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Optus is the Australian leader in integrated telecommunications, delivering cutting-edge communications, information technology and entertainment. The company offers cellular, broadband, and wireless PCMCIA service. The products include residential, commercial, blackberry, and business communication handsets and service. It stands to reason that they would be alert of wi-fi tecnology and wireless LAN enhancing building materials.
The new Optus headquarters will take two and a half years to build with the construction phase likely to create up to 1,600 building jobs. About 6,500 Optus staff will move to the new headquarters including people involved in information technology, customer services and call centers, sales, research and development, and marketing personnel. The company’s executive team, including the chief executive and the chief financial officer and managing directors, will also move to North Ryde along with important professional groups such as engineering, human resources, legal, finance, strategy and corporate affairs.
The site, which is owned by Stockland and worth $350 million, can house 500 additional Optus staff. The eight-hectare commercial campus will have a gym and a childcare centre as well as a shopping arcade. It will receive a four-and-a-half star rating from the Sustainable Energy Development Authority.
The five discreet buildings that make up the campus will be set in parkland, and will each have a floor area of 3,000 square meters. In the last four years, 40 information technology and telecommunications companies have located their regional headquarters in Sydney’s high-tech corridor. Sydney has two clusters of intensive information technology and telecommunications activity akin to Silicon Valley: The northern corridor runs between North Sydney and North Ryde and the southern corridor begins at the Australian Technology Park in Redfern.
Optus CEO Mr Paul O’Sullivan said that Optus was “pleased to be partnering with Stockland and to have had the support of the NSW Department of State and Regional Development to bring this project to fruition.” So as to meet our tenants specific requirements, Stockland managed the design and Authority Approval of the development with our Architect Rice Daubney (www.ricedaubney.com.au). Upon completion of the design Rice Daubney was then novated over to our Contractor, Baulderstone Hornibrook, to provide Architectural services during construction. The project commenced on 1 May 2005 and the structure of the buildings will be complete in April 2006, with some 94,000m2 (940,000 sq.ft) of office accommodation structure and 60,000m2 (600,000sq.ft) of basement carpark structure being completed in this time frame. The project has approximately 10 months left to run to complete the fit out (base building and tenant fit out) and is currently programmed to be completed some 3 months ahead of schedule.
Some high level facts and figures of the development.
6 buildings (4 @ 5 levels and 2 @ 4 levels)
Total lettable area of 84,000m2 (840,000 sq. ft)
Each floor plate is 3,000m2 (30,000 sq. ft)
The buildings are interconnected by bridge links creating, in effect a maximum 12,000m2 (120,000sq.ft) floor plate
Basement parking for 2,002 cars with a further 98 above ground parking spaces
The internal landscaped courtyard includes water features and feature landscaping in a secure environment.
The buildings feature environmentally sustainable initiatives such as the reuse of rainwater in toilet systems and energy saving power systems.
Wireless LAN Ceilings
To learn more, visit the architect at
http://www.ricedaubney.com.au/