By Lynne Blundell FAVOURITES: 5 November 2009 – The Southport Broadwater Parklands project may well be a blueprint for adaptive planning solutions to combat sea level rise and storm surge on our coastlines. It involved some creative methods, including raising ground levels in some places by two metres. With its spectacular Nerang River frontage and proximity to the Southport CBD, Southport Broadwater Parklands has long been a popular community gathering place on the Gold Coast. It is the location for many Gold Coast major public events. The Gold Coast City Council applied for funding through the Queensland 150th Legacy Infrastructure program (Q150 LIP) for master planning works and the first stage of construction. Following the allocation of funding from the Queensland Government, matched by the Council, EDAW (AECOM) was commissioned to develop the master plan for the Parklands, through to the delivery of the first stage of construction. Stage One is now complete and includes a... 
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by Nick Jones CASE STUDY – 5 November 2009 - How to deal with an existing and ageing national building stock designed and built in times when requirements for high standards of energy efficiency were not even contemplated? This a dilemma facing the architects of energy efficiency programs here in Australia and elsewhere in the world. The issue of efficiency standards in new buildings and those undergoing major refurbishments is relatively easily dealt with through the Building Codes of Australia. It places all participants on the same footing, whereas owners and occupiers of existing buildings just trying to improve their energy performance will be inequitably placed, depending on the current state of their premises. The National Strategy on Energy Efficiency, published by the Council of Australian Governments in July prefers that the marketplace drive the generation of incentives to improve efficiency. The Strategy introduces plans for the mandatory disclosure of a building’s... 
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by Nick Jones CASE STUDY – 5 November 2009 - How to deal with an existing and ageing national building stock designed and built in times when requirements for high standards of energy efficiency were not even contemplated? This a dilemma facing the architects of energy efficiency programs here in Australia and elsewhere in the world. The issue of efficiency standards in new buildings and those undergoing major refurbishments is relatively easily dealt with through the Building Codes of Australia. It places all participants on the same footing, whereas owners and occupiers of existing buildings just trying to improve their energy performance will be inequitably placed, depending on the current state of their premises. The National Strategy on Energy Efficiency, published by the Council of Australian Governments in July prefers that the marketplace drive the generation of incentives to improve efficiency. The Strategy introduces plans for the mandatory disclosure of a building’s... 
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By Tina Perinotto 6 November 2009 – One of Australia’s most magical, charming and sustainable buildings, designed for a  very low budget, has won the prestigious World Architecture Festival Awards, sports section, announced today in Barcelona. Two other Australian firms also won in their categories – Sydney based Choi Ropiha, with US based Perkins Eastman and William Fellows/PKSB for the TKTS Booth in Times Square, and Melbourne based  McBride Charles Ryan for the Klein Bottle house on the Mornington Peninsula. Dubbed the “disappearing building”, The Allen Jack + Cottier designed Berry Sports Hall, inspired by the “endless Australian sky” features eccentric holes punched through the concrete walls that at night emulate and merge into the starry sky. It was built for an amazingly low A$1.3 million. And proving the value of design over might and wealth, it beat the world renowned Wimbledon Centre Court redevelopment and the Atlantic Health Jets Training Facility to... 
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CASE STUDY - Architects for the new Faculty of Law  building at the University of Sydney, Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp say this  “international competition-winning proposal transforms the public domain of the heart of the University through the integration of architecture, urban design and landscape architecture. “The project redefines the historic relation­ship of the campus and city to create a generous new public domain with the study of law balanced at its edge. “An inventive aspect of the competition scheme was the division of the extensive building brief into podium and superstruc­tures to create an extended new public ground-plane of gardens, squares, and lawns. “Below this new civic domain are specialist teaching facilities, and library lit through the environmental and emblematic ‘light-tower. Suspended above are a series of innovative multi-layered glass and timber louvered superstructures that accommo­date the remaining brief into fragments that... 
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CASE STUDY – 21 October 2009 - The Australian Bureau of Statistics Central Offices at Belconnen in Canberra had a 4.5 star NABERS Energy base building rating. But its tenancy rating was a below average two stars. The building was a relatively modern 34,000 square metre structure commissioned in 2002, with BMS controls. To rectify the problem, the ABS appointed Colliers International’s Project Services team  to find ways to quantify the benefits of initiatives to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. David McEwen, director of consulting for Colliers International Project Services said the appointment was  to review the ABS tenancy in Canberra and identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. “Our challenge was to identify, develop and quantify cost effective solutions that would reduce energy consumption and deliver a positive payback within the existing lease term,” Mr McEwen said. “Our team undertook a comprehensive audit... 
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CASE STUDY – 19 October 2009 – If there has been a softening of commitment to high quality green buildings during the recent financial crisis, there is no evidence of this happening with Investa’s latest green showcase, The Ark, in North Sydney. The building is the first six star Green Star building Investa has developed and leased.  Construction will be complete in early 2010. Located at 40 Mount Street, The Ark will soon become a striking new landmark on the North Sydney skyline, on the site of what was one of Sydney’s earliest telephone exchanges, adjacent to North Sydney post office. Over the next few months the Rice Daubney designed building will be revealed. Delicate glass wings will jut out from the façade, but the design is not just for looks.  The windows on three sides and a side-located service core offer maximum floorplate flexibility. General manager developments for Investa, Tina Tang, says “The design will make this a great working space, with outdoor... 
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CASE STUDY – 19 October 2009 – If there has been a softening of commitment to high quality green buildings during the recent financial crisis, there is no evidence of this happening with Investa’s latest green showcase, The Ark, in North Sydney. The building is the first six star Green Star building Investa has developed and leased.  Construction will be complete in early 2010. Located at 40 Mount Street, The Ark will soon become a striking new landmark on the North Sydney skyline, on the site of what was one of Sydney’s earliest telephone exchanges, adjacent to North Sydney post office. Over the next few months the Rice Daubney designed building will be revealed. Delicate glass wings will jut out from the façade, but the design is not just for looks.  The windows on three sides and a side-located service core offer maximum floorplate flexibility. General manager developments for Investa, Tina Tang, says “The design will make this a great working space, with outdoor... 
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A sustainable and colourful redesign of an Adelaide building has helped to both reposition the building and rebrand the city’s Light Square precinct, according to the building’s designers. Designed by Adelaide architects Hames Sharley, the refurbished building at 70 Light Square is the first in Adelaide to receive a 4 star Greenstar rating. Australian headquarters of engineering firm URS, it features bright colours and an open, louvred façade. The building’s retrofit included replacement of floors, ceilings and operating systems and incorporates a VAV (variable air volume) air conditioning system that generates natural air flows through the building. Glass ceilings and solar panels encourage usage of natural daylight. A UV film was applied as a secondary louvered façade system onto the existing glazing to minimise heat that filters in from the western front of the building in summer and to retain it during the winter. Airconditioning and of?ce layouts were aligned with natural... 
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CASE STUDY: The Melbourne Convention Centre won not only the Built Environment Award in the 2009 Banksia Awards, announced in July, but it was also the first convention centre in the world to be awarded [the equivalent of] a 6 Star Green Star environmental rating by the Green Building Council of Australia, setting a global benchmark in environmental design. The development is a Victorian Government private public ownership project developed by a Plenary Group Consortium which also included builders Brookfield Multiplex and joint venture architects Woods Bagot and NH Architecture. WSPLincolneScott and its specialist services company Advanced Environmental and Vision Design provided all building services, ESD and architectural lighting. This AUS$500 million project reveals a number of design ideas which make it a leading project in contemporary world architecture and is just one part of a PPP between the Victorian State Government and Plenary Group, which is delivering a $1.4 billion revitalised... 
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CASE STUDY: The Melbourne Convention Centre won not only the Built Environment Award in the 2009 Banksia Awards, announced in July, but it was also the first convention centre in the world to be awarded [the equivalent of] a 6 Star Green Star environmental rating by the Green Building Council of Australia, setting a global benchmark in environmental design. The development is a Victorian Government private public ownership project developed by a Plenary Group Consortium which also included builders Brookfield Multiplex and joint venture architects Woods Bagot and NH Architecture. WSPLincolneScott and its specialist services company Advanced Environmental and Vision Design provided all building services, ESD and architectural lighting. This AUS$500 million project reveals a number of design ideas which make it a leading project in contemporary world architecture and is just one part of a PPP between the Victorian State Government and Plenary Group, which is delivering a $1.4 billion revitalised... 
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BRIEF – 23 September 2009 – At last curious householders can go and see what a real live green house looks like and talk to the architect, thanks to the City of Sydney’s sustainable house project which will be open to the public 15-18 October at Taylor Square in inner city Darlinghurst. The 25 square metre “Live Green House”, which will be part of the Art and About Festival, will include everything from green roofs and balcony gardening to eco linen, cooling paint, self-cleaning concrete pavers, solar power and government rebates. Architect of the house, Martin Urakawa from Archology, will be on hand to take queries. Visitors will be able to learn how to reduce the environmental footprint of their home, with tips on how to save money on water and energy bills, create balcony gardens and green spaces, and how to find out about government rebates for rainwater tanks, solar hot water and electricity, and insulation. Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the Live Green House said... 
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The Gauge CASE STUDY – FAVOURITES – 10 August 2009 – Winner of the Sustainable Architecture Award at the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) Victorian Chapter Awards was Lend Lease building, The Gauge. Located in Victoria Harbour in the Docklands precinct, construction of the project commenced in 2005 and was completed in April 2008 and achieved Australia’s first 6 Star Green Star – Office As Built v2 Certified rated building. According to Lend Lease: “The objectives for The Gauge were to demonstrate real and measurable environmental gains over The Bond, at a lower price, in a building that the industry sees as readily accessible in an overall push to make the highest level of sustainability mainstream. “Symbolically, The Gauge responds to the two significant environmental challenges facing Australia, greenhouse gas emissions and water supply.” Following is a case study statement from Lend Lease on The Gauge: Water saving initiatives in The Gauge’s design... 
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By Michael Barnes – ISIS projects FAVOURITES – 16 JULY 2009 – “Green” remains the key building focus for the first decade of the 21st century. It is certainly front-of-mind for many of the owners of Australia’s buildings. And so it should be – The International Energy Agency estimates that buildings are responsible for more than 40 per cent of the world’s total primary energy consumption and contribute 24 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Between 2006 and 2008 there was a 700 per cent increase in the number of buildings achieving green star certification from the Green Building Council of Australia – the country’s first comprehensive certification system to cover energy and water efficiency, indoor environment quality and resource conservation. By the end of last year, 154 buildings had achieved Green Star certification and a further 300 had registered to attain a certification. Of the 154, only 11 have achieved an Office Interiors rating. This momentum... 
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  CASE STUDY – 27 August 2009 – Who says a fast-designed, fast built school constructed under the federal government’s Building the Education Revolution program, can’t be sustainable and innovative. At Ultimo in Sydney’s inner west a new primary school library and multi-purpose hall designed by Allen Jack+Cottier will feature a “kit of parts” that means the school can be clipped together and then taken apart if required. It will have “amorphous holes” punched through pre-coloured solid concrete walls to allow in light and it will include a range of additional sustainable features. AJ+C principal Michael Heenan worked with the client, the International Grammar School, in a project that has defied expectations that the BER would result in only expedient designs. Designing the building to be delivered within the strict time and cost constraints of the BER budget was challenging, Mr Heenan said, but the environmentally sustainable principles incorporated in the... 
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The cylindrical skeleton of a former giant oil tank stands sentinel at the newly opened Ballast Point Park in Sydney’s inner west Balmain. Encrypted into the metal through punctured holes are the words of poet Les Murray: Stone statues of ancient waves, tongue like dingoes on shore. It’s an artistic finial to a harbourside park with more creative feeling than most, designed by landscape architects McGregor Coxall. But it comes after a lengthy and bitterly fought battle by residents to stop development on the site and an equally bitter battle by Lang Walker’s Walker Corporation for compensation after he bought an option to develop the site. And the compensation matter is still not resolved. In 2004 it was set at $43.4 million but was subsequently challenged in the High Court which sent the matter back to the NSW Land and Environment Court for reconsideration. Walker Corporation declined to comment on the issue. Today, you can picnic on the spot blissfully unaware of its tough and... 
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Snowy Mountains House by James Stockwell Architects won three major awards, the Architecture Award for Residential Architecture; Blacket Prize for regional architecture; and the Colorbond Award. [See related story: A Jury's roadshow, by Genevieve Lilley ] Although it was not entered as a sustainable house, its small footprint,  budget of around $500,000 and its design be as autonomous as possible, makes it of great interest to sustainability proponents. As well being able to return power to the grid, the house has its own water resources, hydronic heating to warm the house in the harshest of winters, and it is also designed to be resistant to strong winds, snow falls and bushfire. One way to look at is as a creative reinterpretation of the WW2 Nissen huts and old Snowy Mountains rangers’ huts. James Stockwell won the 2008 Wilkinson Award for his Leura House.  
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Smart Design Studio took out two awards at the NSW Architecture Awards 2009, with two separate entries. One was a project for the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) by Smart Design Studio won the Milo Dunphy Award for Sustainable Architecture. Interestingly the client chose not to have the building Green Star rated, instead investing this cost in its project. [See related story A Jury's Roadshow by Genevieve Lilley] The Jury’s citation: The owner-occupants of this project, the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA), embarked on the process of delivering new premises as a result of an approach from a developer to acquire the building they had previously occupied. This unexpected opportunity led to APRA buying a former warehouse building in Ultimo, which was developed in two stages. The first stage involved a base building upgrade to the five-storey brick warehouse, which is of heritage significance. Smart Design Studio provided broad design input to this first... 
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The Ecovillage at Currumbin on the southern Gold Coast is in its final development phase, 14 years after the idea was first hatched by Landmatters’ Chris Walton, Kerry Shepherd and Colin Bear. Located in the Currumbin Valley, The Ecovillage claims to have “pioneered how we must live today, and in the future, at a time when climate change and sustainable economics are the number one global issues.” Primarily, the development emphasises living in harmony with the surrounding environment…and fellow human beings all through the simple mantra of design excellence. According to Chris Walton, The Ecovillage is essentially just a well designed sub-division. It uses innovative, yet practical, sustainable principles that encompass orientation, design of the home, water conservation, and insulation. Walton believes the Ecovillage development is the future of the housing industry. “The community based model that we have created at The Ecovillage, which is essentially just a very well... 
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by Lynne Blundell The City of Sydney’s recently opened Surry Hills Community Centre is expected to set new standards for integrated sustainable design for Sydney’s public buildings. Designed by architecture firm fjmt, headed by Richard Francis-Jones, the building integrates innovative environmental systems into a flexible state-of-the-art community hub. At present no recognised environmental performance ratingsystem has been developed specifically for public buildings. The design team has used the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) Green Star OfficeDesign Rating Tool V2 as an objective guide to best practice. An upgrade to the Collins Street Park, next door to the facility, is also part of the project and includes the installation of a 60,000 litre underground rainwater tank to service the facility. Innovative environmental systems and sustainable design philosophies are integrated into a flexible state-of-the-art community hub that includes a library over two levels, community... 
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by Lynne Blundell Sydney’s laneways are about to get a sustainable makeover, adorned with everything from silver birch forests, canopies of bird cages, giant fluorescent light tubes, a mini outdoor cinema and a seven metre high bar to highlight climate change. Laneways by George! Hidden Networks is the City of Sydney’s second annual display aimed at highlighting Sydney’s hidden places. Eight projects were chosen out of 68 submissions. Each focuses on collaboration, sustainability and the changing role of public spaces, and has been created by interdisciplinary teams including artists, architects, urban designers, landscape architects and others such as musicians, poets, a scientist and a lawyer. The eight projects were chosen by curator and urban designer Steffen Lehmann and the City’s Public Art Panel. City of Sydney Mayor, Clover Moore, said the council received more than 500 registrations and 68 submissions for project with many inspiring high quality temporary artworks. “These... 
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By Andrew Zinni 6 April 2009 – The aim of new headquarters for Bendigo Bank was for a building that consumed half the energy of a typical office building, reduced potable water use by more than 50 per cent, and allowed for ease of maintenance, repair and replacement. The new state-of-the-art Bendigo Bank headquarters has created a benchmark in environmental building standards for commercial buildings in regional Victoria. Our client, Bendigo Bank, required a world-class building in terms of environmental performance and a first-class working environment for staff. They also wanted a development that would revitalise and extend the commercial hub of the city. The development occupies an entire block in downtown Bendigo and comprises a six-storey building that can accommodate approximately 900 staff. There is street-level retail and the project also included refurbishment of Level 2 of the adjacent Fountain Court building. The ESD Strategy for the development saw Probuild working... 
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“The Design Hub will be a centre for collaboration – a place to develop world-class concepts and initiatives that will raise this city’s and Victoria’s international profile”- RMIT Vice Chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner by Lynne Blundell July 5, 2009: With the appointment today of building contractor Watpac Construction (Vic), work will soon begin on RMIT’s new Design Hub, a building that will house some of Australia’s future design brains and is itself a design showpiece featuring leading edge sustainable technology. RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardner AO, said she welcomed the appointment of Watpac Construction to the project: “Watpac are renowned for their expertise in education projects, but also their commitment to environmentally sustainable design.” Professor Gardner said that the Design Hub would be a “centre for collaboration – a place to develop world-class concepts and initiatives that will... 
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By Tina Perinotto Melbourne’s Wholesale produce market has slashed $10,000 from its monthly water bill after commissioning a water metering system through Sydney based company, Watersave Australia. Managing director of Watersave, Paul Marsh, said his company’s Smart Meter resulted in a water use dropping from 93 million litres a day to less than 17 million a day – a reduction of 80 per cent. In addition, new research commissioned by his company has found significant carbon savings related to the move. According to Melbourne Market Authority Chief executive officer, Peter McLennan, water charges fell from $13,000 a month to less than $3000 a month, even after a 20 per cent rise in water levies. Melbourne Market Authority installed the internet based Watersave Smart Meter in May 2008, enabling the organisation to monitor on-site water usage data in real-time via a log-on and password, with updates from the system every 15 minutes. The system almost immediately revealed highly... 
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Following in this link is a case study presented by Craig Roussac at the release of the Warren Centre’s Low Energy High Rise project findings in March demonstrating how Investa has turned a “bad” building into a “good” one with energy savings of $370,000 so far and ongoing energy savings running at $275,000 per year in a fully tenanted building. http://www.zentation.com/viewer/index.php?passcode=8sREhKQ5Hb  
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By Tina Perinotto… A Western Australian development by Match and investment group Hawaiian has scored a victory in multi housing design, challenging the notion that apartment projects can only strive for modest environmental targets. The project, The Summer, on South Beach Esplanade in South Fremantle, has been awarded the country’s first Green Star residential rating for its design. Even more importantly, the environmental outcomes from the project promise to leave the targets of other ratings tools in their wake. Awarded the 4 Star Green Star – Multi Unit Residential PILOT Certified Rating by the Green Building Council, the project will “far exceed” a four star rating in either NatHERS or Basix numbers. “The Summer apartments average 7 stars in terms of a NatHERS rating with some of the apartments far exceeding even 9 stars,” said Match managing director, Lloyd Clark. “In lay terms the Building Code of Australia requires a minimum of 3 NatHERS stars and an average... 
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by Lynne Blundell FAVOURITES - 21 May 2009 – The official start of construction this month (13 May) on a landmark green building in Sydney’s CBD felt like a good omen. With the cranes that dotted the skyline several years ago all but gone and construction sites pretty much an endangered species, the pouring of the first concrete at 1 Bligh St was like an affirmation that there’s still a heartbeat in there somewhere. The building owners, the architects, its future tenants, VIPs and media all gathered at the construction site to watch the first concrete slide into a prepared footing. As the grey sludge slid to the ground a small sea of white hard hats bobbed approval and cameras clicked like manic applause. And applause seemed justified; the building is being heralded as a big step forward in sustainable design, its construction during a global recession a sign of good faith. Designed to achieve a 5 star NABERS energy rating and Australia’s first 6-star Green Star rating for... 
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GSA’s Michael Mandle: “The solutions do not necessarily have to be expensive. The effort is required in the design stages. Building ABGR rated buildings higher than 5 star is demanding, but still manageable” Group GSA has designed the $120 million national headquarters for Centrelink. According to GSA Architect Michael Mandle, the building, “Greenway”, establishes a new benchmark in workplace design, driven by environmental and social sustainability initiatives. From a cost point of view, simple building techniques are the road to sustainable success, Mr Mandle said. “Essentially I believe that we can provide a built response to environmentally sustainable construction through a comprehensive review of materials, construction methods and efficiencies, coupled with detailed engineering reviews. “The solutions do not necessarily have to be expensive. The effort is required in the design stages. Building ABGR rated buildings higher than 5 star is demanding,... 
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Pixel on Grocon’s Melbourne Carlton brewery site, designed by Studio 505: a laboratory for new green architecture … “Nobody can tell you accurately what the financial impost will be of the cost of a carbon constrained economy,” says David Waldren by Tina Perinotto FAVOURITES – 6 May 2009 – Private developer Grocon is pushing ahead with its “laboratory” style environmental showcase building on Melbourne’s former Carton brewery site in Melbourne, in a move that it says anticipates a carbon constrained economy. “Pixel,” on the northern fringe of the CBD, will be small in footprint, just 1000 square metres, but giant in the strides it will demonstrate to the construction and development industry, Grocon development manager, David Waldren, told TFE in a telephone interview from Melbourne. “It will be a world first, not just an Australian first,” Waldren said. Waldren said that in Europe many of the offsets claimed by carbon neutral buildings... 
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The recently opened Workplace6 is part of the third stage of Sydney’s Darling Island Master Plan. The site, opposite Star City Casino on the waterfront at Darling Island, is managed by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA). SHFA initiated the contract for a benchmark building in environmental design and construction with GPT, in conjunction with Citta Property group, winning the contract. The first commercial development to achieve a 6 star Green Star rating for design in NSW, Workplace6 has achieved PCA grade specifications and is targeting a 5 star NABERS energy rating. Construction commenced in April 2007 and completed in November 2008, providing approximately 18,200 sq m of space over six storeys and offers some of the largest commercial floor plates in Sydney, of over 3600 sq m. The building was acquired by the GPT Wholesale Office Fund in December 2007 for $183.6 million. Accenture and Google have leased 96 per cent of the office space for 12 and 10 year terms respectively,... 
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