The 1928 building with “good bones” – as Macquarie describes it – such as a central atrium and high ceilings, was on Friday awarded the Rider Levett Bucknall Australian Development of the Year in the Property Council of Australia-RLB Innovation and Excellence Awards.
The redevelopment of the former Government Savings Bank of NSW also picked up the the SAS International Award for Best Office Development and the JLL Award for Best Sustainable Development – Existing Buildings, adding to a string of gongs that already includes the country’s top award for commercial architecture as well as the equivalent NSW award.
The JPW-designed renovation that increased the central void of the heritage building and added two floors under a rooftop steel-and-glass dome stood out for showing how to skilfully alter old buildings into ones that met current needs, Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said.
The $100 million-plus refurbishment completed in 2014 was key to a round of redevelopments of Martin Place, Sydney’s traditional heart of big business, planned by landlords under a push that started several years earlierto rejuvenate a strip that was suffering from a loss of tenants and foot traffic. Martin Place has since rejuvenated itself as a hub for technology companiesthat have assumed a role alongside banks as the country’s blue-chip employers.
RLB’s NSW managing director Matthew Harris said Macquarie’s “sympathetic” restoration of the building purchased from CBA in 2012 had created an efficient workplace that was good for employee wellbeing.
“As our cities continue to adapt and evolve, 50 Martin Place showcases how re-imagining our old buildings can deliver vibrant new spaces for people today,” Mr Harris said.
Architecture firm BVN designed the interior with central staircase that staff have to walk past to get to the lifts – a feature Macquarie called “functional inconvenience”.
Separately, Mirvac won the first-ever Moulis Legal Award for Diversity for what Mr Morrison called its industry-leading commitment to gender equality.
“Mirvac Group is one of just two ASX 200-listed companies with 50 per cent female representation on its board of directors, and its commitment to gender equity and inclusion is driven from the top,” he said.
Lendlease’s business transformation manager Sarah Kinsela received the du Chateau Chun Award for Future Leader of the Year.
Lendlease won the KONE Award for Innovation for the Barangaroo Skills Exchange – a facility for construction workers to improve their trade skills and boost their literacy and numeracy.
