Media Stories, News — July 22, 2026
World's tallest hybrid timber tower reaches full height in Sydney
Australia is now home to the world’s tallest hybrid timber tower, with Atlassian Central reaching its full height of more than 180 metres in Sydney, marking the moment its final structural level was completed (known in construction as "topping out").
At 39 storeys high, the landmark building is approximately 100 metres taller than the previous record holder – the 25-storey Ascent tower in Milwaukee, USA – setting a new global benchmark for innovative construction.
The topping tree being set in place.
Using a hybrid structural system, the tower combines mass timber with steel and concrete. This approach leverages timber to drastically reduce overall building weight and carbon impact, while relying on steel and concrete to provide the necessary strength and stability required by strict safety standards.
The design of Atlassian Central reimagines the modern workplace, with a four-storey ‘habitat’ structure that combines natural materials, light and ventilation, and intentionally designed spaces for work and collaboration.
The technology-forward design of the building means the project is targeting a 50 per cent reduction in upfront embodied carbon across its structure compared to a conventional premium commercial office tower, and 50 per cent improvement in operational energy efficiency compared to a conventional 5 Star NABERS base building.
Dexus Group CEO & Managing Director Ross Du Vernet said the topping out reflects a project defined by long-term thinking and a willingness to challenge convention.
We set out to prove that large-scale commercial buildings can be delivered differently. This project has been pioneering in every sense, demonstrating how we can reduce carbon, support wellbeing, and create a workplace built for the future – while still meeting the rigorous expectations of global tenants and investors.
Dexus Group CEO & Managing Director Ross Du Vernet
With its structure now standing at full height above Sydney’s skyline, Atlassian Central is the world's tallest hybrid timber tower; an innovative workplace that halves embodied carbon and embeds renewables in a way once considered impossible. Achieving this milestone has been both demanding and rewarding, only made possible through constant design innovation and collaboration across the whole project team. 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. As a prototype for mass-timber towers of the future, this is a moment of global significance.
Peter Titmus, BVN Principal
Reaching the topping out of Atlassian Central is a truly momentous occasion. SHoP has been privileged with the opportunity to design such an innovative project - one that we believe will redefine how people come together, collaborate, and create in Sydney and beyond. We are incredibly proud of what this exceptional team has achieved, and we look forward to seeing this building take its place as a landmark of the city. It’s particularly rewarding to begin experiencing the spatial qualities of a high-rise that reimagines a natural habitat within an urban tower - connecting people to each other, nature and to the city around them. We’re excited by how this concept sets a new benchmark for sustainability, where timber, landscape, and natural ventilation come together to shape a more holistic work-life experience and inspire future innovation.
Andreia Teixeira, Associate Principal, SHoP
Atlassian CEO and Co-Founder Mike Cannon-Brookes said: “Atlassian Central is what happens when you apply technology thinking to commercial real estate. It’s not just a smart building with a few dashboards bolted on. It's the most technologically advanced building in Australia - operating like a software platform, sensing, learning, and adapting in real time. We built it for a future of work that will keep being reinvented by AI, by new ways of collaborating, and by technologies we haven't even imagined yet.”
Achieving this scale required a level of precision and complex sequencing that is the first of its kind in Australia. Australian-owned contractor Built, in a joint venture with Obayashi Corporation, has led the construction, meticulously bringing together mass timber, steel and concrete elements.
Atlassian Central is a testament to the value of digital engineering and modern construction. Combining a mass timber structure with a 39-storey commercial tower required new ways of designing and building, with our team setting a new benchmark. Years of investment in innovative construction methods, advanced modelling and in-house capability enabled us to virtually build and sequence one of Australia's most complex projects long before work began on site.
Built Executive Chairman, Group CEO and Founder Marco Rossi
With the structural frame now complete, work will continue on façade installation and central building services, with the development on track for practical completion by the end of this year.
Atlassian Central is co-owned by Dexus and Atlassian, developed by Dexus, and delivered by Built in joint venture with Obayashi Corporation.
