22-28 Blackwood St

Located on the fringe of the Melbourne CBD, 22-28 Blackwood St is a proposed 15-storey office tower. The project is uniquely positioned as it is to be both developed and occupied by the construction firm Maben, allowing for a high degree of alignment between design intent and operational reality.

Challenges

The architectural vision for Blackwood St is a regenerative office building designed to be a net producer, rather than a consumer, of resources. Co-Perform’s primary challenge was to translate this ambitious goal into a realistic, achievable, and technically sound Green Star strategy capable of securing a 6 Star Green Star rating—representing world leadership in sustainable design.

Technical Solutions

To manage the complexity of the Green Star Buildings tool, Co-Perform developed a bespoke communication framework. This allowed for the efficient delivery of technical requirements across the diverse design and construction disciplines involved.

Key strategic initiatives included:

• Customised Guidance: The comprehensive Green Star Buildings Guide was distilled into essential, discipline-specific guidance documents. This ensured that each member of the design team had clear, actionable parameters relevant to their scope.
• Decarbonisation Strategy: We engineered a pathway to ensure the project is Climate Active Carbon Neutral certification ready, focusing on both operational and embodied carbon.
• Upfront Carbon Reduction: Through rigorous materials selection and structural optimisation, the design targets a 20% reduction in upfront carbon compared to standard practice.
• Fossil Fuel Free Construction: Co-Perform provided the framework to support a fossil fuel free construction site, aligning the build process with the building’s long-term environmental goals.

By clarifying and coordinating design team actions toward these common benchmarks, Co-Perform has established a robust technical foundation for one of North Melbourne’s most sustainable commercial assets.