As building practice evolves, the technologies that accompany modern residences move with it. The smart home as futuristic as it sounds is here. The ability to control ventilation, power and levels of natural light can now be done at the touch of the button, and the Smart Building Ideas category of the 2021 Sustainability Awards ensures that the incorporation of these technologies into environmentally-conscious dwellings does not go unnoticed.
The Smart Building Ideas category criteria requires a building with smart design, or a range of automated processes, to automatically control the building’s operations in order to help improve asset reliability, performance, and energy use. The award does not necessarily award the technology that is available to architects and home builders, but more so, the way it is implemented to increase the efficiency and overall sustainability of a home.
Australia’s largest architecturally designed passive house, Vanquish, designed by Joe Adsett Architects with Solaire properties and Eco Lateral Environmental Consultants, was awarded winner of the Smart Building Ideas category at the 2020 Sustainability Awards. One of only 38 homes built to a gold standard of building design anywhere in the world, Vanquish features world first heat pump technology, as well as as being acknowledged as the first Australian house to contain 3 phase Hybrid smart inverters that integrate with the hot water system and are fully VPP ready for integration with the future energy retail sector and localised energy trading schemes. The house is a flagship for future residential buildings, and its win at the 2020 Sustainability Awards was as straightforward as the technologies implemented within the walls of the house itself.
ASP Access Floors are the proud sponsor of the Smart Building Ideas category. As their HR, Sustainability & Marketing Manager Angela Zlatar explained that sponsoring the category complements the characteristics of their own business practices.
“We love research and development. And so the Smart Building Ideas category fits really well with what we try to do with our products. We spend a lot of time, money, and resources on the design of our products. And once we have a product designed, they’re re-evaluated many times over to see how we can make them better. So, it’s really about encouraging those smart ideas and making sure they’re brought to fruition,” she says.
The winner of the Smart Building Ideas category, as well as the winners of the other 13 categories will be revealed on Thursday November 11 at the 2021 Sustainability Awards ceremony in Sydney. If there’s a product you believe worthy of nomination for the Smart Building Ideas category, or any other category in the 2021 Sustainability Awards please register here.
