The world’s first 6 star Green Star rated convention centre has been awarded top honours in the 2009 BPN Sustainability Awards.

The project took out the Overall Winner category, in addition to the Public Building & Urban Design award. Judges said: “This project provides positive urban design outcomes, including improved connectivity. It avoids the typical black box concept of a convention centre and opens up the surrounds to include mixed uses to better activate the precinct.”

A two-bedroom home in Melbourne by Zen Architects took out the Single Dwelling (New) category, with judges saying the project has excellent passive and active strategies which were achieved on a tight urban site and within a modest budget.

The new building for Blackmores in Sydney by Watermark Architecture & Interiors took out the Small Commercial award, which allows natural cooling for nearly 50 per cent of the year.

The Large Commercial category was won by HASSELL for SA Water — VS1, the first building in SA to achieve a 6 star Green Star rating.

Office Fitout was won by Smart Design Studio for its Australasian Performing Rights Association and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society project. Judges said: “This project achieved sustainable outcomes while maintaining the character of the existing building.”

McGregor Coxall took out the Landscape Design category for its Ballast Point Park project, which included 34,000 species of endemic plants and recycled timber for all decking.

Innovation of the Year for services and products was won by Caroma Dorf for its Caroma Flex Invisi Series II Toilet Suite, which deals with the problem of replacing inefficient wall hung toilets in commercial buildings.

The 2009 BPN Sustainability Awards are sponsored by Boral Timber, Everhard Industries, Hebel, James Hardie, Ritek, Stormtech, Tarkett and Vergola. Associate supporting sponsors include the Australian Window Association, the Building Designers Association of Australia and the National Precast Concrete Association of Australia.

A full list of winners, highly commended and commended follows:

SINGLE DWELLING (NEW)

Winner: Brunswick Lane Solar House by Zen Architects

Highly Commended: Snowy Mountains House by Stockwell DesignJury

Commendation: Luxury Display Home by GNBC

SINGLE DWELLING (ALTERATIONS & EXTENSIONS)

Highly Commended — joint: Fitzroy Terrace by Welsh + Major Architects; and Rozelle Green by Anderson Architecture

SMALL COMMERCIAL

Winner: Blackmores Campus by Watermark Architecture and Interiors

Highly Commended: 7 Seeds Café and Roastery by Breathe Architecture

LARGE COMMERCIAL

Winner: SA Water — VS1 by HASSELL

Highly Commended — joint: 2 Victoria Avenue by Stockland; and Macquarie Bank Building by Brookfield Multiplex

Commendation: J. Boag and Son — Brew House by Birrelli Architects

OFFICE FITOUT

Winner: Australasian Performing Rights Association and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society by Smart Design Studios

Highly Commended: SA Water — VS1 by HASSELL

PUBLIC BUILDINGS & URBAN DESIGN

Winner: Melbourne Convention Centre by Woods Bagot & NH Architecture

Highly Commended — joint: Faculty of Law by Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp; The University of Sydney, Campus 2010 Program by the University of Sydney

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

Winner: Ballast Point Park by McGregor Coxall

Highly Commended: Lorne Killara by Guy Sturt & Associates

INNOVATION OF THE YEAR

Winner: Caroma Flex Invisi Series II Toilet Suite by Caroma Dorf

Highly Commended: Thermatech solar reflectance technology by Bluescope Steel Limited