Sustainable buildings take out top honours at state property awards
Efficiency in energy and water use, as well as a sophisticated approach to adaptive reuse in commercial spaces prove to be winning combinations
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Heritage preservation and sustainability concerns have won out at the Property Council of Australia’s state awards.
Brookfield Place in the heart of Sydney’s CBD took out the NSW Development of the Year award. With direct access to Wynyard Station it offers more than 6,300sqm of lettable retail space and 27 floors, while providing expansive views across Wynyard Park. While it represents an attractive commercial opportunity, Brookfield Place has achieved a 6 Star Green Star Office Design & As Built v3 rating as well as WELL Health/Safety accredited in 2022. It is also targeting NABERS ratings for energy and water.
In further signs that sustainable building practices have gained ground, the state honours in Queensland went to the Midtown Centre, where two 1970s buildings have been reimagined to create a commercial precinct including office spaces, a retail laneway and wellness destination. As the hybrid working model becomes the norm, office spaces are outward looking towards green vistas.
The building also has a 6 Star Green Star Design & As Built v1.1 rating and 5 Star NABERS energy rating. It also works as a celebration of the past, with the older buildings on show, contrasting with the new work.
Other state winners include the BHP workplace in Adelaide, which took the top state honour in South Australia, and the cantilevered 405 Bourke Street in Victoria.
The state winners will now go through to the Property Council’s National Innovation & Excellence Awards with winners to be announced in Sydney later this year.
Property Council of Australia Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said the winners represent the pinnacle of property innovation, design and construction in Australia.
“Our winners have created incredible places for people to enjoy and to thrive in. I congratulate them for their extraordinary rolemodelling and their dedication to the communities they serve,” he said.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
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Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, annual growth was the lowest since 1992
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Australia’s commodity-rich economy recorded its weakest growth momentum since the early 1990s in the second quarter, as consumers and businesses continued to feel the impact of high interest rates, with little expectation of a reprieve from the Reserve Bank of Australia in the near term.
The economy grew 0.2% in the second quarter from the first, with annual growth running at 1.0%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The results were in line with market expectations.
It was the 11th consecutive quarter of growth, although the economy slowed sharply over the year to June 30, the ABS said.
Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, annual growth was the lowest since 1992, the year that included a gradual recovery from a recession in 1991.
The economy remained in a deep per capita recession, with gross domestic product per capita falling 0.4% from the previous quarter, a sixth consecutive quarterly fall, the ABS said.
A big area of weakness in the economy was household spending, which fell 0.2% from the first quarter, detracting 0.1 percentage point from GDP growth.
On a yearly basis, consumption growth came in at just 0.5% in the second quarter, well below the 1.1% figure the RBA had expected, and was broad-based.
The soft growth report comes as the RBA continues to warn that inflation remains stubbornly high, ruling out near-term interest-rate cuts.
RBA Gov. Michele Bullock said last month that near-term rate cuts aren’t being considered.
Money markets have priced in a cut at the end of this year, while most economists expect that the RBA will stand pat until early 2025.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned this week that high interest rates are “smashing the economy.”
Still, with income tax cuts delivered at the start of July, there are some expectations that consumers will be in a better position to spend in the third quarter, reviving the economy to some degree.
“Output has now grown at 0.2% for three consecutive quarters now. That leaves little doubt that the economy is growing well below potential,” said Abhijit Surya, economist at Capital Economics.
“But if activity does continue to disappoint, the RBA could well cut interest rates sooner,” Surya added.
Government spending rose 1.4% over the quarter, due in part to strength in social-benefits programs for health services, the ABS said.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
