Located on the corner of Martin Place and Elizabeth Street in Sydney’s CBD, 50 Martin Place was constructed between 1925 and 1928, and is one of the most important examples of the rare, American-influenced, Inter-War, Beaux-Arts style in New South Wales and Australia. Originally the former Government Savings Bank of New South Wales, the steel and reinforced concrete building reflects the prosperity and confidence of the era prior to the Great Depression, highlighting the importance of the savings bank movement in NSW.  Consisting of redevelopment and refurbishment works, the project provided the client, Macquarie Group, with world-class, modern accommodation for employees in a state-of-the-art global headquarters. 
With a combined NLA of 24,000m2 across 11 storeys, the nine upper levels of office space surround a central atrium, topped with a newly constructed steel-frame glass dome which provides natural light to the working environment below. The new three-storey roof structure was added on Level 10 to incorporate an additional two levels of office space on levels 10 and 11.  The widening of the central atrium and addition of internal stairs between the levels provides interconnectivity and collaboration within the workplace.  In addition, the project required the complete refurbishment of building services and systems, the removal of extensive levels of lead paint, the complete fitout of the interiors while preserving heritage elements throughout, and the installation of unique and highly complicated glass shuttle lifts.  Other alterations included removal of an existing fire-isolated stair in the northwest corner of the building, converting the northern service shaft into a light well and installing the new glass lifts to serve the existing banking chamber on the ground floor and levels 10 and 11.   Achieving a 6-Star Green Star Design and As-Built rating, the redevelopment combines wide-reaching sustainability targets with commercial usability and meets the requirements of a modern office building while preserving the building’s significant heritage value.   The project was completed in 24 months with the builder carrying out demolition, lead paint removal, addition of the three-storey roof structure, two new glass lifts, and integrated tenancy fitout while the ground floor tenant continued to operate throughout the construction period. This was achieved through careful planning and management of all materials handling and construction methodologies. This is an outstanding project that has been restored and finished to an exceedingly high level, demonstrating the attention to detail which could only have been achieved with a whole team participation approach. 50 Martin Place Redevelopment is a worthy winner of the 2015 Outstanding Construction Award.