What the 2018 Sustainability Awards winners have to say...
PASSIVE DESIGN IS THE KEY TO CREATING A SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT By Luke Johnson, Architectus principal, Education category winner
The built environment is very consumptive of resources and energy and as such its development and function has a large impact on the natural environment and the lifeforms that inhabit it – including us.
It is essential that designers engage in the research and development of appropriate solutions that improve environmental performance and reduce energy consumption.
Sustainability is typically understood to involve three dimensions of financial, ecological and social sustainability.
For Architectus, these dimensions are fundamentally intertwined, and we know that exceptional solutions of sustainability have positive outcomes for our natural environment and human health, and deliver our clients reduced whole-of-life costs.
The future of sustainable design requires working with (as opposed to against) the opportunities of the external environment.
The most sustainable built environments are created through passive approaches. This entails working closely as a design team with the nature of the site and its opportunities for optimal orientation and the capacity to “tune” the building according to seasonal requirements. We design in direct response to the local climatic conditions, exploring appropriate means of reducing overall energy demand, the provision of the right amount of thermal mass for the building’s fabric and designing to allow that fabric to “breathe”.
It is necessary to realise that passive design requires active thinking. To create sustainable buildings, designers must not be bound by common practices towards energy use and material composition but must actively seek out solutions that are less demanding on energy consumption and carbon creation. Ideally, utilising solutions that are energy creating and carbon neutral.
The Macquarie University Incubator does all this and more. It is an example of how we as designers can and should always consider the fundamental principles of orientation, natural daylight and passive ventilation to generate buildings that are truly sustainable by nature.
CHALLENGES, MARKETS & REGULATORS
By Ed Horton, director, Stable Properties, Interior Architecture category winner
In today’s world of environmental and social consciousness, it’s increasingly easier to express what otherwise may have been regarded as radical views when imagining sustainable initiatives in the built environment.
Nonetheless, the challenge has been and to a great extent remains, at what cost and inconvenience are these so-called sustainable initiatives, and to what benefit.
The principal stakeholders in the development cycle need to share some common interests, if the project is to be successful, it’s just a matter of degree and where those interests intersect.
Some of those stakeholders are planning authorities (Councils, State Governments etc.), banks/ financiers, developers, architects / engineers and purchasers / tenants, where the question of sustainability is considered through a prism of risk, value, desirability, cost and performance, and not equally by each.
The seeds are there, and we are seeing some exciting projects in the commercial and residential sector, with Embedded Electricity Networks being more widely adopted, solar systems with smart energy storage and Virtual Power Plants emerging as the next generation of clever and efficient energy systems.
The market acceptance, if not market demand for more responsible and indeed equitable and affordable sustainable initiatives is encouraging.
Of the key stakeholders, we are still unfortunately finding that regulators and consent authorities are lagging behind. There is on face value, a positive narrative coming from those authorities, however the truth is, most have a low mandatory level of sustainable
performance criteria, which is fine if we are looking to establish a basic, broad brush performance standard.
More so, if an individual were to exceed those standards in a meaningful manner, such as reducing the electricity load on a particular dwelling, or to otherwise become partially, or heaven forbid entirely self-sufficient in power, there are no benefits attributed to the individual by the consent authority. This needs to change.
BLURRING THE TRADITIONAL BOUNDARIES BETWEEN LANDSCAPE AND BUILDING IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS
By Defence Housing Australia, Multiple Dwelling category winner
Residents of Defence Housing Australia’s (DHA) visionary new apartment development, located in Sydney’s inner-city, will have the opportunity to harvest and cook their breakfast without needing to leave their building.
Arkadia epitomises the idea of ‘a sustainable community’. As part of a City of Sydney design competition, DKO and Breathe Architecture delivered an award-winning design that drew on the area’s former brickworks history for inspiration, integrating recycled materials, passive energy design and innovative green spaces to deliver meaningful benefits for occupiers and the environment.
The development which is now nearing completion, is set over 5,590sqm and will deliver a mix of 152 apartments as well as a ground floor retail space designated for a café, a pocket park, veggie gardens, barbecue spaces, a rooftop with dining pods and city views, chicken runs and even an apiary for bees.
When you think of city living you don’t often imagine collecting freshly laid eggs or harvesting your own honey and veggies from your rooftop, but Arkadia makes all this possible.
The unique features of Arkadia work as communal spaces to bring people together through gardening, leisure and recreation.
The “functional seasonal landscapes” enhance wellbeing for residents, by encouraging people to step outside and interact with nature and one another. The courtyards and roof terraces also contribute to local biodiversity by increasing the biomass and diversity of plant species included within the landscape.
Arkadia’s design maximises opportunities for social interaction through the connection of spaces, all abilities access, the arrangement of seating and orchestration of views, and by providing a mix of communal and semiprivate spaces that accommodate small groups and individuals.
DHA understands the benefits of community cohesion, and the importance of social interaction, which can help to combat the sense of dislocation that people can sometimes experience in apartment living.
“Dwellings that are good to live in and good for the environment go hand-in-hand and it is important for DHA to set this example”, says senior development manager, Pedro Pan.
“We are incorporating this approach in more of our developments and it is encouraging to see this philosophy being adopted more widely to blur the traditional boundaries between landscape and building, especially within urban environments,” he adds.
THE FUTURE IS NOT AS SUSTAINABLE AS WE MAY LIKE TO THINK
By Greg Welsh, Winya Indigenous Furniture, Application and/or Innovation category winner.
In the past 12 months I have had a lot of time to reflect on how Australian business is dealing with their environmental responsibility. And from where I sit, it’s not good.
We have had lots of talk with lots of sustainability and CSR people in big companies and government but so little actually happens. And I think it is because in corporate Australia, so few of these people are actually empowered to achieve a fraction of what they would like to achieve.
I continue to see thousands of tonnes of Melamine and MDF going to landfill. I see little enthusiasm from some architects and designers to use recycled materials, as the Greenstar points system gives so little focus on the circular economy, it only looks at the new build. There is a complete disconnect between these various parts of the business process that could actually achieve something good, if it all worked together.
When a company relocates or refurbishes, there is often significant focus on staff engagement, the design layout and the furniture selection. At that stage people ask all the environmental questions about is the furniture FSC, recyclable at the end of its life, etc. But as they move to that new office, a different set of people have to get the old office cleared out and “make good” so that they get the bond back… and every bit of all those sustainability goals for the new office just got negated as the old furniture got sent to the tip.
The NSW Government’s Circular Economy Policy was published last month. I hope this resets the system because until waste is considered as a key part of any purchasing decision, the whole equation will not work.
FOCUSING ON PEOPLE IS KEY TO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
By Jessica Bennett from Aurecon, winner of the Commercial category.
Improving the health and wellbeing of the end-users of buildings is fundamental to green building design.
Taking this human-centred approach is vital for sustainability, says Jessica Bennett, senior sustainability consultant at Aurecon.
“Staff costs typically account for 90 percent of business operating costs, so focusing on the health and wellbeing of occupants in green building design makes sense from a social, environmental and economic perspective,” Bennett says.
“Well-sealed buildings also perform better for both energy efficiency and thermal comfort, so designing for low air leakage through the building envelope is also important.”
Bennett also says that high performing buildings shouldn’t incorporate ‘greenwashing’ techniques.
“Building systems need to be optimised, monitored and controlled so that performance meets design intent,” she says.
These approaches were used as part of the regeneration of One Malop Street, Geelong, a 14-level A-grade commercial building and new headquarters for Worksafe Victoria, that involved the urban regeneration of the historic Dalgety & Co. site.
Aurecon provided all the engineering services, alongside architect Peck von Hartel and contractor Built, for developer and owner Quintessential Equity.
“The development was designed and constructed with the occupants’ wellbeing at its heart and with market-leading greenhouse gas emission targets,” Bennett says.
“The project team acknowledged the past and looked to the future by retaining the heritagelisted Dalgety & Co Wool Store façade while ensuring resilience against climate change.”
The development has achieved 6 Star Green Star, WELL Platinum (base building), WELL Gold (Interiors) and is targeting a NABERS 5.5 Star Energy (Base Building) rating. The building has also cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent, compared to standard buildings.
“Truly sustainable developments must look at triple bottom line sustainability – making significant and positive contributions through environmental measures, economic outcomes and social equity,” Bennett notes.