Setting an Example to Follow // One Bligh Street

Deceptive appearances: The simplicity of One Bligh Street's external facade
actually hides its inner sustainability. (1 Bligh Syydney, 2014).

A stone’s throw away from Sydney’s iconic monuments, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, is a seemingly unremarkable elliptical tower known simply by its address: One Bligh Street. Completed in 2011 by Architectus and Ingenhoven Architekten, this structure is certainly more than what it seems, having been praised as “Australia’s first ‘green skyscraper’” (Philip, 2012). 

The interior atrium, curved glass and elevators draw the eyes upward,
while openings draws natural ventilation upwards as well. (Architectus, 2014).

Unlike typical office towers, the first significant design feature on entering this building is the realisation that an atrium extends through the full height of the building. Visually activated by the movement of exposed elevators, the atrium serves an additional purpose, acting as a giant chimney, “fresh air ventilates the lobby and up through the building’s lung” (Philip, 2012). The irregular curves may at first appear to be a whimsical play on forms but a strict logic has been applied, the elliptical plan proving to be “12 per cent more efficient than a rectangular building in façade to floor area and allows excellent natural light penetration.” (Architectus, 2014). At the same time however, I recognise that others have challenged this statement, arguing that the 1600 sqm curved floors are broken by the atrium and become “an unappealing feature for tenants considering taking up a whole floor.” (Schlesinger, 2011). 

Typical 1600sqm Floor Plate. Two opposing views, the architects claiming improved natural lighting,
while businesses claim it lacks efficiency. (Architectus, 2014).

God is in the detail: Not only do the 900 double-layered cavities provide light isolation,
passive cooling and natural ventilation has also been integrated. (Architectus, 2014).

Floor plans aside, the building’s systems are equally innovative. One Bligh Street has been recognised as the first building to incorporate black water recycling, providing recycled water for irrigation of its green walls and sky garden as well as washroom flushing (1 Bligh Sydney, 2014). Furthermore, an integrated double glazing system not only permits operable windows to let in breezes, but a system of mechanically operated louvres which track and respond naturally to the sun’s movement and lighting conditions inside the building (Philip, 2012). Carefully detailed, I believe this begins to provide the individual flexibility which our encased glass boxes have never been able to offer. It is here that I feel it is necessary to pause, and gloss over the buiding’s additional features, including a balanced ‘Tri-generation’ heating and cooling power system and solar panels atop the building’s service cores (Bila, 2014). 

Openings, sky gardens, solar panels. One Bligh Street stands as the new move toward sustainable urban architecture. (Architectus, 2014).

Overall, while the corporate machines have criticised the building for “more restrictive and less impressive harbour views than other nearby office towers” and rents in the region of “$900 to $1000 per square metre…around $1300 for the upper floors” (Schlesinger, 2011), One Bligh Street stands as a successful step forward in sustainable architecture. While the building is not necessarily carbon-neutral, and its critics complain of its high costs and its un-impressiveness, I think people of sensibility, those who recognise the building’s attempts to reduce waste, to improve and increase natural lighting and natural ventilation into tall structures will see its virtues. For me, One Bligh Street recognises that our current and business preferred Miesian floor-plate is an unsustainable solution and here is an elliptical challenge to the social norm, proving that urban density can perhaps be environmentally conscious and sustainable. 

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References

1 Bligh Sydney. “Sustainability Features”. (2014). Retrieved on 25 April 2014 from: 
http://www.1bligh.com.au/Sustainability-Features

Architectus. (2014). “1 Bligh Street, Sydney”. Retrieved on 24 April 2014 from: 
http://www.architectus.com.au/en/projects/1-bligh-street-sydney 

Rita Bila. “1 Bligh Street, Sydney – The Next Generation in Sustainable Architecture”. (2014). D*Hub. Retrieved on 25 April 2014 from: (http://www.dhub.org/1-bligh-street-sydney-the-next-generation-in-sustainable-architecture/  

Vivian Philip. “1 Bligh Street”. (1 March 2012). Australian Design Review. Retrieved on 25 April 2014 from: http://www.australiandesignreview.com/architecture/17855-1-bligh-street 

Larry Schlesinger. “Dexus’ 1 Bligh Street Criticised over Price, Design and Views”. (19 October 2011). Property Observer. Retrieved on 25 April 2014 from: http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/finding/commercial-investment/office/13959-dexus-1-bligh-street-criticised-over-price-design-and-location-.html