PROJECT: Melbourne Convention Centre

Counting down for that decision LOL

and it better be Multiplex !

Green rules to tighten on big projects
Email Print Normal font Large font By Farrah Tomazin
February 15, 2006

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AdvertisementDEVELOPERS would be forced to meet tough "green" rules when they bid for major projects, under changes being considered by the Bracks Government.

In a push to bolster Labor's environmental credentials in the lead-up to this year's state election, the Government may ask all future tenderers to meet minimum "green design" standards on energy reduction, water saving and emissions.

The $367 million Melbourne Convention Centre, to be built at Southbank after the Commonwealth Games, will be a public infrastructure "test case".

The Government is on the brink of announcing the winning design for the project, several months behind schedule. Major Projects Minister John Lenders said bidders had been asked to make sure their plans supported ecologically sustainable development and achieved at least a four-star environmental rating.

He said the Government was considering whether to extend this regime to all future infrastructure projects, but this would be "heavily influenced" by whether taxpayers saved money in the long term.

"We know that ecological sustainable development is important for Victoria's future. We also know that building designs that conserve water and energy can deliver significant savings to government in the long term," Mr Lenders said.

The infrastructure industry has been calling for more environmentally friendly major projects for some time, but some key figures say the Government had been slow to agree.

"Developers and building owners have seen green star ratings as a good thing, but in some instances the Government has lagged behind," said Rob Stent, Victorian president of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

Opposition major projects spokeswoman Louise Asher described the plan as an "amazing about-face" given the Liberal Party had last year called on the Government to implement water savings plans for all major projects — an initiative that now forms part of the Liberals' own policy.

The Government has about $10 billion worth of major projects in the pipeline, including the Spencer Street redevelopment, the Commonwealth Games Athletes' Village and the Australian synchrotron project.

It is in the process of choosing between two very different designs for the 5000-seat Melbourne Convention Centre: the first being a bid by Multiplex and financier Plenary Group; the second a proposal by Bovis Lend Lease and finance group Babcock & Brown.

The Age revealed last month that the Multiplex bid features five large buildings including the convention centre, a $100 million Hilton hotel, two German-style shopping centres and an office-and-apartment tower. By contrast, the Bovis Lend Lease bid has adopted a minimal approach that sticks to the Government brief and focuses on the convention centre and associated hotel.

Sources at the time likened the Government's choice to a contest between the Flower Drum restaurant and McDonald's.

They picked the super sized $1 billion version!

The news web sites are a bit slow today:

Wednesday, 22 February 2006

CONVENTION CENTRE CORNERSTONE OF YARRA REDEVELOPMENT

The Premier, Steve Bracks, today unveiled details of a major redevelopment of the lower Yarra’s southern banks, including a 5000-seat Convention Centre, a five-star hotel, an office and residential tower, a riverfront retail promenade and revitalised Maritime Museum.

Mr Bracks, who announced Multiplex/Plenary Consortium as the successful tenderer for the Convention Centre contract, said the State Government’s contribution to the project would be $370 million.

“The new Convention Centre will be an iconic building and major new landmark for Melbourne,” he said.

“The centre will secure Melbourne’s position as Australia’s business event capital generating millions of dollars each year for the business tourism and retail sectors and create thousands of new jobs for Victorians.

“The new centre is part of a public-private partnership project that will complete the urban renewal of the Yarra River’s edge linking Southbank to Docklands and creating a commercial and lifestyle district down the river’s spine to the bay’s edge and port districts.”

Mr Bracks said the consortia’s $1 billion proposal included:

• a 5,000 seat, six-star energy rated Convention Centre;
• a five star Hilton Hotel;
• an office and residential tower;
• a riverfront promenade of retails shops, including cafes, bookstores and wine merchants;
• a premium brand homemaker retail complex; and
• an investment in public spaces including a partnership with the National Trust for a revitalised Maritime Museum.

“The remaining developments will be financed privately as a public-private partnership under the Partnership Victoria model,” Mr Bracks said.

“The winning bid is a great example of how the Partnerships Victoria policy can bring innovation and benefits to the Victorian community.

“The Melbourne City Council will also invest $43 million to finance a bridge linking the southern and northern banks, other capital works and marketing of the new centre.”

Mr Bracks said today’s announcement followed a rigorous tender process.

“The Multiplex/Plenary Consortium proposal delivered commercial, services, technical and design excellence and will elevate Melbourne’s business events profile internationally,” Mr Bracks said.

“Melbourne’s new convention centre will be a facility all Victorian will be proud to call their own.

“It will incorporate state of the art design features and achieve a six star green star rating.

“The timber-clad, 5,000-seat Plenary Hall will be fan-shaped achieving an unobstructed view of proceedings.

“I have also asked Victoria's newly-appointed Government Architect John Denton and his office to work with the successful bidder on the delivery of the proposed iconic design.”

The Convention Centre will also feature:
• a ball room;
• an 18-metre high glass wall façade fronting the Yarra;
• a gala seating system in the Plenary Hall to allow for flexible seating configurations;
• 32 meeting rooms; and
• a ground foyer for 11,000 guests.

Mr Bracks said the Convention Centre project was a great example of strategic infrastructure investment designed to grow the entire State.

“The new Convention Centre will generate 2,500 jobs plus 1,000 jobs during the construction period and increase economic activity by $197 million each year over 25 years.

“Interest in this magnificent new centre is set to soar now that we have a proposal that offers a world class ‘green’ facility for a full spectrum of international conferences and events.”

The Minister for Tourism, John Pandazopoulos, said Victoria had already secured five big international conventions for the new centre worth nearly $70 million and collectively bringing almost 12,500 delegates to the State.

“Business events already contribute $1.2 billion to the Victorian economy and employs more than 22,000 people,” Mr Pandazopoulos said.

“Business tourists spend twice as much as leisure tourists and business tourism is the fastest growing and highest yielding tourism sector.”

The Minister for Major Projects, John Lenders, said the new convention centre was part of the largest program of infrastructure spending by any Victorian Government.

“The Bracks Government is delivering the biggest infrastructure spend in Victoria's history - we are building roads, schools, hospitals and police stations and other vital projects in a financially responsible way for all Victorians,” Mr Lenders said.

“In the last five years we have spent $10 billion on infrastructure, or an average $2 billion each year, and will spend more than $10 billion or an average of $2.5 billion each year in the next four years.”

The Mulitplex/Plenary Consortium consists of the Plenary Group (consortium lead, equity investor and project management), Deutsche Bank (financial underwriter), AUSTEXX (commercial development partner), Multiplex Constructions (builder), Multiplex Facilities Management (service delivery over the 25 year concession period), Hilton International (hotel operator) and NH Architecture/Woods Bagot/Larry Oltmanns (architecture and urban design).

Construction is scheduled to start after the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and the centre will be operational in 2009.

The Hilton Hotel will be 12 storeys high.

More info:

- The Precinct -

The Multiplex-Plenary Consortium was established by Plenary Group in 2004 to bid for Melbourne’s landmark Convention Centre.

! This is a $1 billion integrated mixed-use precinct investment that will create a contiguous Southbank river frontage – the last, and most crucial, urban renewal of
the Yarra’s edge, linking the south bank to Docklands.

! The total Precinct development delivers much more than just the base case convention centre and bridge. It will also deliver:

− a 319 room 5 star Hilton Hotel
− an 18,000m2 office and residential tower, and
− a 10,000m2 riverfront promenade of lifestyle retail, incorporating cafes bookstores and tourism retail
− a 50,000m2 premium brand homemaker retail complex that will be one of the largest single stage retail developments ever completed in the Melbourne CBD
− an investment in public spaces including a partnership with the National Trust for a revitalised Maritime Museum.


- Convention Centre -

! The project will commence after the Commonwealth Games in 2006 with a construction completion to allow it to be operational in 2009.
! Floor area of Convention Centre 66,000m2.
! Height of building 25m.
! Triangular roof area 20,000m, the sides of triangle approximately 200m long each.
! The building basement provides truck unloading facilities below ground directly into the Plenary Hall. The majority of plant rooms and back of house facilities (main kitchen) are housed out of sight in this location.
! The Plenary Hall has a maximum capacity of 5,000 persons and is sub dividable into 3 smaller plenary configurations of 2500, 1500 and 1000 persons respectively; made possible by the extension of sound proof walls.
! The ground floor foyer is able to host as many as 11,000 guests at a cocktail type function.
! The meeting room provision is 32 rooms of varying size.
! The vertical transport system allows for trucks to be lifted to all levels for exhibition and displays.
! 18 meter high glass wall façade to riverfront and maritime village which maximises views back up the river with the city skyline as a backdrop.
! General Material Quantities:
− Concrete – 19,985 cubic metres
− Reinforcing Steel – 1830 tonne
− Bulk excavation – 101,813 m3
− Structural Steel – 5200 tonne
− Ceilings – 61,034 m2
− Roof sheeting – 14,643 m2
− Lifts - 15 lifts
− Escalators - 16 Escalators


- Design Elements -

! Located on the southern bank of the Yarra River adjacent to the existing Melbourne Exhibition site. The area will be linked by a new pedestrian bridge also to the northern
side of the river. The development will create a contiguous Southbank river frontage – the last, and most crucial, urban renewal of the Yarra’s edge, linking the South Bank
to Docklands.

! The new Convention Centre will deliver the world’s first six green star rated convention centre, underpinned by an above-brief investment in black water treatment and water conservation.

! It will be an elegant and iconic triangular building – a major architectural statement for Melbourne, enhancing its reputation for built form design excellence.

! Three entry points lead delegates into the building itself, foyers are visually linked to the outdoor public spaces and wrap around the circumference of the 5000-seat auditorium without interrupting operational efficiency. Expansive glass facades provide for visual connection to the CBD.
! Double height circulation voids adjacent to the north façade also create visual connectivity between floors - a sense of space and volume.
! All services, including arrival and handling of goods occur out-of-sight at basement level.
! The interior finish of timber clad wall components and the inclusion of a feature ceiling create an ambience of the highest international standing.
! The Plenary Hall’s fanned-shape design and seating rakes result in 100% of delegates achieving an unobstructed view of proceedings, no matter what the convention mode. This will be the world’s first 5000 seat facility to achieve this.
! The Gala seating system is without question the world’s leading-edge technology in achieving limitless flexibility in seating configurations providing the greatest speed and operational efficiency in event change over.
! Active pedestrian promenades and a number of public forecourts link the convention centre’s three major entry points to the broader retail, hotel and restaurant facilities.

Channel 10 gave no warning. All I managed to get was this pic of a tower which looks to be about 20 storeys tall. It was annoying because they showed a fly through but no still renders.



I'll watch Ch9 and 7 news to try and get more and better pics.

Yep pics:



Hotel to the left and Office/resi to the right.