5 Martin Place Sydney wins prestigious development award

 28 July 2016

5 Martin Place, Sydney wins prestigious development award

5 Martin Place, Sydney has won the Urban Taskforce of Australia 2016 Development Excellence Award for Urban Renewal.

Dexus Group General Manager, Development, Paul Oates said: “5 Martin Place, Sydney is an important heritage building of immense community significance. We are proud to deliver, with our partner Cbus Property, this urban renewal project which re-establishes the importance of the ‘Money Box’ building, while maintaining the ongoing commercial relevance of a key heritage building and the wider Martin Place precinct.”

Cbus Property Chief Executive, Adrian Pozzo, said: “Preservation of the heritage structure and re-integration of the heritage elements into the design defined the project. The cantilever was an innovative response to preserving the building’s heritage status and blending a contemporary design for the connected tower. Finding ways to allow natural light into the building that reflected the initial intent of the design from 1916 resulted in the reinstatement of the original atrium.”

Occupying a prominent corner of Martin Place and Pitt Street, the building rises 19 levels providing approximately 33,500 square metres of Premium Grade office and retail space. 5 Martin Place has attracted a high calibre tenant profile which includes Challenger, Ashurst and WeWork and first to market retailers COS, Rimowa and Kit n’ Ace.
The site constraints required an innovative cantilever solution to enable the new tower to be launched above the heritage building with no additional load applied to the heritage building. Significant heritage features of the existing building have been revealed and conserved, and lost elements reinterpreted including the sandstone facades and interconnecting marble clad stairs. The original central light-well has been reinstated as a light-filled atrium, providing natural light to the reconstructed lay-light in the Banking Chamber.

The urban renewal of 5 Martin Place, comprising the redevelopment of the existing heritage building, the demolition of the 1968 addition, and the construction of a new commercial tower that cantilevers over the 1933 heritage building, was achieved through the collaborative efforts of the owners, architects in collaboration, Tanner Kibble Denton Architects and Johnson Pilton Walker, Grocon and the City of Sydney to achieve the best outcome for the site, the historic building and Martin Place.

5 Martin Place maintains the ongoing commercial relevance of a key heritage building and is a pivotal piece in the recent focus on the rejuvenation of the Martin Place precinct. The newly reactivated Rowe Street, the activated retail frontage and the reinstatement of significant public artworks bring new life and vitality to Sydney’s largest and most celebrated pedestrian thoroughfare.

5 Martin Place is co-owned by Cbus Property (50%), Dexus (25%) and the Dexus Office Partnership (50%).

For further information please refer to the pdf.