International House Sydney, image courtesy of Lendlease and the Property Council of Australia.

Australia’s first engineered timber office, International House Sydney, has been awarded the nation’s most prestigious property prize – the Rider Levett Bucknall Australian Development of the Year.

Lendlease was presented with the coveted honour at the Property Council of Australia (PCA)/ Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Innovation and Excellence Awards in Sydney last Friday.

Chief Executive of the PCA, Ken Morrison, said that International House is not only a construction industry ‘game changer’, but that it highlights how innovative sustainable design is also a crowd pleaser that can enhance the fabric of our cities.

Designed by Tzannes architects and completed in April 2017, the six-storey building was constructed from cross-laminated timber and glue-laminated timber.

The timber structure is supported by a ground retail level of conventional concrete.

Notably, the judges were impressed with International House’s green credentials, pointing to the ‘clear environmental benefit of timber’.

International House’s 3,500 cubic metres of sustainably-grown and recycled timber acts as a ‘carbon sink’ while also reducing the use of high-emissions concrete.

Lendlease took home the SAS International Award for Best Office Development for International House.

The developer also won the Hiflow Award for Best Shopping Centre Development for The Streets of Barangaroo.

 

 

This year, 152 finalists competed for national recognition in 20 categories.

Elwood House in Melbourne received the Crown Group Award for Best Residential Development.

RLB’s Victorian Managing Director, Ewen McDonald, applauded developer Piccolo’s “demonstration of how urban regeneration can deliver a real uplift in residential amenity while maintaining the fabric and character of the existing Ormond Village”.

Frasers Property Australia was presented with the LJ Hooker Commercial Award for Best Business or Industrial Park for the Horsley Drive Business Park in Western Sydney.

Mr Morrison said that the development has “redefined excellence in industrial parks, boasting impressive environmental credentials and demonstrating an innovative business structure that will support future regeneration projects in the area.”

SHAPE Group design manager, Althea Papinczak, was selected from a large field for the du Chateau Chun Future Leader of the Year Award.

“Althea established Women in Design and Construction in 2016 and has since grown a network of more than 4,000 women over three states. Althea’s vision to empower, inspire, challenge and support women within our industry is inspiring,” Mr Morrison detailed.

3D design studio, Binyan Studios, was awarded the PwC Award for Diversity for companies with less than 250 employees.

Mr Morrison says Binyan Studios is a “creative powerhouse that harnesses its diversity – notably a gender-balanced workforce – to showcase dynamic projects in Australia’s property industry.”

Meanwhile, the FDC Award for Diversity for companies with more than 250 employees went to NSW Land and Housing Corporation, which owns and manages a public housing portfolio of some 130,000 properties.

“NSW Land and Housing Corporation is driving diversity through its own organisation – with women accounting for 38 per cent of senior managers – and ensuring that partners meet these expectations,” Mr Morrison commented.

Brisbane City Council was presented with the PEXA Award for Project Innovation for Plan your Brisbane, the largest planning engagement exercise conducted by a local government in Australia.

“Plan your Brisbane engaged more than 100,000 people in a conversation about the future of their city. One in five Brisbane households took part through industry roundtables, surveys, pop-up events, online games and even a mobile film competition.”

The Kone Award for Development Innovation went to Charter Hall for the Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre.

Mr Morrison says “Woolworths’ state-of-the-art facility uses world-class automated technology to deliver enhanced customer, safety, supply chain, economic and sustainability benefits.”

RLB has partnered with the PCA to present the Innovation & Excellence Awards program since its inception in 1982.

“The PCA/RLB Innovation & Excellence Awards are an important platform to applaud the people who are building great cities and communities for all Australians,” Mr Morrison concluded.

Award winners were announced on Friday 17 May at a gala dinner at the International Convention Centre Sydney.

A full list of winners can be found here.