Fivex development wins NSW Royal Australian Institute of Architects Award for Commercial Architecture

The Berger family is celebrating a prestigious win with the new development of its Fivex Commerical Property winning Best Commercial Architecture in the 2007 NSW  Royal Australian Institute of Architects Award for Commercial Architecture.

An honour infrequently given to smaller scale suburban offices, the new development, which is made up of one level of ground floor retail and three levels of commercial suites, beat a number of high profile competitors including Westpac Place and 60 Moncur Street, both of which received commendations.

Occupying a prominent corner in the commercial centre of Double Bay. 376-382 New South Head Road was a speculative development starting out with no pre-committed tenants building commenced.

The building adheres to strict Australian environmental standards and the property group, whose other buildings include 275 Alfred Street and 191 Clarence Street in Sydney, hopes it will achieve a 5 star environmental rating in time.

The cleverly built building, designed by Eeles Trelease Architects, also received a commendation in the Sustainable Architecture category. The green building incorporates cutting edge water recycling technology as well as being an energy efficient building.

“We decided that there needed to be a building development that was sustainable and reflects our desire to be easy on our delicate environment. The building is not connected to mains water supply or sewerage” said Lesli Berger, General Manager of Fivex Group.

Shallow floor space and large cut out awnings makes the workspace light and airy and leaves behind traditional oppressive shading usually found in commercial buildings.

An open staircase allows natural ventilation to circulate and minimises the use of a lift for tenants, further demonstrating the companies desire to be eco-friendly.

“The decision was made by us not to have car park facilities under the building. Because of its location the building is easily serviced by public transport and allows for easy flow traffic”.

The building will now go into the National RAIA competition to be hosted later this year.

By Royal Australian Institute of Architects, 2/7/2007

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