Expanding Government Tenancy at Glass House, Macquarie Park

Coordinated Fit-Out Delivery for Transport NSW

Located in Sydney’s innovation corridor, the Glass House in Macquarie Park represents a growing trend of decentralised government tenancy within high-performance commercial precincts. For Transport NSW, the expansion within this building was both a spatial and strategic move—increasing its footprint from six to eight floors and bringing the total occupied area to approximately 8,000 m².

Leading this expansion project, Noel Yaxley managed end-to-end delivery responsibilities, with a focus on stakeholder alignment, design procurement, and construction closeout.

Macquarie Park: A Growing Hub for Government and Business

Macquarie Park continues to evolve as a key employment and innovation district, attracting both public and private sector tenants. The Glass House project highlights how government agencies are leveraging this precinct’s transport connectivity, newer building stock, and cost efficiencies.

This context informed the strategic decision to expand within the Glass House rather than relocate—optimising adjacency benefits, lease continuity, and project speed.

Technical and Design Challenges in a Vertical Workplace

The project involved fitting out two additional floors to align with existing workplace standards while adapting to new fire engineering requirements. The Glass House’s design includes large open atriums that span multiple levels, creating unique compliance challenges in relation to fire egress, smoke management, and vertical circulation.

Key initiatives included:

• Engaging specialist fire engineers to model performance-based compliance
• Coordinating with base building management to maintain system consistency
• Sequencing fit-out works to minimise disruption to existing occupied floors

This ensured that the expanded workplace not only met code but also retained visual and functional continuity with the initial six floors.

Stakeholder Management and Integrated Procurement

Transport NSW's workplace strategy demanded extensive stakeholder coordination, balancing departmental needs, programme deadlines, and building operational requirements. Yaxley’s role was to streamline engagement and decision-making across multiple interfaces.

In parallel, he led the design procurement process, managing:

• Design consultant engagement and briefing
• Integration of agency-specific standards and IT infrastructure
• Contractor oversight to ensure quality and timely delivery

"Delivering in a live environment across multiple tenanted floors required both precision and adaptability. Our focus was on reducing interface friction while maintaining high delivery standards," said Noel Yaxley.

Conclusion: Scaling Efficiently in Macquarie Park

The Glass House project at Macquarie Park exemplifies how targeted fit-out delivery can support scalable, efficient expansion for government tenants. Through coordinated stakeholder engagement, technical resolution, and integrated procurement, the project successfully extended Transport NSW’s presence in a key growth corridor.As Macquarie Park continues to mature, projects like this demonstrate how strategic tenancy planning and disciplined project management can create high-performance workplaces within rapidly evolving urban settings.