April 4, 2025 in News
Big Build
A.G. Coombs is currently involved in some of Australia’s largest transport infrastructure projects, including the delivery of mechanical services fo...
March 21, 2025
Dotted with heritage buildings and high-end shopping boutiques, the eastern end of Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD is colloquially known as the ‘Paris End.’ In 1981, this blue-chip locale welcomed two of the largest mixed-use towers in Australia, ushering in a watershed era of building services innovation.
Number 35 and 55 Collins Street, collectively known as ‘Collins Place,’ dominate the city block bounded by the corner of Collins and Exhibition streets. With the two towers standing watch, overlooking the city and surrounding vistas in every direction, the Collins Place layout cleverly plays with space.
The towers are positioned at 45° angles to the street frontages, allowing for triangular spaces to form an open retail and food plaza dubbed ‘the Great Space.’
Tall buildings come with their own set of building services challenges, none more important than fire safety. Whilst fire safety techniques and technologies have improved over the past four decades, the complexity of this site is compounded with the combination of two commercial office towers, a 5 Star Hotel, dining and cinema amenities, and retail facilities.
When Collins Place custodian, Mirvac, was reappraising their approach to fire safety services in early 2023, it reflected on positive experiences with
Walker Fire Protection on other significant Melbourne CBD sites.
- By 1970, the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group was moving ahead with plans to construct its new global headquarters on Collins Street. To be known as Collins Place, the $90M development of two towers would consume nearly a whole city block and had an overarching vision to be a place where people could work, shop, and relax.
- Under the guidance of Allan Coombs, and the expertise of the estimating team, A.G. Coombs won the contract for installation of mechanical services at Collins Place — the largest contract secured by the company to that point. Punctuated by a period of industrial action and union strikes, the 1970s delayed many projects including Collins Place.
- When eventually completed in 1981, over 80km of air distribution ductwork had been installed within the Collins Place Great Space atrium, regarded as an ‘air-conditioned showpiece.’
Source: A Singular Vision: the A.G. Coombs Story, Celebrating 70 Years
- Tower 1: 35 Collins Street – 50 levels
- Tower 2: 55 Collins Street – 46 levels
- Architect: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
- Construction commenced: 1971
- Construction completed: 1981
- Sofitel Hotel: Tower 1, levels 35 – 50
A holistic approach
Aside from impressive Tier 1 work on similarly iconic tall buildings, Mirvac was drawn to Walker Fire Protection’s end-to-end offering.
“The longer-term advantages of pivoting from a strictly maintenance-only regime to a service provider that delivers end-to-end solutions was a priority for Mirvac,” says Lisa Dalgleish, Service Operations Manager at Walker Fire.
“Mirvac recognised that we could comfortably undertake required fit-outs, be the go-to for compliance certification, and manage regular ongoing maintenance.”
Life cycle management expertise was another significant consideration.
On a precinct of this scale, and with tall buildings exceeding four decades of operation, a coordinated approach is required.
Hand in glove
Walker Fire Protection is responsible for the podium, all public spaces, the 50 levels of Tower 1 (35 Collins Street), and 46 levels of Tower 2 (55 Collins Street).
The Walker Fire team has integrated seamlessly alongside existing contractors with Mark Gaudion, Senior Contract Manager and Estimator at Walker Fire Protection, as the day-to-day on-site interface.
“We’re all working toward a common goal for a sophisticated asset owner client — with blue chip tenants — so the collaboration and engagement amongst all specialist contractor stakeholders reflects this ambition,”
adds Mark.
Adaptability is key
Walker Fire Protection provides fire maintenance services for the Sofitel Hotel, the 5-star hotel that occupies the top 15 floors of 35 Collins Street.
Sofitel’s reputation as a 5-star hotel means patrons expect a seamless and comfortable experience. This calls upon Walker Fire Protection’s expertise across Tier 1 assets to carefully schedule any required works.
Whether it’s sound travelling up the hotel levels, in the lobby and ground levels, or across the hotel’s amenities, the testing and maintenance schedule must be underpinned by customer-first planning.
“Having the on-site presence of Mark and the broader Walker Fire Protection team provides us with a tremendous level of reassurance,” says Darren Borg, Senior Facility Manager, Mirvac.
“The extras that Walker Fire Protection provides are greatly appreciated, but it goes beyond that. It’s the trust, communication, and relationship that makes it
a truly successful arrangement.”
This article originally appeared in BE — Building Efficiency 2024-2025 magazine.
