We recently awarded Arup’s new Sydney HQ with the highest star rating for its innovative and sustainable design.

The five-floor tenancy at Barrack Place, 151 Clarence Street, demonstrates world leadership in sustainable design and received a 6 Star Green Star Interiors v1.1 Design Review Certified rating.

The Arup fit-out scored highly across all sustainability categories, including management, indoor environment quality, energy, transport, water, land use and ecology, emissions and innovation, with a perfect score awarded in the materials category.

“The Arup team and our design partners at HASSELL have done a great job integrating sustainable principles into the design of our new Sydney office. The achievement of a 6 Star Green Star rating is a clear indication of Arup’s commitment to sustainability,” says Arup NSW Region Leader, Andrew Pettifer.

Championing biophilic design principles, the office space is full of specially chosen plants to create a healthy environment for Arup’s 800-strong Sydney team. At the base of the tenancy void, their knowledge centre, Arup University, is home to a planted tree to increase the quality of indoor air and give staff and visitors an improved connection to nature.

Air quality was also an important consideration to the furniture selection, with pieces chosen that don’t emit unwanted chemicals.

Outdoor air is supplied through an Arup-designed underfloor displacement ventilation system, providing the highest levels of indoor air quality. Occupants are benefitting from the improved air quality and able to control the airflow in their immediate environments through in-floor swirl diffusers. The design includes an innovative ‘mixed mode’ ventilation feature that allows fresh air to be drawn naturally through the atrium void when external conditions are suitable.