Bendigo Bank Head Office, Bendigo, VIC

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Summary

Bendigo Bank's new head office building in the Bendigo CBD is the first 5 Star Greenstar building to be built in a regional city in Australia.

The main building is of 6 storeys - ground, car park and 4 office floors. The NLA of the four office floors is 13,577 sq m. The building is linked to the former head office building to provide a total of more than 16,000 sq m of office space.

The building has a number of innovative ESD features, including -

• Underfloor air conditioning
• Black and grey water recycling
• External sun shades on the north and west
• Automated internal blinds
• Double glazed windows
• Perimeter zone daylight compensation light dimming
• Two full height atria ensuring all staff are within 8 metres of natural light
• Central vacuum system
• Solar hot water heating
• Low emission paints, carpets and workstations
• Rainwater collection.

The project team

Checklist of sustainable features

Energy (up to 50% reduction in power usage)
Indoor Environmental Quality (fresher air, more light)
Productivity (improved staff working conditions)
Water (blackwater recycling plant and rainwater collection)
Waste (recycling)
Materials (low emission paints, carpet, workstations and recycled paper workstation backs)
Transport (bicycle room and showers)
Building Rating: 5 Green Star

Motivations and lessons

The owner's view - an interview with Richard Hasseldine (Project Executive, Bendigo Bank ) and Rosalie Cheyne

March 2008

What are the main reasons why your company chose to do a sustainable building?

• Bendigo Bank is a community focused and environmentally aware organization. We wanted our new head office to reflect the values and culture of the Bank.
• To provide a better environment and working conditions for our staff.
• As our building is located in a very dry area of central Victoria and water saving is imperative the move allowed the introduction of blackwater recycling.

What are the best things that have come out of doing a sustainable building?

• A high quality, environmentally friendly location for all our staff.
• Excellent indoor air quality which provides a more healthy environment for staff.
• Energy and water savings.

What are the things that you did that made the project work well?

• Excellent choice of architects and builder.
• Far sighted board that approved the construction of a 5 star Greenstar building and allowed the project team freedom to adopt an innovative design.
• Staff willingness to accept change.

What were the things that didn't work quite so well and how were they managed?

• The cost of removing tenants with existing leases.
• Delays with archeological dig (dig allowed to take the full course of time to ensure all artifacts were recorded and/or preserved).
• Objections by local residents relating to demolition of an existing building in a heritage area (access tours to allow interested parties to appreciate that only a façade remained).

Are there any photos, diagrams, anecdotes that you can supply to give detail of the green building features?

Under floor air conditioning and vacuuming system under raised floor
Source: Bendigo Bank/Richard Gibbs

Under floor air conditioning and vacuuming system under raised floor
Source: Zenith Interiors

Blackwater recycling (pit interior)
Source: Bendigo Bank/Richard Gibbs

Blackwater recycling diagram
Source: Sustainability Victoria (2006)

Anecdote - a visitor to Bendigo looked at the external sunshades on the building and said to her companion, "What are they? It looks like someone has hung the tea towels out to dry.".

External sunshades (western façade [left] and northern façade [right])
Source: Bendigo Bank/Richard Gibbs

Diagram of shading dynamics (click on thumbnail for larger view)
Source: Sustainability Victoria (2006)

Double glazed windows (southern façade [top] and eastern façade [bottom])
Source: Bendigo Bank/Richard Gibbs

Internal atria
Source: Zenith Interiors

Low emission carpets, paints and workstations (plus carbon scrubbing plants)
Source: Zenith Interiors

References

Sustainability Victoria (2006) Sustainability with a community focus -
Bendigo bank case study. The Commercial Office Building Energy Innovation Initiative (COBEII). Sustainability Victoria website