Atlassian Central has risen more than 180 metres above Sydney, becoming the world’s tallest hybrid timber tower.
The 39-storey building reached the milestone with the completion of its final structural level. Façade installation and work on central services will continue, with practical completion expected by the end of 2026.
Designed by Australian architecture practice BVN and New York-based SHoP Architects, the tower combines mass timber with steel and concrete. Timber reduces its overall weight and carbon impact, while steel and concrete provide the strength and stability required for a commercial high-rise.
The building is approximately 100 metres taller than the previous record holder, the 25-storey Ascent tower in Milwaukee, US.
Hybrid timber structure reaches 39 storeys
Australian-owned contractor Built is delivering the tower in a joint venture with Japanese construction company Obayashi Corporation.
Bringing the mass-timber, steel, and concrete components together required precise sequencing during construction.
Steel-composite mega floors support seven four-storey, mass-timber-framed workplace sections, known as “habitats”. An external steel diagrid forms part of the tower’s structural frame.
BVN principal Peter Titmus said the system had enabled prefabrication and dry construction during the vertical build.
“Hybrid mass timber has done more than reduce embodied carbon, it has fundamentally shaped how tower buildings can be delivered, enabling prefabrication, dry construction and a faster, lighter vertical build,” Titmus said.
Built used digital engineering and advanced modelling to plan the construction sequence before work began on site.
“Combining a mass timber structure with a 39-storey commercial tower required new ways of designing and building,” said Marco Rossi, Built’s executive chairman, group CEO, and founder.
Seven habitats organise the office floors
The workplace floors are arranged as seven stacked four-storey habitats, each with landscaped terraces and operable façades. The façades are designed to allow substantial areas to use natural ventilation rather than mechanical cooling and air handling when conditions permit.
The habitats are designed with natural materials, daylight, planting, and spaces for work and collaboration. Rooftop terraces will sit above the workplace floors.
Atlassian, the technology company that will be the tower’s anchor tenant and is also a co-owner with Dexus, says the building will use technology to sense, learn, and adjust its operation in real time. The company compares the system to a software platform.
The building is designed to operate entirely on renewable energy. It is also targeting a 50% reduction in upfront embodied carbon across its structure compared with a conventional premium commercial office tower, and a 50% improvement in operational energy efficiency compared with a conventional 5 Star NABERS base building.
YHA hotel and historic Parcels Shed form the base
The first five storeys will contain the 137-room YHA Central hotel, with Atlassian’s workplace floors located above. The mixed-use tower is expected to accommodate more than 5,000 employees and over 450 hotel guests.
The historic Parcels Shed, which was dismantled earlier in the construction programme, will be refurbished and reinstated in its original position in October 2026. Once reinstated, it will form the main arrival space and contain the lobbies for Atlassian and the YHA hotel. Its surviving architectural detailing will be retained.
Located beside Central Station, the development forms part of Sydney’s Tech Central precinct. Its base will also include retail spaces serving hotel guests, workers, commuters, and other visitors.
Images: © BVN
