nearby.

The site is generally rectangular in shape and has two street frontages; Pier Street to the west and Nash Street to the east. The site is currently occupied by a single storey storage warehouse.

The site benefits from good solar access throughout the day particularly during lunchtime. The general orientation however presents the two principle facades towards the north west and the south east which creates relatively high solar loadings.

The design strategy is to place two long 6 storey parallel buildings along the street frontages of Pier and Nash Streets. They are set back from the street boundaries to allow a deeper and more generous footpath. These 25m deep rectangular floor plates are serviced by expressed centralised core elements containing glass passenger lifts flanked by solid facilities blocks. This arrangement allows for relatively narrow floor plates which will provide a high level of internal environmental quality with excellent access the natural light and views from within. Satellite cores are located at either end and provide for primary services risers and expressed external fire stairs.

Each building incorporates an expressed canopy roof to provide solar shading over the full height glass facades. These canopies are supported upon thin tall steel columns which assist with the definition of the street frontage and consist of tubular battens and solid soffits to provide a mix of solid shadows and dappled lighting across the street facades. These building facades consist of full height high performance double glazing with hidden spandrels. Materials are neutral in colour, predominantly silvers, whites and greys. Visual animation will be created by the patterned shadow effects from the shade canopy overhead.

The main building entries are located in the middle of each building accessed directly from each street. This allows each building to have its own distinctive address.

The ground floor level is animated towards the northern end with retail/ office spaces with the opportunity to address both the inside and outside of the site. The internal courtyard space is sensitively landscaped with a mixture of hard and soft elements, artworks and seating areas.

The development is a strong response to climate, orientation and workplace that will make a significant contribution to the northern precinct of the City of Perth.