Follow Port Places

The Triangle

We travelled to the less explored Dock lands for Open House Melbourne to see NAB’s new building at 700 Bourke Street. The triangle is ‘the primary visual motif’ of this development expressed in myriad ways on the triangular site.

Just a few triangles

Just a few triangles

Well connected by a pedestrian street between Southern Cross Station and Etihad Stadium, it has views down river towards the Bolte Bridge and into the Stadium.  The principal entrance is off the pedestrian street. Cars enter from the level below.

The efficient and well organised tours addressed themes of wellbeing, sustainability, and design as well as the way the building supports the philosophy of working. While my main interest was in the sustainable features of the 6 star green star building which include (but are far from limited to) chilled beam cooling, natural light,  reduced energy and water consumption and re-use of materials, the workplace arrangements were even more interesting. Easy opportunities for collaboration are created with a great variety of collective workspaces. Nobody has an assigned work space. There is an emphasis on personal responsibility,motivation and understanding of roles to ensure work gets done. There are places for sociability and places  for quiet working. Flexibility is fundamental. At the end of each working day, the employee clears the desk and stores its contents in a personal locker. The  guides, all NAB employees volunteering for the day, were very positive about the work environment.

The 6,000 plants in the building create good indoor air quality. Herbs and bamboo feature in the outdoor area on the 14th floor where there are even more attractive seating places.

Open House Melbourne creates rare opportunities to go into the heart of places you would normally not have access to.  If you can get there tomorrow, do – otherwise explore 700 Bourke Street at Woods Bagots website.

 

3 Comments

  • Rebecca Moore

    Being an employee of NAB and working at this site, I can indeed confirm it is a great place to work. I especially like the emphasis on environment and sustainability, great to be able to recycle not just paper and plastic and the usual things, but organic waste as well. Health and fitness is also encouraged, there are great changeroom facilities and plenty of undercover secure storage for bicycles after my cycle to work. Glad NAB Is able to showcase some of these things.

    • So good to receive this confirmation - eases any doubt as to whether things were as fine as they seemed. I'm glad you mentioned bikes - transport was the one matter not covered by the excellent guides, and I only thought about it after we left the building.

  • It was great to welcome so many people to the building on the weekend - glad you enjoyed your visit. The cycling facilities was one area featured via video in The Arena on the day; if they missed it, people can view this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1s_qvvc4i4 The site's Facebook page also has a number of photos showcasing its features; see https://www.facebook.com/700Bourke

Leave a Reply to Rebecca Moore Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *