Urban renewal design series
Could the ‘radical re-use’ of existing office buildings solve concurrent CBD challenges — in Melbourne and beyond?
A housing crisis with critical levels of under-supply, rising vacancy rates of older B, C and D grade office buildings, the resulting lack of vibrancy in some quarters of the city, and the urgent demands of a warming climate have propelled Hassell to undertake research into the prospect for adaptive re-use in Melbourne’s CBD.
Conducted for the Property Council of Australia in collaboration with Ethos Urban, Hassell’s whitepaper — Radical Re-Use: From Office to Home — addresses the potential conversion of B, C and D-grade office buildings into residential complexes and proposes a paradigm shift in urban development that can be applied across cities around Australia and internationally.
“A radical rethink is needed to make these buildings the most sustainable, socially useful assets they can be.”
— Ingrid Bakker, Hassell Principal
Hassell Principal Ingrid Bakker explains how our teams sees this as a big opportunity a big opportunity to work with the whole sector to drive more sustainable solutions for existing buildings in our cities.
"We’re not saying every office building in the city can be converted into residential, but there are some that definitely can – and we’re now demonstrating how,” explains Ingrid.
Ingrid Bakker in front of 85 Spring Street, an unoccupied building identified as suitable for conversion to housing. CREDIT: JUSTIN MCMANUS
“The post-pandemic reality poses many challenges for the Melbourne CBD and the future of older commercial buildings. This transformative period, defined by strong demand for premium office space, has resulted in a lot of sub-prime office space being severely underutilised,” explains Cath Evan, Victorian Executive Director at the Property Council of Australia.
Hassell’s comprehensive property audit of Melbourne’s city centre identified 86 buildings built before 1990, which represent roughly 6.5% of CBD office buildings, as ‘ripe for radical re-use’, subject to individual feasibility studies.
If half of those edifices — that are generously proportioned, structurally sound, well-located and either vacant or under-tenanted — were repurposed from office to homes, it could yield 10,000−12,000 new apartments for up to 20,000 people. The number of residential properties available for rent has been falling in Australia since early 2020. This year, the rental vacancy rates hit a historical low of just 1% in March, indicating a very tight rental market.
So the addition of up to 12,000 new units would be an outcome that would significantly add to Melbourne’s housing supply while upholding sustainability principles, including a reduction in upfront embodied carbon and the preservation of existing architectural assets.
The width of the building is the most critical factor to ensure the apartments have good access to natural light. Buildings that are around 20-25m wide allow for two apartments either side of a corridor that do not exceed the maximum living room depth of 9m that is outlined in the Better Apartment Design Standards (BADS).
“We wanted to make sure that the apartments that we were talking about creating here are going to be of high quality and therefore fully comply with the better apartment design standards that we have that govern the quality of our apartment design,” Ingrid said.
Importantly, the report outlines a framework for ‘getting Office to Home right’ and identifies planning, design and market constraints that must be overcome for successful transformations.
Our approach transcends conventional wisdom and envisions a revitalised urban landscape that accommodates diverse lifestyles while also contributing to a regenerative future. By embracing the challenge and exploring unconventional solutions, From Office to Home demonstrates it is possible to radically re-position parts of our city and breathe new life into existing urban spaces.
To get a copy of the report from our website, click on 'Read more' below or to talk to our team about urban renewal, please contact:
Isabel Tang
Media Relations
T +86 21 5456 3516
E itang@hassellstudio.com
Thomas Xu
Business Development Leader
T +86 21 5456 3525
E TXu@hassellstudio.com
