An adaptive reuse approach akin to a game of Jenga created by Woods Bagot could be the answer to the City of Melbourne’s 2040 emissions targets, with the practice’s concept a straightforward method to upgrading tired and under-utilised B-grade commercial buildings.

The City of Melbourne wants to retrofit a stack of its buildings to become carbon neutral. Ageing energy systems will be ripped out and replaced with all-electric power, with Councillors voting in support of a discussion paper that will propose a number of mechanisms in its bid to reach the targets by 2040.

Woods Bagot’s Cassandra Fahey and Wuff Keeble concept imagines the mid-century buildings as a stack of blocks. Redevelopment could take place through making incisions in the buildings to increase natural light and connective spaces.

“There’s that glut of buildings that are sitting there largely in squalor with the drop ceilings and the fluoro lights. I’m not sure how happy (occupants) are in those buildings,” Fahey tells the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Jenga-esque retrofit would improve a building’s energy rating, natural light and ventilation, thus improving its occupancy. Tight heritage regulations and issues of knocking down CBD buildings makes the idea one worth considering. Fahey says 77 buildings a year could be retrofitted under the proposal.

“If we keep demolishing that scale of building we’re going to end up with a city with these tiny Victorian things and skyscrapers. It doesn’t make sense.”

According to the Property Council of Australia, the occupancy of Melbourne’s lower-grade office buildings sits at 17.4 percent, staggeringly higher than premium buildings in the CBD. Fahey says taking away floorspace to improve the overall quality of the building will see occupancy increase further.

“Can we move beyond the real estate agent’s perception of lettable square metres and inspire building owners to embrace the new model? If you’ve increased the quality of the space, by letting natural light in, by putting in a winter garden, by putting in balconies that aren’t windy, that are carefully considered and are actually good to be on, then you can increase your square metre rate.”

According to the SMH, Woods Bagot is in discussions with Charter Hall, AsheMorgan and Hub Australia to utilise the Jenga system. City of Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor, Nicholas Reece says retrofitting is ideal despite its costs, as it does not disrupt heritage forms or the environment.

“New heritage protections provide a second important reason for the sensitive retrofitting of buildings as part of new developments in the city. It is far better than pulling them down.”

To read the report submitted to the Future Melbourne Committee, click here.

Jarrod Reedie

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