The 50-storey Quay Quarter Tower (QQT) commercial development forms the centrepiece of the wider Quay Quarter precinct. In 2015 AMP Capital planned to repurpose the existing 186 metre tall 1976 building by extending its design life by 50 years with minimal intervention. It was achieved by grafting 45,000 square metres of new office space to the reused part of the structure to create a 216 metre tall hybrid. Architects 3XN (Danish) and BVN (Australian), Structural Engineers BG&E and ADG, MEP/Facade Engineers Arup and Multiplex Construction collaborated in a unique design and construction process to deliver AMP Capital’s vision.
The project is an adaptive reuse of two-thirds of a 45-year-old tower as the backbone of the new building, approximately twice the original size and conserved 12,116 tons of embodied carbon with a carbon footprint estimated at 239 Kg CO2/M2 gross internal area. The building presents the latest commercial office technology, upgraded services and a high-performance façade,
Two fundamental objectives for the upgrade were conserving carbon content in the existing building aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and targeting to achieve a low operational carbon content with 6-star Greenstar and 5.5 Nabers ratings.

Photography by Adam Mork, Ethan Rolhoff, 3XN, Martin Seigner