There is months of work still to be done but, come November, this will hopefully be Canberra's most environmentally sustainable large-scale office building.
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The Nishi commercial building has entered its next phase of construction, following the completion of the building's structure after 2½ years of work.
The developer, Molonglo Group, held a ''topping out'' ceremony to mark the milestone yesterday on the roof of the 10-storey building in the $550 million NewActon neighbourhood.
The ceremony includes the placing of a tree upon the structure to symbolise growth and bring luck.
Work will now begin on the facade and fit-out of the building, which will house the new Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency headquarters, and offices for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and legal firm Clayton Utz.
''It's always a milestone when a building gets topped out … we're very excited to get to this point,'' Molonglo Group director Matt James said. ''It means we're only another 10 months from completion and we're really excited about having our tenants move into one of the most sustainable buildings in Australia.''
Mr James said the building's all-timber facade, on which work is soon to start, would set it apart from other buildings in the precinct.
He said the ''sustainable forestry sourced'' timber would shade the complex from sunlight and would give the building one of the largest timber facades in Australia.
Mr James said concrete in the building structure would keep the complex cool, while additional passive design features would minimise energy use.
''Everyone's grown used to offices where you can't open windows, but that doesn't make sense to us,'' he said.
''So the windows will be configured by the building's computer system which will recognise, from the conditions, when windows can be open and when the airconditioning should kick in.''
The entire roof will also be layered with solar panels.
The commercial complex will be finished in November, while a neighbouring 16-storey residential building is due for completion in December or January.
The complex will feature 220 sustainable apartments designed by Hiroshima-based architecture practice Suppose Design Office, a 68-room five-star boutique hotel, and several hospitality and retail operators including independent cinema operator, Palace Cinemas, which will open an eight- screen, 800-seat Palace Electric Cinema.
