Australia’s first wooden office building heralds new era of timber-based architecture
Lendlease’s International House Sydney is constructed with Cross Laminated Timber, which has a lower carbon footprint than other building materials
The first thing that hits the senses when walking into Lendlease’s International House Sydney is the sweet smell of the forest.
It is the first engineered timber office in the country and sits in Barangaroo complex, Sydney. The designers say it will help to lower blood pressure and orders are said to be flowing in.
The wooden beams across the open plan office floors mean staff can literally hug a tree.
The managing director of Barangaroo, Rob Deck, said now clients can see the property “we have a received a lot of interest” for possible new sites.
“Even the construction was sustainable, as being timber it did not require drilling or concrete pouring, which made it a very quiet building site with minimal wastage,” Deck said.
“In these days when companies want to attract younger staff, we need to be aware of offering sustainable buildings.”
Standing at six floors and covering 7000 square metres, the property will be the new home for advisory group, Accenture, when its lease expires at Workplace6, Pyrmont.
The ceilings have an industrial look with exposed pipes and a new metal air conditioning system that absorbs stale air immediately. The timber beams and floors absorb noise and the windows provide filtered sunlight.