Twenty 8 Freshwater Place

A fresh perspective

Located in Melbourne's Southbank district, "Twenty 8 Freshwater" is a building that will neatly round out the Freshwater Place Precinct. The building completes the Freshwater courtyard and adds to the now-occupied residential and commercial towers of the development's first stage, as well as the ground-floor retail podium.

Situated on remediated land, Twenty 8 Freshwater represents a successful turnaround for a site that was previously contaminated and therefore unusable. The development has been carefully designed to achieve an overall impression of a building that is sympathetic to its surrounds, while providing a fresh, contemporary vision. Design of the building commenced in July 2006 and construction works are underway, with the core structure erected to around level 10.

Twenty 8 Freshwater has achieved a 4 Star Green Star - Office Design v2 rating due to a number of substantial environmental initiatives that will ensure that the building's green credentials endure for the total life of the building.

Complementary design

Within the building, a side core arrangement allows all serviced areas to straddle the Western side of the site. The building has been articulated to complement the scale of adjoining structures - podium levels match those of Stage 1 construction and the tower is set back to not overshadow the newly established courtyard.

Twenty 8 Freshwater is being developed to achieve A Grade services for the office facilities and to achieve best practice environmental outcomes. The building comprises a basement car parking, ground floor lobby (partially retail space) and 22 levels of office space spread between the podium and the tower. Five car park levels are above ground.

Waste not, want not

Eighty per cent of waste, by weight, is targeted to be reused or recycled during the construction of Twenty 8 Freshwater - saving vast amounts of waste being pushed to landfill. The structure itself is formed using a substantial amount of recycled content. Ninety per cent of all steel used in the design contains a post-consumer recycled content greater than 50 per cent.

Water and energy savings

Water and energy meters are provided throughout the new office complex. This will assist the building owners to manage their building services systems and general day-to-day operations to reduce water and energy consumption in line with the building targets.

Comfort plus

To maximise indoor environmental quality for occupants, 95 per cent of all painted surfaces in Twenty 8 Freshwater will use low-VOC paints. Conventional paints can make the air we breathe a chemical cocktail, even long after they have dried, as they continue to release petroleum-based solvents, called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as they cure. The building's project specification also stipulates the minimisation of VOCs and formaldehydes for carpets, adhesives and sealants.

Thermal comfort for occupants was also maximised through the use of high-efficiency double glazing.

While helping to complement its surroundings, the building's side core design also achieves uninterrupted views across the internal floor space. This affords an even more pleasant indoor space for occupants.

Access all areas

The building's design reserves more than 25 per cent of all parking spaces for small cars and motorbikes. Cycling to work is also encouraged through the provision of secure bike storage facilities and cyclist amenities. The site is also well serviced by public transport, being within walking distance to number of tram and bus stops. The site is also located within 1 km of Melbourne's major train station, Flinders Street Station, which services all areas of Melbourne.