April 2, 2015

Situated in the retail heart of Melbourne’s CBD, and home to six levels of commercial office space and a large retail area, the iconic Midtown building required a lifecycle replacement of its air handling plant to help improve the quality and efficiency of the facility’s HVAC system.

A.G. Coombs Advisory was initially appointed by building owners ISPT to provide a review of building services for five different project packages. The objective of each was to identify the most effective upgrade strategy. Three projects were later implemented by A.G. Coombs Projects, with one involving the refurbishment of the air-handling plant serving the commercial office floors.

Over a number of stages, and under Knight Frank Project Management & Building Consultancy, A.G. Coombs Projects organised for the removal of the five existing Air Handling Units (AHUs) and the subsequent installation of replacement units; a task that posed more challenges than usual.

Midtown’s air handling plant rooms are located on occupied floors, with limited access. The existing units had to be cut down to a safe and practical manual handling size so that they could be physically removed piece by piece from the building. The new units were delivered to site in kit form enabling A.G. Coombs’ specialist personnel to assemble them within the plant room. With Midtown located on one of the busiest Melbourne CBD intersections, delivery times were coordinated to cause minimal disruption to the general public.

The AHUs serve multiple tenants, many of whom work outside of standard office hours. Management of these important project stakeholders was therefore critical, to ensure that everyone was kept informed and that installation times remained flexible across the project to cause minimal disruption to the tenants. A.G. Coombs also ensured that the existing units remained operational until the new units were fully functional. The team achieved this through maintaining a 100% outdoor air cooling system during changeover.

Throughout the project, A.G. Coombs Projects also drew on A.G. Coombs Service’s expertise and assistance in refurbishing other HVAC system components.

ISPT’s Development Manager, Randall L.G. Smith, was very impressed with A.G. Coombs’ multi-faceted capability, along with the strong collaborative team effort that was clearly evident throughout the project.

“From start to finish, the refurbishment project was delivered efficiently and effectively, with a low impact on both our building and its tenants. Across the time of the project, we benefited greatly from A.G. Coombs’ whole-of-life building services capability, with the team helping to deliver a most professional and well managed project. And the successful project outcome, which was delivered well within the allocated time frame, is also a strong testament to the effective collaboration between ISPT, Knight Frank and A.G. Coombs.”

For more information on A.G. Coombs Projects’ building services capabilities, please contact Mark Mitchell, General Manager, A.G. Coombs Projects on telephone 03 9248 2700, or email mmitchell@agcoombs.com.au.