Tech titan to build tallest timber tower
Global software giant Atlassian will build the world’s tallest ‘hybrid timber’ building for its new headquarters in Sydney, with the 40-storey structure coming in at 180 metres to be contructed with timber mass.
SYDNEY: Global software giant Atlassian will build the world’s tallest ‘hybrid timber’ building for its new headquarters in Sydney, the company said yesterday.
The 40-storey structure, coming in at 180 metres, will be constructed with timber mass — layers of softwoods pressed together — and will feature a glass and steel facade, topped by outdoor gardens.
The Atlassian building, designed by New York architects SHoP and Australian firm BVN, will operate on 100 per cent renewable energy and incorporate solar panels and selfshading windows in its facade.
It will use Mass Timber Construction, a technique that fuses softwoods, which Atlassian described as a key technology to lower the building’s carbon footprint.
Construction is due to start next year and be completed in 2025.
Highly ecological, hybrid timber constructions have seen a burst of popularity. The Netherlands is due to begin work next year on a 140m hybrid timber tower in Rotterdam.
Atlassian, founded in 2001 by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, says the tower will house 4,000 staff and form the hub of a new tech precinct in the central Sydney business district.
“The space that we are building will be highly sustainable and highly flexible — it will be purpose-built for the future of work, for tomorrow’s world, not today’s,” Farquhar said in a statement.
He noted the post-Covid reality of more people likely working from home, but said companies still needed offices to thrive.
“Now we can design this space especially for these new ways of working,” he said.