The Midtown Centre is set to become one of the most interesting and unique developments in Brisbane. In an Australian first, this project repurposes two existing buildings to become one state-of-the-art commercial building by merging the floor plates as well as adding 7 levels above. This complex engineering process has enormous environmental benefits, with 90% of the existing structure being reused leading to a lower carbon footprint and less pollution.

The completed development will deliver retail tenancies off the new laneway, up to 42,000 square metres of A-grade office space and will feature a beautiful 100-year-old heritage facade.

We have seen some unique developments in early 2020 as the Skygarden takes shape – a double-height, 360-degree open air space off a central atrium that extends to floor 26. We were also thrilled to hear that The Midtown Centre has been nominated as a finalist in the Australian Engineering Excellence Awards for 2020!

“Midtown has been a fantastic project to work on and we are delighted with how progress is going. From concept to delivery Midtown is a unique project, as we take buildings and repurpose them to create a new lease of life, rather than the traditional approach of demolition and fresh construction,” said Structural Engineer, Joshua Falco.

Inertia’s Engineering Principal, Phil Latham, praised the work done to date and the vision of DMC Projects, Ashe Morgan, Fender Katsalidis and Hutchinson Builders “The Midtown Centre is a fantastic example of how buildings can be re-purposed. As we see changes to working patterns, a move to more flexible working arrangement, the use of technology for remote working, there needs to be a change in thinking about future design and that will involve taking established buildings and giving them a new lease of life.”

“In a city like Brisbane, where construction costs are at the top end of the scale, this approach makes economic sense for developers and benefits the community by taking sites that could become outdated and unloved and turns them into cutting edge, modern structures. This concept also reduces construction time by 12-14 months allowing tenants to better plan for the future.”

Inertia’s involvement in The Midtown Centre covers pre-purchase due diligence, structural design, civil design and taking our ability to think laterally to ensure that the projects many unique elements could be achieved in line with the vision of the developers and architects.

More Details

Project Scope:

• Project Value: $175M
• Pre-purchase due diligence
• Civil & Structural Design

Key Challenges:

• Understanding of the existing structure
• Strengthening works to columns and core
• Complex existing podium with significant changes proposed
• Limited floor to floor heights requiring consideration of various options

Successes:

• 90% of the existing structure retained
• 11,000 tonnes of CO2 saved
• 35% more energy-efficient and 30% more water-efficient due to fewer materials being manufactured
• Reduced the time of construction by 12-14 months