The passionate business of running a modern legacy

Grosvenor Place is designed as a ‘camera on the view’. It has an elliptical footprint with views from every aspect, open spaces, pillars and streams of natural light. How do tenants benefit from Grosvenor Place’s design features?

Situated between Sydney’s CBD and The Rocks, the building remains a sought-after site for business thanks to its contemporary design, which sits harmoniously within the heritage setting.

Harry Seidler designed each room as a figurative camera – whether it pointed northeast down the harbour or southwest towards Darling Harbour and the Blue Mountains.

The building is a magnificent technical breakthrough and Seidler’s largest and most technically sophisticated work up until that time. The comprehensive integration of geometry, structure and environmental services resulted in a contemporary masterwork: a modern office tower, which is also a beautiful civic sculpture.

The tower has column free floor plates, which at 2,000 square meters, are among Sydney’s largest. This gives tenants the ability to connect floors, creating a sense of openness and flexibility to allow for effective communication and collaboration. Grosvenor Place is really an open palette for tenants to create what they want.

 

Located at the gateway to the CBD, offering magnificent views to the harbour, Grosvenor Place is situated in an enviable position. What does this prestigious location offer?

Grosvenor Place is in the heart of the future of Sydney. This location is experiencing a reinvigoration of cafés, restaurants and bars with some of Sydney’s best restaurants such as Quay and Rockpool only a stone’s throw away. There are plenty of transport options with rail, bus and ferry routes on our doorstep. The future light rail project, running along George Street, stops directly outside the building making Grosvenor Place even more easily accessible.

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The workplace is constantly changing and businesses must be nimble to accommodate for changes. What changes in workplace trends has Grosvenor Place adapted to over the years?

Grosvenor Place is constantly investing in its future with upgrades to facilities, sustainability and technology.

We recently completed brand new end-of-trip facilities and are currently revitalising our outdoor dining space and LED lighting technology across all floors of the skyrise tower.

The basic design of Grosvenor Place is very forward thinking in that it was built to be environmentally friendly before sustainability was even a social issue. The sunshades on the exterior reduce the effect of heat, the air conditioning does not rely on traditional chiller technology, but rather a thermal storage unit comprising eight large ice banks which use frozen water to provide cooling. There is a 60,000-litre rainwater tank, motion and natural light sensors to conserve energy in unused rooms, and photovoltaic cells on the roof to generate renewable energy from the sun.

We also make sure everything we install is of the latest and most efficient design, and ensure that the building is as well maintained as possible. By running a building well, you’re running it sustainably, and therefore economically.

Technology is another aspect in which Grosvenor Place invests heavily. The building was one of the first of its kind to install an online tenant service response system, or TSR, so customers could easily log requests electronically and this will be updated again in the near future. Additionally, we have undertaken a website redesign and will install a new tenant portal.

When you put all of those aspects in place it ensures you are constantly moving forward, constantly investing and constantly staying at the forefront.

 

At Grosvenor Place, we are very focused on creating a neighbourhood in the building. How does Grosvenor Place encourage connectivity and collaboration in the workplace?

At Grosvenor Place, the floorplates are very large and very flexible. This provides tenants with opportunities to create vertical villages and specific designs for contiguous floors that really drive connectivity and collaboration.

The cafés and seating on site in the lobby also encourage collaboration between businesses by providing a space for tenants to come together and network. The piazza redevelopment will extend on this, offering 1,950 square metres of new restaurants, bars and cafés.

In addition, regular tenant events are hosted to create an inclusive atmosphere within the building.

Grosvenor Place has always been involved in the commerce of the nation; a place where some of the most significant deals in the history of the country have been done, and we intend it to continue on this path by providing a connected workplace.

 

What makes Grosvenor Place a premium building?

Grosvenor Place is a true icon and remains one of Seidler’s greatest accomplishments. The aesthetic and physical longevity of the architecture is timeless, delivering picture perfect views from its fantastic location on George Street. It has remained modern over the years because of the very clean architecture for which Seidler is famous.

Grosvenor Place was opened in 1988 to industry acclaim. In 1989, it won the RAIA Lustig & Moar National Prize and the RAIA’s Sir John Sulman Medal in 1991. These awards are testament to the building’s smart design that has ensured it remains a premium building.

                                                                         

How will the George Street revamp benefit the standing of Grosvenor Place as an address?

Grosvenor Place’s piazza refurbishment, along with Martin Place’s outdoor dining and the Circular Quay redevelopment form the borders of a new al fresco precinct that will bring more pedestrian zones to the city and create a better sense of community among office workers.

Visionary architects have long wished for this for Sydney. Harry Seidler was a strong believer in incorporating community spaces in his designs. As Sydney expands, government and councils are looking for ways to make the best use of community space. The new light rail provides an added opportunity to create vibrant public spaces and transform Sydney into a pedestrianised city.

Office blocks, like Grosvenor Place, are beginning to see the benefits of community infrastructure which bring shared public spaces back to Sydney – the way great architects, like Seidler, had originally envisioned.