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121-562: Alexandra Building is a heritage-listed commercial building at 451–455 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba , Queensland , Australia. It was designed by Toowoomba architect Henry James (Harry) Marks and built in 1902 by James Renwick. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 16 October 2008. The Alexandra Building, a two-storeyed masonry building in Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, was constructed in 1902 to

242-425: A 1902 building (hall and two retail spaces) with 1905 rear addition (former pavilion). Ancillary outbuildings and decks, and an adjoining c.  1930 s-1940s buildings are located at the rear of the site. The c.  1902 building consists of shops on the ground floor and lofty, open-plan office spaces on the upper floor. It has two long gable roofs (concealed behind a brick parapet ) which extend from

363-399: A Letter of Intent although it is common. A PSA is a legal agreement between the seller and a single interested buyer which establishes the terms, conditions and timeline of the sale between the buyer and seller. A PSA may be a highly negotiated document with customized terms or may be a standardized contract similar to those used in residential transactions. Once a PSA is executed, the buyer

484-441: A broader area of a room makes the room appear brighter, and makes more of it usefully lit. Remote daylight distribution systems have losses, and the further they have to transmit the daylight and the more convoluted the path, the greater the inefficiency. The efficiency of many remote distribution systems can also vary dramatically from clear to overcast skies. Nonetheless, where there is no other possibility of providing daylight to

605-404: A building envelope which also includes windows, doors, etc. ) forming all, or a portion of, the roof of a building space. Skylights are widely used in daylighting design in residential and commercial buildings, mainly because they are the most effective source of daylight on a unit area basis. An alternative to a skylight is a roof lantern . A roof lantern is a daylighting cupola that sits above

726-467: A cause of glare. On the other hand, you should also take into account the undesirable effects of large windows. Windows grade into translucent walls (below). Another important element in creating daylighting is the use of clerestory windows. These are high, vertically placed windows. They can be used to increase direct solar gain when oriented towards the equator. When facing toward the sun, clerestories and other windows may admit unacceptable glare . In

847-465: A commercial building may combine functions , such as offices on levels 2–10, with retail on floor 1. When space allocated to multiple functions is significant, these buildings can be called multi-use. Local authorities commonly maintain strict regulations on commercial zoning , and have the authority to designate any zoned area as such; a business must be located in a commercial area or area zoned at least partially for commerce. Commercial real estate

968-622: A confectioner, baker and caterer with associated refreshment rooms, since 1885. Lamb also had a separate bake-house in Bell Street and a second confectionery shop in another part of Toowoomba. Like many merchants in Toowoomba, TK Lamb and Co. supplied not only the town of Toowoomba but the Downs and many other parts of western Queensland through a very successful mail-order business selling hams, small goods, dressed poultry and Christmas cakes. In

1089-449: A deal closes, post-closing processes may begin, including notifying tenants of an ownership change, transferring vendor relationships, and handing over relevant information to the asset management team. Daylighting (architecture) Daylighting is the practice of placing windows , skylights , other openings, and reflective surfaces so that direct or indirect sunlight can provide effective internal lighting. Particular attention

1210-432: A design by prominent Toowoomba architect Henry James (Harry) Marks (1871-1939) for local businessman Thomas Kelsall Lamb. Marks also designed a 1905 extension at the rear of the building. The building originally comprised a banquet/concert hall on the upper floor and two retail spaces on the lower floor. By the end of the nineteenth century, Toowoomba had established its position as the administrative and commercial centre of

1331-507: A design element. Good daylighting requires attention to both qualitative and quantitative aspects of design. Utilizing natural light is one of the design aspects in architecture; In 1929, the French architect, Le Corbusier said that "The history of architectural material... has been the endless struggle for light... in other words, the history of windows." As he emphasized in his architecture (such as Notre Dame du Haut ), daylighting has been

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1452-511: A direct effect on human health because of the way it influences the circadian rhythms . A well daylit space needs both adequate lighting levels and light that is well distributed. In the current building industry, daylighting is considered a building performance measure in green building certification programs such as LEED . Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the society of Light and Lighting (SLL) provide illuminance recommendation for each space type. How much daylighting contributes to

1573-505: A few percent of the light is transmitted (the percent transmittance is about half the percent of the surface that is fibers, and usually only ~5% fibers are used). Both glass and concrete conduct heat fairly well, when solid, so none of these walls insulate well . They are therefore often used outdoors, as a divider between two heated spaces (see images), or in very temperate climates . Greenhouse walls (and roofs) are made to transmit as much light and as little heat as possible. They use

1694-442: A grid is a basic level to derive an average illuminance of a space. The spacing of the measurement points vary with project purposes. The height of these points depends on where the primary task is performed. In most office spaces, desk level (0.762m above the floor) will be measured. Based on measurements, average illuminance, maximum-to-minimum uniformity ratio, and average-to-minimum uniformity ratio will be calculated and compared to

1815-512: A hall is necessary for privacy or room isolation, inexpensive patio door safety glass can be placed on both sides of the hall. Drapes over the interior glass can be used to control lighting. Drapes can optionally be automated with sensor-based electric motor controls that are aware of room occupancy, daylight, interior temperature, and time of day. Passive solar buildings with no central air conditioning system need control mechanisms for hourly, daily, and seasonal, temperature-and-daylight variations. If

1936-522: A large public assembly hall, and the Alexandra Hall's Ruthven Street location, in the centre of Toowoomba, made it especially attractive as a venue. The Alexandra Hall post-dated Toowoomba's third Toowoomba City Hall , constructed in 1900 in Ruthven Street on the site of the former Toowoomba School of Arts (destroyed by fire in 1898), but the City Hall theatre, with a seating capacity of 789, had

2057-407: A light conducting fiber optic bundle. It is frequently capped with a transparent, roof-mounted dome "light collector" and terminated with a diffuser assembly that admits the daylight into interior spaces and distributes the available light energy evenly (or else efficiently if the use of the lit space is reasonably fixed, and the user desired one or more "bright-spots"). The tubular daylighting device

2178-583: A major architectural design element (See MIT Chapel and Church of the Light for examples). Not only the aesthetic aspects, the impact of daylighting on human health and work performance is also considered as qualitative daylighting. The current studies show that lighting conditions in workplaces contribute to a variety of factors related to work satisfaction, productivity and well-being and significantly higher visual acceptance scores under daylighting than electrical lighting. Studies have also shown that light has

2299-502: A more even distribution of the same amount of light makes a room appear brighter. The source of all daylight is the Sun. The proportion of direct to diffuse light impacts the amount and quality of daylight. "Direct sunlight" reaches a site without being scattered within Earth's atmosphere . Sunlight that is scattered in the atmosphere is " diffused daylight ". Sunlight reflected off walls and

2420-423: A new alternative to skylights called hybrid solar lighting. This design uses a roof-mounted light collector, large-diameter optical fiber , and modified efficient fluorescent lighting fixtures that have transparent rods connected to the optical fiber cables. Essentially no electricity is needed for daytime natural interior lighting. Field tests conducted in 2006 and 2007 of the new HSL technology were promising, but

2541-643: A new, modern cake factory and bakery at the rear of the building. Harry Marks was one of a family firm of architects which had a lasting effect on the appearance of Toowoomba, being responsible for a large number of the city's public, private and commercial buildings. Born and trained in Toowoomba, he entered into partnership with his father James, in 1892. James Marks arrived in Queensland in 1866 and first set up in practice in Dalby , moving to Toowoomba in 1874. As James Marks and Son , Harry and his father dominated

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2662-785: A raked floor and could not accommodate banquets or dances. The Alexandra Hall pre-dated Toowoomba's Austral Hall , a large structure erected in 1904 by the Austral Association on the site of the Old Toowoomba Gaol in Margaret Street. It also pre-dated the Empire Theatre in Neil Street, which opened in June 1911 with a seating capacity of 2,200. The Cafe Alexandra was said to be a great success and

2783-444: A reversible casement window which provides optimum directional ventilation and a method of stucco wall construction using a hollow wall to give the appearance of a solid wall, but cheaper to construct than brickwork. The Alexandra Building was completed in 1902 by Toowoomba builder James Renwick. Various sub-contractors worked on the building including Wheatcroft and Co. (painters), TS Burstow (fittings) and Keogh and Co. (suppliers of

2904-555: A roof, as opposed to a skylight which is fitted into a roof's construction. Roof lanterns serve as both an architectural feature and a method of introducing natural light into a space, and are typically wooden or metal structures with a number of glazed glass panels. As an element of architecture , a laylight is a glazed panel usually set flush with the ceiling for the purpose of admitting natural or artificial light. Laylights typically utilize stained glass or lenses in their glazing, but can also use alternative materials. For example,

3025-426: A set of criteria set out by the buyer. Types of buyers may include an owner-user, private investor, acquisitions , capital investment, or private equity firms . The buyer or its agents will perform an initial assessment of the physical property, location and potential profitability (if for investment) or adequacy of property for its intended use (if for owner-user). If it is determined the prospective investment meets

3146-444: A space, remote distribution systems can be appreciated. Once used extensively in office buildings, the manually adjustable light reflector is seldom in use today having been supplanted by a combination of other methods in concert with artificial illumination. The reflector had found favor where the choices of artificial light provided poor illumination compared to modern electric lighting. Light shelves are an effective way to enhance

3267-541: A substantial aesthetic contribution to the streetscape of Ruthven Street. Rising majestically above adjacent buildings it has a landmark quality generated by the imposing and ornate brickwork parapet facing Ruthven Street, and is one of a number of extant buildings designed by the Mark's family that contribute to the architectural character of Toowoomba. Interior spaces, designed to harness natural light and ventilation, are particularly fine. [REDACTED] This Misplaced Pages article

3388-407: A variety of materials, and may be transparent or translucent. It is possible to provide some daylight into spaces that have low possibility of windows or skylights through remote distribution devices such as mirrors, prisms , or light tubes . This is called anidolic lighting , from anidolic (non-image-forming) optics . The non-linear response of the human eye to light means that spreading light to

3509-401: A west-facing window, designers use an R-13 foam-filled solid energy-efficient exterior door. It may have a glass storm door on the outside so that light can pass through when the inner door is opened. East/west glass doors and windows should be fully shaded top-to-bottom or a spectrally selective coating can be used to reduce solar gain. Architects and interior designers often use daylighting as

3630-514: Is beneficial when determining how daylight enters and illuminates a space. The drawback, however, is that there is no upper limit on luminance levels. Therefore, a space with a high internal heat gain deemed uncomfortable by occupants, would still perform well in the analysis. Achieving daylight autonomy requires an integrated design approach that guides the building form, siting, climate considerations, building components, lighting controls, and lighting design criteria. Continuous daylight autonomy,

3751-429: Is commonly divided into five categories: Of these, only the first five are classified as being commercial buildings . Residential income property may also signify multifamily apartments. The basic elements of an investment are cash inflows, outflows, timing of cash flows, and risk. The ability to analyze these elements is key in providing services to investors in commercial real estate. Cash inflows and outflows are

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3872-431: Is commonly required to submit an escrow deposit, which may be refundable under certain conditions, to a title company office or held by a brokerage in escrow. The transaction moves to the due diligence phase, where the buyer makes a more detailed assessment of the property. Purchase and sale agreements will generally include clauses which require the seller to disclose certain information for buyer's review to determine if

3993-490: Is demonstrated in the Alexandra Building through the use of his inventive, and later patented, window design together with the placement of windows above street awning level to allow natural light into the ground floor shops and the use of lantern lights on the first floor. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. The Alexandra Building with its highly decorated and articulated facade makes

4114-464: Is dependent on market conditions, current tenants, and the likelihood that they will renew their leases year-over-year. It is important to be able to predict the probability that the cash inflows and outflows will be in the amounts predicted, what is the probability that the timing of them will be as predicted, and what the probability is that there may be unexpected cash flows, and in what amounts they might occur. The total value of commercial property in

4235-441: Is divided into three pediments that reflect the internal design of the upper floor - two large triangular pediments concealing the gabled roofs each with three tall glazed openings either side of a smaller central pediment to which the words "Alexandra Building" is applied. Arched steel-framed windows light the upper floor and rectangular windows are located above a c.  1930 s cantilevered street awning allowing light into

4356-430: Is given to daylighting while designing a building when the aim is to maximize visual comfort or to reduce energy use. Energy savings can be achieved from the reduced use of artificial (electric) lighting or from passive solar heating. Artificial lighting energy use can be reduced by simply installing fewer electric lights where daylight is present or by automatically dimming or switching off electric lights in response to

4477-406: Is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The Alexandra Building remains substantially intact and is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of an early twentieth century main-street commercial building incorporating a large hire-hall. These characteristics include: the imposing and decorative street facade; retail spaces on

4598-408: Is located in the north-west corner of the room. The stairs accessing the former pavilion are timber framed with treads lined with early linoleum. Handrails and balusters are both turned timber with a clear finish. Part of former balcony space with fretwork balusters is also accessed from the stairs. Stair walls are lined with plywood and v-jointed boards. The early ceiling fabric of the former cafe

4719-406: Is needed. This method has the advantage of reducing the directionality of light to make it softer and more diffuse, reducing shadows. Another roof-angled glass alternative is a sawtooth roof (found on older factories). Sawtooth roofs have vertical roof glass facing away from the equator side of the building to capture diffused light (not harsh direct equator-side solar gain). The angled portion of

4840-407: Is placed into a roof and admits light to a focused area of the interior. These somewhat resemble recessed ceiling light fixtures. They do not allow as much heat transfer as skylights because they have less surface area. TDDs use modern technology to transmit visible light through opaque walls and roofs. The tube itself is a passive component consisting of either a simple reflective interior coating or

4961-400: Is similar to daylight autonomy but partial credit is attributed to time steps when the daylight illuminance lies below the minimum illuminance level. For example, if the target illuminance is 400 lux and the calculated value is 200 lux, daylight autonomy would give zero credit, while continuous daylight autonomy would give 0.5 credit (200/400 = 0.5). The benefit of continuous daylight autonomy

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5082-411: Is the percentage of time that daylight levels are above a specified target illuminance within a physical space or building. The calculation is based on annual data and the predetermined lighting levels. The goal of the calculation is to determine how long an individual can work in a space without requiring electrical lighting, while also providing optimal visual and physical comfort. Daylight autonomy

5203-458: Is to provide a visual experience and a degree of contact with the outside for people in the working areas. The daylighting of successive storeys of rooms adjoining an atrium is interdependent and requires a balanced approach. Light from the sky can easily penetrate the upper storeys but not the lower, which rely primarily on light reflected from internal surfaces of the atrium such as floor-reflected light. The upper stories need less window area than

5324-456: Is usually significant glass on the equator side. A large area of glass can also be added between the sun room and the interior living quarters. Low-cost, high-volume-produced patio door safety glass is an inexpensive way to accomplish this goal. The doors used to enter a room should be opposite the sun room interior glass, so that a user can see outside immediately when entering most rooms. Halls should be minimized with open spaces used instead. If

5445-469: Is visible from the stairwell space. Ornate timber posts and brackets, timber and sheet metal cornices, wallpaper, friezes and diagonally laid v-jointed ceiling boards are visible of the former above the suspended ceiling of the northernmost tenancies. Other structures are located below the former pavilion building at the rear. These include an extension to the southernmost tenancy to form a larger shop space and an early amenities block formed in brickwork. To

5566-556: The Darling Downs , one of the first regions to be settled in Queensland. Squatters entered the rich pastoral region even before Moreton Bay was opened for free settlement in 1842 and by the mid-1860s Toowoomba had eclipsed its main rival, Warwick , as the largest town on the Darlineg Downs. Located on the main route to Brisbane , it was a conduit for produce being hauled to the coast and the main source of supplies for

5687-492: The Lyme Art Association Gallery utilizes translucent white muslin laylights below its skylights. A laylight differs from a glazed (or closed) skylight in that a skylight functions as a roof window or aperture, while a laylight is flush with the ceiling of an interior space. When paired with a roof lantern or skylight on a sloped roof, a laylight functions as an interior light diffuser. Before

5808-497: The Queensland Institute of Architects in 1925 and a Fellow in 1929. His son, Charles Beresford Marks , became a partner in 1925. Harry Marks was described as being "gifted with inventive genius". He was particularly interested in providing good ventilation and natural lighting and these are features of buildings designed by him. He devised and patented a number of architectural elements, including roof ventilators,

5929-898: The September equinox to the March equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and from the March equinox to the September equinox in the Southern Hemisphere .) In the Northern Hemisphere , the north-facing wall is the "polar-side" and in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the south-facing wall. Traditionally, houses were designed with minimal windows on the polar side, but more and larger windows on

6050-511: The 1890s and early 1900s he also conducted a drapery business - TK Lamb & Co. (The Busy Drapers) - in addition to his catering, confectionery and baking concerns. In 1901 TK Lamb acquired title to the Ruthven Street site of the future Alexandra Building and engaged HJ (Harry) Marks to design a building incorporating street-level shops and a hire-hall for balls, banquets and other large public functions such as public meetings, wedding receptions, parties and concerts. In addition he planned to build

6171-556: The Alexandra Hall was popular for dances, concerts and banquets. According to the Darling Downs Gazette rarely a night passed that it was not occupied. The venture proved so successful that in 1905 TK Lamb & Co. erected additions to the rear of the building, comprising a pavilion 32 by 26 feet (9.8 by 7.9 m) and promenade balcony. The pavilion was accessed via a flight of stairs from the Cafe Alexandra on

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6292-413: The Cafe Alexandra continued to operate on the lower floor. Sometime between 1937 and 1943 the front verandah was removed and replaced by a cantilevered street awning , in line with a municipal policy that verandahs and street awnings supported on posts be removed as a road safety measure. Below the parapet the front of the building was rendered and painted when the verandah was removed. About this time

6413-441: The Ruthven Street boundary about halfway back on the site. The two roofs are joined by a box gutter and each has three lantern lights along the ridge. External walls are smooth rendered brick and the roofs and floors are timber-framed. Behind the southernmost roof is the 1905 former Pavilion which has a simple hipped roof and external walls of rendered brick and corrugated iron . To the north of this structure (and immediately behind

6534-700: The United States was approximately $ 6 trillion in 2018. The relative strength of the market is measured by the US Commercial Real Estate Index which is composed of eight economic drivers and is calculated weekly. According to Real Capital Analytics, a New York real estate research firm, more than $ 160 billion of commercial properties in the United States are now in default , foreclosure , or bankruptcy . In 2024, office leasing volume rose to its highest level since 2020, but roughly 60% of active office leases went into effect prior to

6655-404: The advantage of savings on trenching, landscaping, and maintenance costs, as well as on the electric bills, despite their higher initial cost compared to conventional street lighting. They are designed with sufficiently large batteries to ensure operation for at least a week and even in the worst situation, they are expected to dim only slightly. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed

6776-478: The advent of electric lighting, laylights allowed transmission of light between floors in larger buildings, and were not always paired with skylights. An atrium is a large open space located within a building. It is often used to light a central circulation or public area by daylight admitted through a glass roof or wall. Atria provide some daylight to adjacent working areas, but the amount is often small and does not penetrate very far. The main function of an atrium

6897-414: The amount of light available from a window: (a) placing the window close to a light colored wall, (b) slanting the sides of window openings so the inner opening is larger than the outer opening, or (c) using a large light colored window-sill to project light into the room. Besides permitting daylighting into the building, windows serve another function in daylighting practice, providing views out. To enhance

7018-539: The architectural profession for more than half a century. Though Harry spent his entire career in Toowoomba and was responsible for designing many buildings on the Darling Downs including Rodway and St Luke's Church Hall , he also designed St James Parish Hall at Coorparoo and another Roman Catholic Church at Bulimba in Brisbane. His brother Reginald joined the practice in 1910. Harry was made an associate of

7139-447: The brightness of the light outdoors and of the required brightness indoors. The use of heliostats , mirrors which are moved automatically to reflect sunlight in a constant direction as the sun moves across the sky, is gaining popularity as an energy-efficient method of lighting. A heliostat can be used to shine sunlight directly through a window or skylight, or into any arrangement of optical elements, such as light tubes, that distribute

7260-442: The buyer's criteria, they may signal their intent to move forward with a letter of intent (LOI) . Letters of Intent are used to outline the major terms of an offer in order to avoid unnecessary costs of drafting legal documents in the event the parties do not agree to the terms as drafted. Once a Letter of Intent is signed by both parties, a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) is drafted. Not all commercial property transactions utilize

7381-470: The buyer's purchase decision specified in the PSA. In competitive real estate markets, buyers may waive contingencies in order to make an offer more appealing to a buyer. The PSA will usually require the seller to provide due diligence information to the seller in a timely manner and limit the buyer's time to terminate the deal based on its due diligence review findings. If the buyer terminates the transaction within

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7502-571: The case of a passive solar house, clerestories may provide a direct light path to polar-side (north in the northern hemisphere; south in the southern hemisphere) rooms that otherwise would not be illuminated. Alternatively, clerestories can be used to admit diffuse daylight (from the north in the northern hemisphere) that evenly illuminates a space such as a classroom or office. Often, clerestory windows also shine onto interior wall surfaces painted white or another light color. These walls are placed so as to reflect indirect light to interior areas where it

7623-582: The commercial and social hub of Toowoomba, one of Queensland's principal regional centres, around the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Although intimately connected with the business of TK Lamb & Co., the Alexandra Hall also was one of the earliest large public assembly rooms erected in Toowoomba, pre-dating the Austral Hall (1904). It was popular for a variety of social functions including concerts, banquets, wedding receptions, dances and other public entertainments and meetings. The place

7744-436: The contribution to Europe's economy in 2012 can be estimated at €285 billion according to EPRA and INREV , not to mention social benefits of an efficient real estate sector. It is estimated that commercial property is responsible for securing around 4 million jobs across Europe. Typically, a broker will market a property on behalf of the seller. Brokers representing buyers or buyers' representatives identify property meeting

7865-411: The decks of ships to transmit light below. Later, pavement lights or vault lights were used to light basement areas under sidewalks. Prisms that used total internal reflection to throw light sideways, lighting the deeper portions of a room, later became popular. Early thick, slow-cooling cast glass prism tiles were often known as "luxfer tiles" after a major manufacturer. They were and are used in

7986-410: The dining tables and other furniture). Its construction reflected local confidence in the continued prosperity of Toowoomba and the surrounding district during a period of widespread drought. It spanned two allotments and had a prominent two-storeyed frontage to Ruthven Street - considered "uncommon, and particularly striking" at the time - with an upper floor verandah with cast-iron balustrade , over

8107-443: The due diligence timeframe, the escrow deposit is commonly returned to the buyer. If the buyer has not terminated the agreement pursuant to the PSA contingencies, the escrow deposit becomes non-refundable and failure to complete the purchase will result in the escrow deposit funds to be transferred to the seller as a fee for failure to close. The parties will proceed to close the transaction in which funds and title are exchanged. When

8228-413: The east and west are clad in ripple iron. Gutters are quad-profile. The 1905 former pavilion to the rear of the main building has a timber framed roof and floor. Walls to the north and the rear are of smooth rendered masonry. Other external walls (south and west) are timber framed and clad in vertically fixed corrugated iron. Three sets of high level timber framed, reversible casement windows run along both

8349-491: The entire first floor, was accessed via a 7 feet (2.1 m) wide timber staircase from a separate entrance off Ruthven Street, located between the two shop fronts. It was a high space, 60 feet (18 m) wide by 100 feet (30 m) deep, lit by windows in the Ruthven street and rear elevations, and from six large lantern lights in the roof. At night the hall was lit by gaslights with "beautiful multi-coloured globes". Reputedly

8470-745: The equatorial side (south-facing wall in the Northern Hemisphere and north-facing wall in the Southern Hemisphere). Equatorial-side windows receive at least some direct sunlight on any sunny day of the year (except in the tropics in summer ), so they are effective at daylighting areas of the house adjacent to the windows. At higher latitudes during midwinter , light incidence is highly directional and casts long shadows. This may be partially ameliorated through light diffusion , light pipes or tubes , and through somewhat reflective internal surfaces. At fairly low latitudes in summertime, windows that face east and west and sometimes those that face toward

8591-403: The first floor offices. Early internal fabric remains where later fit-outs have been inserted into the former Cafe Alexandra space on the ground floor including wall-paper, timber stairs , posts and balusters , timber wall linings and decorative cornices . The first floor space, formerly the hall, has been divided in half along its length. Each space has a high vaulted ceiling . The space to

8712-424: The floor levels of the hall and verandahs. Another staircase led directly to the Cafe Alexandra dining room below, which could function as a supper room during concerts or other entertainments. According to The Queenslander of 20 December 1902 construction of the hall supplied a much-felt want in Toowoomba, demonstrated by the almost continuous use of the hall in the first few months of opening. Toowoomba had lacked

8833-431: The following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. The Alexandra Building, erected in 1902 and extended in 1905, was constructed for successful Toowoomba confectioners and caterers TK Lamb & Co. Comprising a large former public hire-hall on the upper floor and shops on the ground floor, it is important in illustrating the consolidation of Ruthven Street as

8954-553: The front elevation. Recent gable flashings have been added. A lean-to structure (post 1930s) has been added to the rear of the northernmost gable end which opens out on to the roof of the c.  1930 s-1940s building which forms an open deck space. Side elevations are not visible, being concealed by adjacent buildings. The lantern lights running along the ridge line of each gabled roof consist of box-like structures with curved roofs of corrugated iron. Three reversible casement windows face both north and south on each lantern. Walls to

9075-416: The glass-support structure is opaque and well insulated with a cool roof and radiant barrier . The sawtooth roof's lighting concept partially reduces the summer "solar furnace" skylight problem, but still allows warm interior air to rise and touch the exterior roof glass in the cold winter, with significant undesirable heat transfer. Skylights are light transmitting fenestration (products filling openings in

9196-467: The ground also contributes to daylighting. Each climate has different composition of these daylights and different cloud coverage , so daylighting strategies vary with site locations and climates. At latitudes north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn , there is no direct sunlight on the polar-side wall of a building between the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox (that is, from

9317-415: The ground floor shops. Below the parapet, the exterior has been rendered and painted where a former two-storeyed verandah was located. Shop fronts have been recently fitted out. Apart from the street facade only small sections of the exterior of the 1902 buildings are visible. At the rear the twin gable ends are visible and consist of smooth-rendered brick walls with three high-level windows matching those on

9438-463: The ground floor, and could be used as a supper-room, banquet hall, or meeting room. The ceiling was of pressed metal and the room was lit by reversible casements (recently patently by Harry Marks). The promenade balcony was located at the rear of the pavilion. In 1913 Thomas Kelsall Lamb died, and the title to the property was transferred to trustees: Queensland Trustees Ltd and Lamb's two sons, Arthur Kelsall Lamb and Herbert William Lamb. In 1947 title

9559-410: The ground floor. The first floor was unoccupied. Brian Hodgen conducted his architectural practice, Hodgen & Hall, from the first floor space, later practicing with his son as Hodgen and Hodgen Architects. The Alexandra Building is a two-storeyed masonry building with an elegant street facade on the western side of Ruthven Street in Toowoomba. It is located on a long and narrow site and consists of

9680-452: The ground floor; a large upper-floor hall with separate street entrance; the vaulted ceiling and decorative street-facing windows to the hall; and an attached former supper room with decorative pressed metal ceilings . The building forms part of the body of the work of prominent Toowoomba architect HJ Marks and displays the inventiveness and creativity typical of Marks' design work. His concern for natural light and ventilation in his buildings

9801-440: The hall was capable of seating 900 persons, and, when first opened, seats for 600 were provided. Facilities included cloakrooms, dressing rooms and water closets . Four staircases led from the hall to front and rear verandahs, 12 feet (3.7 m) and 8 feet (2.4 m) wide respectively. These were located 4 feet (1.2 m) below the level of the hall, so that the retail spaces below were lit from windows front and rear, between

9922-423: The internal corners. Two decorative circular pressed metal ceiling vents are located on the ceiling. Metal ceiling roses (former pendant fittings have been removed) are also located on the ceiling. Wall and window trims are clear finished timber. Floors are timber tongue and groove boards. A door formerly accessing a dumbwaiter is located in a small alcove on the southern side of the room. A concrete wash tub

10043-500: The length of the external walls which support the arched roof. Tenon joints showing the location of supporting timber brackets (removed) are visible on the posts. Metal stays brace the roof and are located at regular intervals within the open ceiling space. Timber stays are visible within the lantern light spaces. Early timber-framed stairs which access the street below have timber treads, risers and stringers all of which are clear finished. Timber newels with rebate details are located at

10164-399: The letter "A" is visible above the level of the street awning within the southernmost tenancy. Similar steel-framed windows with clear cathedral-patterned glass are located above a recess in front of the northernmost tenancy the shopfront of which is set back from the street. A central staircase formed in timber with timber wall linings opens on to the street and leads to a foyer space accessing

10285-672: The lettering on the building appears to have changed from "Alexandra Hall" to the "Alexandra Building". In 1973 title to the property was transferred from TK Lamb Estates Pty Ltd to the Master Builders Permanent Building and Bowkett Society. The Cafe Alexandra appears to have closed about this time. When Brian Hodgen, grandson of well-known Toowoomba architect William Hodgen , purchased the building at auction in 1976 it housed Palmers Silk Centre, McKinstry and Somerville trading as Chas Sankey Fraser (optometrists), and Music Houses of Australia trading as Palings on

10406-457: The light where it is needed. The image shows a mirror that rotates on a computer-controlled, motor-driven altazimuth mount . Solar street lights raised light sources which are powered by photovoltaic panels generally mounted on the lighting structure. The solar array of such off-grid PV system charges a rechargeable battery , which powers a fluorescent or LED lamp during the night. Solar street lights are stand-alone power systems , and have

10527-432: The lighting from windows on the equator-facing side of a structure, this effect being obtained by placing a white or reflective metal light shelf outside the window. Usually the window will be protected from direct summer season sun by a projecting eave. The light shelf projects beyond the shadow created by the eave and reflects sunlight upward to illuminate the ceiling. This reflected light can contain little heat content and

10648-547: The low-volume equipment production is still expensive. HSL should become more cost effective in the near future. A version that can withstand windstorms could begin to replace conventional commercial fluorescent lighting systems with improved implementations in 2008 and beyond. The U.S. 2007 Energy Bill provides funding for HSL R&D, and multiple large commercial buildings are ready to fund further HSL application development and deployment. At night, ORNL HSL uses variable-intensity fluorescent lighting electronic control ballasts. As

10769-440: The lower floor. The interior of this building has not been inspected. The building's flat roof forms an open balcony space accessed from the lean-to addition above. Another timber-framed balcony structure is located behind the former Pavilion. A recent courtyard and service driveway are also located at the rear of the site. Alexandra Building was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 16 October 2008 having satisfied

10890-402: The lower ones, and if the atrium walls are light in color the upper walls will reflect light toward the lower stories. Walls made of glass brick are translucent-to-transparent. Traditionally they are hollow and grouted with a fine concrete grout, but some modern glass brick walls are solid cast glass grouted with a transparent glue. If the glue matches the refractive index of the glass,

11011-409: The money that is put into, or received from, the property including the original purchase cost and sale revenue over the entire life of the investment. An example of this sort of investment is a real estate fund. Cash inflows include the following: Cash outflows include: The timing of cash inflows and outflows is important to know in order to project periods of positive and negative cash flows. Risk

11132-481: The nearer pole receive more sunlight than windows facing toward the equator. Passive daylighting is a system of both collecting sunlight using static, non-moving, and non-tracking systems (such as windows, sliding glass doors , most skylights , light tubes ) and reflecting the collected daylight deeper inside with elements such as light shelves . Passive daylighting systems are different from active daylighting systems in that active systems track and/or follow

11253-425: The north of these structures are extensions to the northernmost ground-floor tenancy ( c.  1930 s) as well as a c.  1930 s masonry lean-to building housing amenities for the upper floor. A flat-roofed two-storeyed c.  1930 s-1940s face-brick and concrete building is located in the north-west corner of the site. It has steel-framed windows on the upper floor and recent timber-framed windows on

11374-409: The north remains an open plan area with the lantern lights running centrally along its length. Low level partition walls form office spaces. The space to the south has been partitioned with walls and glazing from floor to ceiling forming two separate tenancies. The vaulted ceilings though divided by the recent walls are still readable. Much of the early internal fabric on the upper floor remains despite

11495-500: The northern and southern elevations. A small deck-like balcony (date unknown) has been added to the rear of the former Pavilion and a steel framed staircase leads to outbuildings at the rear of the southern side of the 1902 building. The frontage of the ground floor of the 1902 building is divided into two shops which have again been subdivided forming four separate tenancies. All of these have been recently fitted out. An ornate and colourful leadlight window formed from steel encompassing

11616-409: The northern gable) is a two-storeyed face-brick building ( c.  1930 s-1940s) with a parapet roof which faces on to Duggan Street and Lamb Lane at the rear. The Ruthven Street facade of the Alexandra Building is a composition of red brickwork and contrasting rendered brick decoration which emphasizes the windows and other decorative elements. The parapet is the most ornate part of the facade and

11737-508: The pandemic. In Europe, approximately half of the €960 billion of debt backed by European commercial real estate is expected to require refinancing in the next three years, according to PropertyMall, a UK‑based commercial property news provider. Additionally, the economic conditions surrounding future interest rate hikes; which could put renewed pressure on valuations , complicate loan refinancing, and impede debt servicing could cause major dislocation in commercial real estate markets. However,

11858-400: The presence of daylight – a process known as daylight harvesting . The amount of daylight received in an internal space can be analyzed by measuring illuminance on a grid or undertaking a daylight factor calculation. Computer programs such as Radiance allow an architect or engineer to quickly calculate benefits of a particular design. The human eye's response to light is non-linear , so

11979-480: The quality of the view seen from a window, three primary variables need to be ensure: view content (what can be seen in the view), view access (how of the window view can be seen), and view clarity (how clearly the view can be seen). View clarity is often influenced by the amount of shading provided by blinds or devices used to protect occupants from harsh daylight (e.g. glare ) or for reasons of visual privacy . Environmental criteria serve as important criteria to gauge

12100-429: The quality of window view content. These criteria can be distilled into five important factors, namely: Location, time, weather, people, and nature. Notably, views that are able to provide building inhabitants with content of nature far outweigh the other four Environmental Information Criteria. Different types and grades of glass and different window treatments can also affect the amount of light transmission through

12221-530: The recommended lighting level determines daylighting performance of a building. There are two metrics that IES has approved to evaluate daylighting performance: Spatial Daylight Autonomy(sDA) and Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE). sDA is a metric describing annual sufficiency of ambient daylight levels in interior environments. See Daylight autonomy and LEED documentation sections for more details. In existing buildings, field measurements can be undertaken to evaluate daylighting performance. Illuminance measurements on

12342-828: The recommended lighting level. A diagnostic survey specific to lighting can be conducted to analyse the satisfaction of building occupants. Computational simulations can predict daylighting condition of a space much faster and more detailed than hand calculations or scale model testing. The simulations allow for the effects of climate with hourly weather data from typical meteorological year . Computer models are available which can predict variations in internally reflected light. Radiosity and ray-tracing are methods can deal with complex geometry, allow complex sky distributions and potentially produce photorealistic images. Radiosity methods assume all surfaces are perfectly diffusing to reduce computational times. Ray-tracing techniques have accuracy and image rendering capacity. Daylight autonomy

12463-541: The reflective illumination from the ceiling will typically reduce deep shadows, reducing the need for general illumination. In the cold winter, a natural light shelf is created when there is snow on the ground which makes it reflective. Low winter sun (see Sun path ) reflects off the snow and increases solar gain through equator-facing glass by one- to two-thirds which brightly lights the ceiling of these rooms. Glare control (drapes) may be required. The oldest use of prisms for daylighting may well be deck prisms , let into

12584-433: The southern side of this floor being subdivided into smaller tenancies with service areas. The ceilings, the internal walls of the lantern lights and high level walls on the upper floor are lined with v-jointed boards. Lower walls and the flat ceiling below the box gutter have been recently lined with plasterboard. Early timber posts and beams with arrissed edge details and which form buttress -like structures are visible along

12705-528: The street pavement, and a decorative three-gabled face-brick parapet with the words "Alexandra Hall" in relief on the middle gable. The building was named in honour of Queen Alexandra , wife of Edward VII of Britain and of Australia. Edward had succeeded to the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria , in January 1901 and the coronation of Edward and Alexandra was conducted in August 1902 around

12826-441: The sun, and rely on mechanical mechanisms to do so. Windows are the most common way to admit daylight into a space. Their vertical orientation means that they selectively admit sunlight and diffuse daylight at different times of the day and year. Therefore, windows on multiple orientations must usually be combined to produce the right mix of light for the building, depending on the climate and latitude. There are three ways to improve

12947-567: The sun. There are two types of active daylighting control systems: closed loop solar tracking , and open loop solar tracking systems. Smart glass is the name given to a class of materials and devices that can be switched between a transparent state and a state which is opaque, translucent, reflective, or retro-reflective. The switching is done by applying a voltage to the material, or by performing some simple mechanical operation. Windows, skylights, etc., that are made of smart glass can be used to adjust indoor lighting, compensating for changes of

13068-422: The sunlight gradually decreases at sunset, the fluorescent fixture is gradually turned up to give a near-constant level of interior lighting from daylight until after it becomes dark outside. HSL may soon become an option for commercial interior lighting. It can transmit about half of the direct sunlight it receives. In a well-designed isolated solar gain building with a solarium, sunroom, greenhouse, etc., there

13189-501: The temperature is correct, and a room is unoccupied, the drapes can automatically close to reduce heat transfer in either direction. To help distribute sun room daylight to the sides of rooms that are farthest from the equator, inexpensive ceiling-to-floor mirrors can be used. Building codes require a second means of egress, in case of fire. Most designers use a door on one side of bedrooms, and an outside window, but west-side windows provide very-poor summer thermal performance. Instead of

13310-545: The terms of the agreement are still acceptable. The buyer may have the right to terminate the transaction and/or renegotiate the terms, often referred to as "contingencies". Many purchase agreements are contingent on the buyer's ability to obtain mortgage financing and buyer's satisfactory review of specific due diligence items. Common due diligence items include property financial statements , rent rolls, vendor contracts, zoning and legal uses, physical and environmental condition, traffic patterns and other relevant information to

13431-414: The time that TK Lamb's new building was opened. The ground floor was divided into two shops, each 100 feet (30 m) long by 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, with plate-glass front display windows. The ceilings were high, and additional natural lighting was provided from high-level windows in the front and rear elevations. The northern shop was occupied initially by GP Merry's Drapery Emporium. The southern shop

13552-520: The top of the stairs. The former pavilion is a large, open room with high ceilings. It is accessed via stairs from one of the tenancies on the ground level. Walls have a smooth rendered finish to the north and part of the walls to the west. Other walls are lined in v-jointed boards. The lower sections of the internal walls are lined with plywood and timber battened sheeting. The ceiling is lined with decorative pressed metal sheeting with large pressed metal cornices finished with leaf-shaped cornice mitres in

13673-413: The upper portions of windows, and some believe that they contributed to the trend from dark, subdivided Victorian interiors to open-plan, light-coloured ones. Daylight redirecting window film (DRF) is a thin plastic version of the old glass prism tiles. It can be used as a substitute for opaque blinds. Another type of device used is the light tube, also called a tubular daylighting device (TDD), which

13794-494: The wall can be fairly transparent. Increasing the amount of concrete, bottle walls embed bottles that run right through the wall, transmitting light. Concrete walls with glass prisms running through them have also been made. With the advent of cheaper optical fibers and fiber-optic concrete walls, daylight (and shadow images) can then pass directly through a solid concrete wall, making it translucent; fiber optics will lead light around bends and over tens of meters. Typically only

13915-407: The western pastoralists. By 1891, Toowoomba contained nearly twenty per cent of the population of the Darling Downs. As Toowoomba developed, a commercial centre emerged in the blocks bounded by Russell, Ruthven and Margaret Streets. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century Ruthven Street was redeveloped with substantial masonry buildings and its pre-eminence as the centre of the city

14036-415: The windows. The type of glazing is an important issue, expressed by its VT coefficient (Visual Transmittance), also known as visual light transmittance (VLT). As the name suggests, this coefficient measures how much visible light is admitted by the window. A low VT (below 0.4) can reduce by half or more the light coming into a room. But be also aware of high VT glass: high VT numbers (say, above 0.60) can be

14157-492: Was confirmed with the construction of the third Town Hall (now known as Toowoomba City Hall ) in Ruthven Street in 1900. The Alexandra Building, erected in Ruthven Street between Russell and Margaret Streets in 1902, contributed to the consolidation of this street as the city centre. The Alexandra Building was constructed for TK Lamb and Co., a well-established Toowoomba firm of confectioners and pastry cooks. Lamb had operated from at least two previous premises in Ruthven Street as

14278-466: Was invented by Solatube International in 1986 and brought to market first in Australia in 1991. Active daylighting is a system of collecting sunlight using a mechanical device to increase the efficiency of light collection for a given lighting purpose. Active daylighting systems are different from passive daylighting systems in that passive systems are stationary and do not actively follow or track

14399-405: Was occupied by TK Lamb and Co.'s Cafe Alexandra, which had counters and fittings in oak-grained pine, including a timber screen which separated the shop at the front from a dining room, 63 by 30 feet (19.2 m × 9.1 m), at the rear, capable of seating 180-200 persons. Kitchens, pantries, storehouses and outbuildings were located beyond the dining room. The Alexandra Hall, which occupied

14520-819: Was originally based on "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014). [REDACTED] Media related to Alexandra Building at Wikimedia Commons Commercial building Commercial buildings are buildings that are used for commercial purposes, and include office buildings , warehouses , and retail buildings (e.g. convenience stores , ' big box ' stores, and shopping malls ). In urban locations,

14641-404: Was transferred to TK Lamb & Co. Pty Ltd (TK Lamb Estates Pty Ltd from 1949). A number of long-term tenants occupied the building. JM Harris (draper) occupied the northern shop from 1906 until 1935. In 1938 Gold Radio Service and 4GR broadcasting moved into the building, where they remained until 197X. The upstairs hall appears to have been sub-divided and used for offices by the late 1930s, but

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