Midtown (246 Bourke Street)

The 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, including this 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.

The existing units were 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 project stakeholders was 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.