By Alan Pears 10 April 2012 – One of the frustrations facing people working in the green building space is the lack of information on how our award winning buildings actually perform. We need to learn from what has worked well, and what hasn’t been so successful. The 60L Green Building in Carlton was completed in late 2002. The developer was a green philanthropic organisation Read More  
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3 May 2012 – Case study: WT Sustainability wanted to raise the bar when it aimed for a minimum six star NABERS energy rating under the CitySwitch program when it planned its new offices at 181 Miller Street, North Sydney. Director of WTS Stephen Hennessy said: “”WTS is in the business of delivering energy and sustainability advice to a range of clients, obviously we need to practice what we preach, Read More  
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By Jonathan Prendergast 11 April 2012 – In 1973 Denmark’s dependence on imported energy hit an energy shortage crisis and among the responses was a driving ban on Sundays. Read More  
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20  March 2012 – Case study: Local Government Super claims its 20 year old commercial building in Sydney which has been awarded a 5.5 star NABERS rating without including its use of green power, is now the lowest energy intensity office building in any Australian CBD. Since its 2010 upgrade the building’s energy use has fallen by 54 per cent and water consumption by 46 per cent. Read More  
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7 March 2012 – Sustainability features which have earned a six  star Green Star rating for a GPT Group building at Sydney Olympic Park include a solar installation that contributes 25 per cent of the base-building’s peak load – making it the largest solar installation in an Australian commercial building of this scale. The $60 million 5 Murray Rose development which is the first stage of GPT’s $200 million Murray Rose Business Park also includes: Read More  
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By Tina Perinotto and Lyn Drummond 9 March 2012 – Leightons and Grosvenor invited the NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell to the topping out ceremony for the five star Green Star, five star NABERS Eclipse in Parramatta west of Sydney last week. Leighton Properties managing director Mark Gray said the Eclipse standards were high, but for  Leighton’s  it was business as usual. In an interview with The Fifth Estate after the ceremony, Mr Gray said: “Five star Green Star and five NABERS is quite high in sustainability and it’s probably setting a new benchmark not just for sustainability for architectural excellence in in Parramatta.” From Leighton’s point of view, however, “sustainability is a key driver to all the projects that we do. “All our new buildings are five and six star rated. We probably have more rated commercial buildings in Australia than any other company and we’ve been doing this for quite a while.” Mr Gray... 
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18 January 2012 – Case study: Blackbutt timber linings and details were used in the refurbishment of the University of Western Sydney’s climate change and energy research centre because of its longevity Read More  
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By Amanda Stanaway, Woods Bagot 13 September 2011 – The refurbishment of the GPT Property group headquarters at the MLC building in Sydney’s CBD was a unique challenge and could re-shape industry concepts of older buildings. Read More  
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By Leon Gettler 1 September 2011 – When it comes to creating a sustainable building or refurbishing an old one so that it picks up NABERS stars, there is no one size fits all solution. Read More  
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By Lyn Drummond 24 August 2011 – Sustainable features which can double as educational tools have been incorporated in the design of the $20 million Mabel Fidler Resources Hub Building for Ravenswood School for Girls in the northern Sydney suburb of Gordon. Read More  
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17 August 2011 – Case study: The time has come when tenants want to know how many bicycle racks there are in a building, rather than car spaces. Read More  
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16 August 2011 – Apple’s plans for its new headquarters in Cupertino, California have attracted mixed comments,  from its green credentials (less asphalt,  more trees),  to being  “a self-centered, isolated new office park hidden behind a wall of parking garages.” See Treehugger The proposal includes:an office, research and development building comprising about 2.8 million square feet; corporate auditorium, fitness centre, research facilities and central plant. See the proposal  on the Cupertino, California website  
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13 July 2011 – The Australian Conservation Foundation’s head office in Melbourne, the 60L Green Building, was designed to minimise its impact on the environment when it opened in 2002 but has it measured up ? Read More  
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By Lyn Drummond 17 May 2011 – Investa’s ARK development in North Sydney and GPT’s 530 Collins Street in Melbourne have won two new sustainability awards included in the Property Council of Australia’s annual Property Council of Australia/ Rider Levett Bucknall Innovation and Excellence Awards. Ark, now known as Coca-Cola Place, won the Baulderstone Award for Best Sustainable Development, New Buildings and GPT’s 530 Collins Street won the THINC Award for Best Sustainable Development – Existing Buildings. Read More  
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By Lynne Blundell A second case study from the Australian Institute of Refrigeration Air Conditioning and Heating, conference, held in September in Melbourne, on the theme of  just how critical good facilities management is for achieving energy efficiency in buildings. See The AA3 building, Charles Sturt University, Albury: controls are “absolutely critical AIRAH 2010 conference, Melbourne – 30 September 2010 – Another project that highlighted the importance of co-operation between designers, builders and facilities managers was the refurbishment of Northbank Plaza at 69 Ann Street in Brisbane. Refurbishment of the 30 year old building was completed to a Property Council of Australia A Grade standard and NABERS Base Building 4 Star Commitment Agreement in 2009. Connan Brown, Senior Associate and ESD Manager with Norman Disney & Young, told delegates it was the client’s contractual arrangements with the builder and the builder’s back-to-back requirements of subcontractors... 
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20 April – Case study: A Perth building has earned the city’s first five star NABERS energy base building rating for a new office development. According to joint owners Hawaiian and Brookfield, the 18,000 square metre, nine level office tower at 235 St George’s Terrace, completed in February 2009, is now one of the most energy efficient commercial office spaces in Australia. The building boasts a number of green features as part of the green star rating requirements including better air and lighting quality, amenities which allow for reduced water usage, waste water recycling, onsite facilities such as bicycle racks and change rooms, and office finishes and  paints and carpets that reduce the use of volatile organic compounds. A five star NABERS base building energy rating demonstrates best practice and market leading performance in energy efficiency benchmarked against current market performance and assessed on actual building performance over a 12 month period. Read More  
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By Tina Perinotto 31 March  2011 – GPT boss Michael Cameron himself dipped out of his job “making money”, as he put it, to host a sneak preview of the new, six star Green Star-targeted head office of the giant property trust this week. Also hosting the tour group was Rosemary Kirkby who joined GPT as head of sustainability early last year and project director Robert Hitchcock. Read More  
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20 April 2011 – Tristram Carfrae, leader global building design for the international engineering and design company, Arup, recently returned to London after 20 years in Australia. He leaves behind an impressive body of work both in this country and elsewhere, much of it representing breakthroughs in technology and design and always with a firm eye on sustainability. In Carfrae’s view the definition of a “good” building is one that “consumes less materials, energy, time and money while at the same time providing greater amenity and being beautiful.” Read More  
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24 March 2011 – Case Study: According to mySmart CTI, a Sydney-based company that provides energy efficiency solutions, refurbishment of an art deco heritage building at 99 Macquarie Street in Sydney showed that it was possible to provide the building with a modern and sustainable lighting system while preserving the heritage listed building interior. Situated in Sydney’s busy CBD, 99 Macquarie Street is a heritage listed art deco landmark, home to Mulpha Australia Limited and other tenants Read More  
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3 March 2011 –CASE STUDY: The landmark former Optus Building in North Sydney building has achieved a five star NABERS energy rating following its $40 million refurbishment in 2007-2008. The property at 101 Miller Street, owned by Mirvac Funds Limited and Eureka Funds Management, now has a three Mega Volt Amps trigeneration system, one of the largest trigeneration systems installed in a commercial office building in Australia. The building was occupied by Optus, a single tenant, from the completion of construction in 1992 for 15 years. The telco’s decision to vacate the premise from mid 2007 Read More  
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15 February 2011 – Australia’s first five star Green Star social housing project in Sydney’s inner west suburb of Lilyfield was officially launched this week by NSW Minister for Housing Frank Terenzini and Member for Balmain Verity Firth. The star rating made the $29.5million project of 88 architecturally–designed units “the greenest social housing project in the country,” the minister said. “We hope the Lilyfield project will become a model for future social housing projects across the Nation, as it demonstrates that affordable housing can also be ecologically sustainable. “By embracing green building principles, the Keneally Government is providing a more sustainable environment for public housing occupants, who will benefit from lower energy and water bills as well as a happier, healthier place to live, Mr Terenzini said. Read More  
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11 May 2011 – Case study: Sydney’s RPAH Medical Centre has dramatically increased its NABERS zero star rating two years ago to four – delivering an overall 40 per cent reduction in energy use, a 20 per cent reduction in water consumption and cut annual carbon emissions by more than 50 tonnes. This result was achieved following a review of the building’s airconditioning management system and a Sydney Water sponsored project. Owned by Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust Read More  
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6 April – Case study: Energy management software company BuildingIQ claims it has reduced energy costs by up to 30 per cent daily in total base building energy in a trial during event days in the historic Perth Council House The company said it achieved an overall 12 per cent reduction during the trial and optimised controls in what it claimed was the world’s first deployment of a system that uses predictive energy optimisation for demand response events In the US where the company also operates, demand response programs are used by utilities to reduce peak load energy consumption in commercial buildings, which consumes 20 per cent of energy in the US. Energy challenge Perth Council House contains an outdated and limited control system and mechanical plant. The last substantial plant and controls upgrade was in 1999. Despite this, it was crucial for the facility to reduce overall power demand as well as reduce peak loads in response to external parameters such as utility company... 
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23 September 2010 – At last the country has its first NABERS Energy and Water rating for a shopping centre. After years in development for the tool, Colonial First State Global Asset Management, has submitted its Grand Plaza Shopping Centre in Browns Plains, Queensland and achieved a 3 star ratings. Head of sustainability property for Colonial First State Rowan Griffin said it was a valuable exercise, and the result not quite as high as the team had expected hoped for. “It’s been surprising- you think you are doing quite well but when you put in an external benchmark you find some interesting results [where you can improve],” Mr Griffin said. “We’re going down the NABERS rating path on all our assets.” Most of the potential improvements discovered through the exercise tended to be in the controls of the building management systems. “That’s the whole benefit in my view of doing external ratings,” Mr Griffin said. “With the introduction... 
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By Lynne Blundell 530 Collins Street Melbourne 6 May 2010 – When GPT’s building at 530 Collins Street was coming up to 20 years old, the property group decided it was time for an upgrade with energy performance a key focus. Originally completed in 1989, it is a landmark building with approximately 68,335 square metres of office accommodation over 38 floors. The building was rated at 2.5 Star NABERS energy efficiency in 2004  – an industry average. Prior to the upgrade GPT purchased 25 per cent Green Power for the building, a contract that commenced in 2007. This brought it up to 4 Star NABERS. Read More  
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6 October 2010 - A workshop hosted by Paul Edmiston and Lachlan MacDonald of Savills Incoll Australia at the 2010 Sustainable Buildings Conference  highlighted the effect that the drive toward sustainability has had on the property market. The workshop focused on the refurbishment of 170 Phillip St, Sydney, as a case study highlighting the decisions made by the owners, The Law Society. The case study detailed the reasons why the owners performed the upgrade, the key sustainability initiatives adopted into the refurbishment as well as their perspective on the Green Star rating. The case study can be seen further below. The workshop also discussed the effect that the move towards sustainability is having in the areas of leasing, valuation and sales, project management and facilities management. Following are some highlights from those insights. Leasing: An overwhelming majority of Premium and A grade tenants have a green agenda while only a  small minority of B and C grade tenants... 
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Case study: 11 November 2010 – HASSELL has won the prestigious World Architecture Festival’s Interiors and Fitout of the Year award for the ANZ Centre in Melbourne’s Docklands. The ANZ Centre, recently won the Emil Sodersten Award for Interior Architecture, also by HASSELL, from the Australian Institute of Architects Presenting the award in Barcelona on Friday 5 November, the international jury described ANZ Centre as: “conceptually ambitious, and rich in plan and section in its diversity of workplaces. The result is a distinctive personality appropriate to an institution with a modern perspective. It accommodates the most contemporary ideas of workplace planning and has excellent green credentials. Read More  
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By Tina Perinotto and Andrew Starc   30 September 2010 - When Mirvac launched its Harmony 9 zero-carbon house in Melbourne, the idea wasn’t to make it the basis for the next tranche of housing product the company would release to the market but more as a prototype -  a bit like a concept car that can capture the imgination and show what’s possible, perhaps just around the corner, according to national practice director Peter Cotton. “It’s the concept car approach to sustainable  housing,” Mr Cotton said this week. “It’ s not necessarily applicable  now. Some things are costly; manufacturing has not got there with the economies of scale. So that’s how we looked at it.” Mr Cotton said said some elements in the house were included now in projects but others could well be rolled out in other projects as the costs of manufacturing and construction gained economies of scale. Especially with elements such as the reverse brick construction,... 
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Case study -15 September 2010 - Bovis Lend Lease has transformed the new Brisbane headquarters of Australian energy company Santos into one of Queensland’s greenest buildings, incorporating a range of pioneering sustainable features including one of the longest retro-fitted internal staircases in the state. Situated on Levels 18-26 within the 37 storey commercial tower at 32 Turbot Street, in the North Quarter precinct of the Brisbane CBD, Santos’ new headquarters covers approximately 9000 square metres across nine levels. The office component of the project is registered for a Green Star – Office Interiors rating with the Green Building Council of Australia and is targeting a 5 star rating. The fitout project was presented with the Master Builders Housing and Construction Award for Innovation in Workplace Health and Safety (Brisbane) and has been put forward for the Queensland state award in October 2010. Additionally, construction manager Bridget Taylor received the Australian... 
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    8 September 2010 – Brisbane’s Green Square North Tower, a 6 Star Green Star, $94million mixed-use office complex, has become the first commercial building in Australia with an operational co-generation plant to be awarded a 5 Star NABERS Energy whole building rating. The building, designed by Cox Rayner and constructed by Leighton Contractors, is also the first commercial building in Queensland to earn a 6 Star Green Star – Office Design v2 rating by the Green Building Council of Australia. Floth Sustainable Building Consultants provided environmentally sustainable designs in mechanical and electrical services and energy modeling for the development.  Completed in September 2009 and located in the Brisbane suburb of Fortitude Valley, immediately adjacent to the CBD, Green Square North Tower is one of the city’s largest mixed use corporate office parks, consisting of 23,500 square metres of A-grade office space spanning over 12 levels, 600 sq m of retail space... 
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