Sydney’s Atlassian Central has reached its full structural height, marking a major milestone for sustainable high-rise construction and becoming the world’s tallest hybrid timber tower. Designed by SHoP Architects in collaboration with BVN, the 39-storey office tower now rises more than 180 metres above Sydney’s skyline.
Developed by Dexus and Atlassian, the landmark building will serve as Atlassian’s new Australian headquarters when it is completed in late 2026. At its current height, the tower surpasses Milwaukee’s Ascent building by approximately 100 metres, setting a new benchmark for hybrid timber construction worldwide.
The project combines mass timber, structural steel, and green concrete in a hybrid structural system designed to maximize the strengths of each material. Around 10,000 cubic metres of engineered timber, sourced from Austria, have been incorporated alongside 8,000 tonnes of structural steel and 30,000 cubic metres of green concrete. The use of timber significantly reduces the building’s overall weight while lowering embodied carbon compared to conventional steel-and-concrete office towers.
One of the tower’s defining architectural features is its seven timber habitats, four-storey workplace clusters that introduce natural light, fresh air, and planted communal spaces throughout the building. These habitats create open, naturally ventilated environments while exposing the timber structure, offering occupants a closer connection to natural materials within a commercial high-rise setting. 
Construction is being delivered by Built, in joint venture with Obayashi Corporation, using advanced digital engineering to coordinate the prefabricated timber elements and sequence the installation process. Virtual modelling enabled the project team to assemble the complex hybrid structure efficiently before on-site construction began.
With approximately 75,000 square metres of office space, Atlassian Central is targeting a 50% reduction in upfront embodied carbon and a 50% improvement in operational energy efficiency compared with a conventional premium office building. The tower has also been designed to operate entirely on renewable energy without the use of fossil fuels, demonstrating how hybrid timber construction can reshape the future of sustainable high-rise architecture.
Source: built.com.au with additional information added by Glass Balkan
