by Ann Withanee — December 21, 2011—Australia’s property industry has once again raised the bar for new office buildings, with guidelines that support the delivery of more sustainable, productive and efficient office premises. This is the message delivered by the Property Council of Australia’s newly revised A Guide to Office Building Quality.
The Guide is available to all sectors of the industry as a benchmark for office buildings and is designed as an aid to real estate and facilities professionals, as well as owners, designers and occupants. The publication’s market-driven matrix identifies typical features of different grades of office space and reflects an industry appetite for improved building performance.
A key component of the revised guide broadens the critical area of sustainability. Environmental criteria, first included in the 2006 Guide, have now been expanded to reflect a more holistic view of sustainability.
“In 2006, sustainability metrics were added to the Guide for the first time,” said Property Council CEO Peter Verwer. “Many buildings have far surpassed the standards set in 2006, which were ambitious for that time. For instance, the 2012 edition of the Guide identifies 5 Star Green Star and NABERS Energy ratings as the benchmark for new Premium Grade buildings.”
Verwer adds, “The expanded environmental performance metrics in the new Guide raise the bar, but also demonstrate what industry already knows: sustainable design and management of office buildings has become part of core business.”
