Comfort and well-being

Studies show that businesses that invest in their staff’s comfort and overall wellness have higher levels of productivity and overall company satisfaction. Aurecon found ways to locate the columns as far away from the facade as possible. This maximised views from desks and natural light.

Aurecon’s requirement for an open stair through five floors of the building, to encourage movement and interaction, also introduced issues, including the potential for fire to spread between floors and for smoke to block safe escape routes.

Aurecon’s fire engineering, mechanical and structural teams, developed a solution that takes advantage of the existing under-floor air conditioning system to extract and contain smoke. This avoided the cost and time required to install extra mechanical systems.

An external terrace with outdoor furniture and BBQ facilities for staff enjoyment and client events overlooks Docklands parklands and is also Wi-Fi enabled as an outdoor working space.

The Smart Centre allows the Aurecon team to review these initiatives, by looking at scenarios such as: comparing stair vs. lift use; measuring bike facility usage; monitoring indoor air quality; using wearables to promote health initiatives; understanding drinking water consumption; and optimising daylight, temperature and humidity levels. Together, these factors can determine the success of a building’s design for the people who work in it and occupy its space.

Productivity

Productivity metrics enables understanding of the way people connect and find the resources they need. By monitoring staff preferences and patterns of movements throughout the office, it is possible to analyse the use of designated areas like social spaces and break-out rooms.

This data compiles an overall picture of the type of environment that best fosters productivity and collaboration between co-workers.

Sustainability

Sustainability initiatives include:

A ‘once-past-the-face’ air conditioning air flow that provides outdoor air ventilation at twice the code requirement – each person has a floor grille located at their desk with which they can control their airflow and local climate
Fully automated energy efficient office lighting that includes up-lighting of the ceiling to minimise office space ‘gloom’
Building facades that reduce energy consumption. The building has grey, double glazed low-e windows that trap heat on the surface and prevent it from radiating into the office and help to eliminate glare. This also means an increase in natural light, giving the office an open and bright feel
Perimeter opening windows in meeting rooms and the open office area provide natural ventilation
Water saving techniques include the collection and re-use of rainwater and fire test water for toilet flushing
Reflective back window blinds to control heat and glare from perimeter full height glass facade
Energy efficient multi-zone inverter type tenancy air conditioning to larger meeting rooms
Heat recovery kitchen boiling water units that use chilled water refrigeration heat rejection to warm the sink hot and boiling water supplies
Data centre in-row cooling with hot aisle cold aisle containment for energy efficiency cooling
Material, furniture and workstation selections with sustainable attributes and/or accreditation

The Smart Centre platform also allows Aurecon to gauge and track its level of sustainability by looking at patterns in electricity and water usage, fuel consumption, and paper printed.

The Smart Centre can track data such as the number of meeting rooms in use and electricity wasted by computers left on over the weekend. Heat mapping of light fittings can test energy and equipment use, and influence of ambient temperatures from outside elements.

Temperatures are tested through the Smart Centre to find the optimal range for mood and comfort. The platform offers intelligent, real-time data that demands honest assessment in our ongoing efforts to align the company to a future ready sustainable agenda.

Through data insights, Aurecon can make continuous improvements and optimisations to support cost saving and productivity gains, while fostering staff happiness and engagement.

Completed in 2012, the Smart Centre is the digital layer to the Aurecon Centre building that helps turn data into actionable improvements for the organisation.

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