Cbus's A$1.1bn 48-storey Bourke St tower gets a solar facade

Cbus Property chief executive Chris Kakoufas told the paper the facade does two jobs: it creates electricity and acts as a sunshade that keeps heat out, which reduces the power needed for cooling. In his words, “Our building delivers up to 20 per cent of the base building power and uses less energy from the grid.”

Bates Smart architect Cian Davis said the building has proven the concept and that he expects more like it, according to the report. He also tied future uptake to the office market cycle. The paper adds that the technology is already being replicated in a Sydney development.

The numbers

The Herald Sun reports the following for the solar system:

• 491kW of generating capacity from a 2,679sq m building-integrated photovoltaic system.
• Almost 1,400 photovoltaic panels in the building envelope, a figure it attributes to Multiplex’s Victorian regional managing director Ross Snowball.
• A capacity the paper equates to more than 74 homes with an average 6.6kW solar array.

The report says the tower will offer 62,000sq m of office space, hospitality venues and hotel-style amenities, and that it is expected to have supported 3,500 jobs during construction. Architect Bates Smart and builder Multiplex are named as the project partners. Restaurateur Chris Lucas’s Noema restaurant is due to open in the building shortly, the paper says.

Mr Kakoufas listed the loads the solar skin is set to help power, at least partly: bathrooms, end-of-trip showers and irons, airconditioning, revolving doors, some security features, carpark boom gates, hand and hair dryers and the Wi-Fi. The report says the lifts will not be solar powered. Hot water comes from heat pumps that use electricity rather than gas.

What’s next

The report says Commonwealth Bank has reported an effect on its staff’s return to work. Mr Kakoufas said the result was likely driven by a design that encourages social space, such as a sky garden for collaborative work.

The Herald Sun says the benefit also flows to the fund’s more than 900,000 super fund members through lower running costs and stronger tenancies, as corporations look for offices that help them meet carbon and sustainability benchmarks.

Mr Davis said further buildings in Melbourne would rely on the office market cycle.

For another Melbourne project, see our earlier story on Wing Tai’s St Kilda Road tower.

Source: Herald Sun, via realcommercial.com.au, 5 November 2026.