Bates Smart is the proud recipient of the AR Future Project award for Sustainable Research and Design.

Our entry, Melbourne’s Net-Zero Future, identified fifty potential sites in Melbourne for sustainable timber additions, capable of sequestering approximately 86,000 tonnes of carbon and adding 450,000sqm of floor space to existing buildings, contributing to a pathway that will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

A case study on Melbourne House (1923) demonstrates how the building can be enhanced with an eight-storey timber addition, offering carbon sequestration, increased density, and various use options while reducing construction time, costs and embodied carbon and preserving the streetscape character.