Image credit: Jaime Diaz-Berrio.
Leading international construction company, Multiplex, has completed Fivex’s $24 million Riverview House commercial office building at 276 Flinders Street in Melbourne’s CBD.
Designed by architects Baldasso Cortese with engineers Bonacci Group and Irwin Consult, the second tower of Riverview House boasts an innovative and highly-sustainable design featuring cross-laminated timber and lightweight steel.
Positioned opposite to Melbourne’s iconic Flinders Street Station, the new building spans five levels, delivering 4,000 square metres of lettable office space and is connected to the existing tower lobby via a bridge link at each level.
The bridge link features a highly efficient truss design to alleviate the transfer of new loads onto the existing building.
A weatherproof expansion joint was installed between the bridge and the original building, allowing them to move independently.
A rainwater tank was also established in an existing plant room to allow for rainwater to be harvested for use throughout the development.
Regional Managing Director of Multiplex Victoria, Graham Cottam, said that Multiplex was “delighted to complete this innovative and highly sustainable office project”.
Construction on Riverview House commenced in March 2018 and during peak construction over 115 people worked on-site.
Riverview House was a technically complex project with innovative construction methods including the use of lightweight materials such as a modular structural steel grid and cross-laminated timber floor panels to limit the need to strengthen the existing structure below and enable compliance with engineering codes.
According to Baldasso Cortese Partner, Murray Brassington, the building had many challenges from a design point of view.
“Balancing a new structure on top of a fully-occupied 3-storey podium floors while achieving code compliance created unique design issues,” he detailed.
“It was great to have Multiplex input through the design stage to resolve these issues in a practical way.”
Yet the development wasn’t complete without its fair share of challenges, most notably planning and engaging in construction work on a site that is situated in an extremely busy part of Melbourne’s CBD.
The location of the project, directly above occupied tenancies and adjacent to one of Australia’s busiest intersections, also created a unique set of logistical constraints and challenges that needed to be overcome.
Structural steel cantilevered protection decks allowed the new building to be encapsulated by scaffolding, providing overhead public protection and access for feature cladding.
276 Flinders Street is Fivex’s newly refurbished mixed-use retail precinct. The podium and ground levels comprise a fitness and childcare centre and a range of retail and food stores, with extensive office space above.