The Floth Physics Team has overcome the design challenges presented by the inclusion of a 200 metre glass-faced lift shaft in Brisbane’s 111 Eagle Street development.

The Eagle Street project, developed by The GPT Group designed and constructed by Cox Rayner Architects and Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd, is set to deliver 54 levels of premium grade office space to the ever popular riverside address.

To optimise the river views and work space, the building was designed with glass-faced lift shaft, creating an impressive visual effect to the street.

The Floth Physics Team was engaged by Leighton Contractors to develop a solution to ventilate and condition the 200 metre glass-faced lift shaft to combat excess heat produced by the lift itself and other environmental factors.

Floth Research and Development Manager Guillaume Jolly said the team needed to account for the lift car movement in the lift shaft and the impact of the afternoon sun on the development’s western façade.

“We have used a facade modeling strategy that we have developed over the past 3 years with the help of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California,” Mr Jolly said.

“Finding a cost effective solution to ventilate the lift shaft in a way that was going to meet the project environmental standards was the biggest challenge we faced throughout the project.”

“This is the first time in the world such a lift shaft has been uniquely integrated into the external façade.”

The Floth Physics Team combines over 10 years experience in building science and research using 3D modelling environments, dynamic thermal simulation, computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The team includes Guillaume Jolly, Dr Julien De Charentenay and Brenton King.

Floth Sustainable Building Consultants was appointed to provide the air conditioning system concept design, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) energy and thermal modelling for the air distribution systems for the 111 Eagle Street development

With 80 employees in Sydney, Brisbane and Jakarta, Floth’s engineers are fast earning reputations as experts in ESD.

Floth has provided engineering and sustainability services on a number of high profile projects including Green Square, HQ, 400 George Street and King George Central in Brisbane.