GPO Perth acheives Green Star Rating

news images 1234

GPO Perth Acheives Green Star Rating

5 November 2008

HBO+EMTB’s refurbishment of the landmark GPO Perth has been awarded a 4-star Green Star rating by the Green Building Council of Australia.

The rating is a significant achievement, acknowledging the challenges of incorporating sustainable design principles into a heritage building.

Features contributing to the green rating include:

  • Highly efficient passive chilled beams throughout the commercial tenancies improve user comfort levels & reduce energy consumption
  • Provision of natural light to both the perimeter & interior via the glazed atrium
  • Quantity of fresh outdoor air supply exceeds minimum code requirements for improved indoor air quality.
  • Large thermal mass of the original construction results in lower energy consumption & stable indoor temperature
  • Significant reuse of original building structure, minimising the use of new materials with high embodied energy
  • Provision of cyclist facilities including showers & change rooms
  • Proximity to the adjacent public transport hub
  • Implementation of an ISO 14001 Environmental Management Plan during construction to minimise waste to landfill and environmental impact.

Originally constructed in 1914, the redeveloped GPO now incorporates prime ground floor retail space with seven floors of commercial office tenancies above.

The design offers a unique floor plate, with abundant natural light coming from the glazed atrium and generous ceiling heights. Valued heritage features such as the jarrah parquetry floors and iconic façade have been maintained and restored as features of the redevelopment.

The refurbishment, undertaken by HBO+EMTB's Perth Architecture studio, provides a contemporary environment within the existing heritage building fabric, rearranging the spaces internally and inserting new uses in a delicate and transparent manner.