Atelier Ten applied a systems-based sustainability approach to Blue & William, a boutique commercial tower in North Sydney. Despite the site’s planning complexities, overshadowing, wind exposure, and limited passive design opportunities, the project achieved 5 Star Green Star certification and a 5.5 Star NABERS commitment.
Guided by the client’s ambition for a low-carbon, flexible workplace, the building pairs heritage-inspired glazed terracotta-framed windows with expansive landscaped terraces and sweeping harbour views. The environmental strategy balanced performance aspirations with market, planning, and budget realities.
Our involvement spanned from concept through construction, ensuring sustainability targets remained embedded in decision-making. Detailed modelling informed façade optimisation, maximising daylight while controlling peak cooling loads. A key innovation addressed thermal bridging at balconies: placing insulation above the slab instead of beneath preserved aesthetics, enhanced thermal mass performance, improved efficiency, and reduced coordination issues.
The Climate Action Plan embedded long-term adaptability into building systems, addressing risks from extreme heat, water scarcity, and emissions compliance. By refining insulation details, materials, and sequencing, we delivered a consistent thermal response across orientations and streamlined Section J approvals.
Post-completion, we guided tenant fitouts to align with base building targets, reviewing designs for compliance with sustainability goals, adaptation obligations, and metering requirements. Advice extended to occupancy diversity, internal heat loads, and supplementary systems to safeguard operational performance.
Blue & William demonstrates that high-performance sustainability is achievable even on complex sites when strategies are integrated early. Atelier Ten’s collaborative, practical approach ensured that environmental ambitions translated into real-world delivery, producing a building that is resilient, efficient, and ready for the future.
