Surry Hills Library by fjmt and the City of Sydney
The design for the two-storey community centre seeks to establish a contemporary sense of place that will provide an open and inviting public facility.
Initiatives:
• thermal labyrinth and six layers of passive and active air filtering
• geothermal cooling bores to passively temper water and air
• photovoltaic array for on-site power generation
• solar tracking louvres
• green roof to insulate level two and passively filter rainwater collection
• 62,000 litre water storage tank
NMIT Green Skills Centre of Excellence by Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE Buildings & Properties
The brief required 5 star Green Star training facilities that demonstrated technology as well as provide first class facilities.
Initiatives:
• passive design features such as natural lighting, cross flow ventilation, thermal mass, solar shading design, computer modelling optimisation, openable windows and roof ventilators
• active energy systems including photovoltaics (25 kW) and vertical axis wind turbine (3 kW)
• geothermal air-conditioning
• 110,000 litre rainwater collection
• concrete slab has over 30 per cent cement substitute, precast elements over 20 per cent cement substitute and over 20 per cent recycled aggregate
Peppergreen Farm Training Facility by Eco Villages Worldwide
The brief was to design a project which fitted in with the sustainable ethos of Peppergreen Farm, which contains an eco living centre, organic market garden and training facilities.
Initiatives:
• all windows and doors double glazed and thermally broken
• building envelope of the eco pod insulated with a triple skin system for the walls that provide a R4.8 thermal rating with the roof and ceiling structure achieving R 6.9 and the floor R5.3
• 2 kW solar PV system installed on the complex to provide an average of 10 kW/hr per day
• mechanical heating and cooling supplied via a common ducting system under the floor and delivered via adjustable floor registers. This halves the amount of ducting required and makes for a simpler system
• air supplied to the classroom is 100 per cent fresh air
The Montessori School Redevelopment by Edgar Idle Wade Architects
The brief for the project was the redevelopment of the school to create purpose built learning spaces, while also removing outdated asbestos-laden buildings.
Initiatives:
• linoleum floor coverings which contain renewable and recycled materials
• water efficiency achieved through low-flow water devices and the use of a large rainwater tank which collects all rainwater from the two roofs
• renewable or low impact materials for the structure and cladding of the building
• externally — rammed earth, high performance polyester insulation, plantation pine wall framing and cladding, galvanised purlins
• internally — plantation pine roof trusses, linoleum floor covering, E0 particleboard for furniture
Sydney Park Kiosk by the City of Sydney
The design and delivery of the Sydney Park Toilet and Kiosk facility had to take into account the park's landfill nature and its contamination constraints, ranging from asbestos, leachate and gas emission management.
Initiatives:
• the toilet cubicles are expressed as cylinders to visually diminish their scale, allow for a play of light on the gloss-tiled surface and to be a counter to the dominant rectangle plane of the roof
• slots cut into the wall of the cylinder to provide access to natural light, cross ventilation and outlook but set at a height that allows for privacy
• stored water used for toilet flushing and is supported by mains water when required
• cladding is designed to be removed easily in the event of panel replacement
• recycled timber in the kiosk building
• proprietary composite resin panel system has a very long life cycle and does not require refinishing
Sydney Town Hall by the City of Sydney
This project is a benchmark example of the City’s commitment to become ‘Green, Global and Connected’ and remove its dependence on coal-fired electricity.
Initiatives:
• the installation of solar panels on the 140 year-old slate roof tiles — originally imported from Wales
• the solar panel system uses a specialised mounting bracket that integrates seamlessly into the heritage slate roof. This is the first of its kind to be engineered in Australia and resulted in minimal impact to the heritage fabric of the building
• in total, the 48 kW-peak system is expected to generate over 60,000 kW hours of renewable electricity each year
• any damaged were repaired and restored and combined with new roof insulation
Adelaide Zoo Entrance Precinct by HASSELL
The design team responded to a highly aspirational, performance-based brief centred on four key principles — environment, education, research and conservation.
Initiatives:
• architecture landscape-driven — the project acknowledges the parkland setting and incorporates large ‘living’ walls and a green roof specifically designed to support local habitat and biodiversity
• rainwater and stormwater runoff captured on-site and filtered through biofiltration beds in the forecourt before entering the rainwater tanks (160,000 litre capacity)
• requirement on artificial lighting during daylight hours reduced by the orientation of the shallow floor plates and the implementation of motion detectors in low occupancy spaces such as bathrooms and back of house areas
• over 200 trees and 10,000 native plants planted with a particular focus on indigenous plants from the Adelaide Plains
• natural night time ventilation used to remove heat from the buildings, expelling heat from the concrete structure
