...William Mc Cormack Place

William McCormack Place – the $17. 5 million new government office building in Cairns – has been designed to attain the highest energy-efficiency rating in the Australian tropics.

The Department of Public Works project managed construction of the four-story building, designed by Cairns based CA Architects in conjunction with Cox Rayner and constructed by Barclay Mowlem.

Energy-efficient design features include sun shades, double-glazing, centrally controlled lighting and
air-conditioning, and a heat exchange system to capture and recycle cool air that would otherwise escape.

The Project

William McCormack Place is a 4568m2 (net lettable area) four-storey commercial office building in Cairns, Australia. It was built by a private sector construction manager under a two-stage, design and construct, guaranteed maximum price contract with an overall budget of $17.5m including fitout and public art. The building was opened in September 2002, delivered on time and within budget, after an 18-month design and construction program.

A thermal tank and wheel were major contributors to significant energy savings. Energy costs for William McCormack Place are currently 37% less (on a per square metre net lettable area basis) than the energy costs for similar North Queensland government properties. The savings arise largely from the air-conditioning technologies, assisted by the building structure’s thermal qualities. These substantial whole-of-life gains are augmented by savings in capital and maintenance costs due to adoption of the thermal tank in preference to a low-load chiller. Comparison of the projected hardware and service costs over 45 years shows savings of 61%. Over that period, the low-load chiller would require on-going maintenance, including a complete rebuild or replacement, while the thermal tank is largely maintenance free.

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