A residential accommodation complex at Monash University, a sustainably designed apartment development in Melbourne, and a sustainability program in Gannawarra Shire are the three finalists in the Built Environment category of the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards.

Gillies Hall on Monash University’s Peninsula campus, the Nightingale 2.0 apartment development in Melbourne’s Fairfield, and Gannawarra Shire Council’s Sustainable Gannawarra program have been shortlisted for the prestigious award this year. The Premier’s Sustainability Awards celebrate people working to reduce the impact of climate change.

A six-level, 150-bed residential accommodation complex, Gillies Hall byJCB Architects– named in honour of Monash alumnus, political satirist, actor and director Dr Max Gillies – is the first large scale building in Australia to achieve Passive House certification. Gillies Hall provides modern, high quality and sustainable living spaces to its residents while ensuring an energy and carbon footprint dramatically lower than any comparable building in Australia.

Nightingale 2.0 by Hip V Hype and Six Degrees Architects offers 20 deeply sustainable design-led apartments and three ground floor retail tenancies across five levels. A triple bottom line apartment development model, rigorously designed to prioritise liveability, community and sustainability, the project achieved an average 8.7 stars NatHERS thermal performance rating and will be fossil fuel-free in operation.

Sustainable Gannawarra by Gannawarra Shire Council leads the way through a series of community initiatives, benefitting both the environment and their local economy. Projects include the Large Scale Solar initiative, assisting community through improved lighting and waste collection services, developing joint ventures to reduce costs and environmental impacts of diesel engines, enhancing solar electricity generation by recycling infrastructure, investigating microgrid systems to power local towns, and participating in the Central Victoria Greenhouse Alliance electric vehicle recharging program.

In his message to the finalists, the interim CEO of Sustainability Victoria, Carl Muller said, “Delivering these Awards means we continue to discover and celebrate the talent and enthusiasm Victorians have for thinking creatively about new models of sustainability.

“The Awards, now in their 17th year, acknowledge leadership, innovation and achievement. Each finalist is commended for improving sustainable outcomes across business, government, education, health and within the community.”

Winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony on Thursday 10 October at Forum Melbourne.