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AIRAH’s Special Technical Groups are benefitting from a re-designed website

In becoming the first regional NSW project to achieve 6 star Green Star Design and As-Built rating certification, the University of Newcastle’s Q Building has set a new sustainability benchmark for the Hunter region. Sean McGowan discovers how mass timber construction and a smart glass façade contribute to the achievement.

In the future, many Australian HVAC systems may be required to deal with harsher environmental conditions due to more extreme climatic conditions and a push to increase population centres in more northern and central regions of the country.

Hospitals aren’t just another building; they are a processing facility in which lives are being saved daily – this requires reliability and energy. So, can we please stop bundling them in with other building types when it comes to talking about green buildings? James Moyes, Simon Witts, M.AIRAH, and Broden Kay are asking this pointed question.

Students and academics from the University of Melbourne joined forces with selected consultants from industry and CSIRO’s property sustainability team to explore the question of net zero laboratory design. The university’s Brendon McNiven, Dominik Holzer and Lu Aye, F.AIRAH elaborate.

The PG&E Larkin Substation addition in San Francisco is the first building of its type to earn a rating from the Living Building Challenge.

When it comes to climate change, Professor William Rees believes he sees things as they are, describing himself as a realist.

ARBS chair Professor Tony Arnel talks us through four consumer trends and what they mean for the future of the office.

In a quiet street in Sydney’s northern suburbs resides New South Wales’ first Passivhaus Premium certified building. The residential home is the result of more than five years of painstaking research and planning by a family determined to future-proof their investment against climate change.

For when the sun doesn’t show and the wind doesn’t blow, sand may just be an option for thermal energy storage.

Ireland-born Vince Aherne, F.AIRAH, is pivotal to many AIRAH projects, including editing our suite of DA manuals and helping to deliver the epic i-Hub project.

The redevelopment of the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct on Sydney Harbour is not only preserving the wharf’s heritage but has incorporated renewable thermal energy to deliver energy–efficient cooling to the facility. Sean McGowan reports.

In Memphis, Tennessee, a 1957 building has been converted into a net-zero energy net-zero carbon project.

Respected AIRAH member Warwick Stannus, M.AIRAH, recently passed away.

When Ecolibrium last took a deep dive into the state of Australia’s HVAC&R manufacturing base, we discovered that contrary to negative commentary at the time, there was a strong beating heart. As Sean McGowan reports, the challenges may differ today but the same optimism and ingenuity remains.

A multi-award winning, mixed-use development in Melbourne’s prestigious Collins Street has brought building managers, service technicians and energy optimisation specialists together to collaborate on operational performance improvements post-completion. Sean McGowan reports. 

There were a few delays and obstacles to overcome – namely a global pandemic – but the AIRAH Awards 2021 Gala took place in Sydney earlier this year.

A new building material developed at the University of New South Wales holds great promise for ameliorating one of the biggest consequences of climate change: urban heat. Ecolibrium’s Mark Vender breaks bread with its head designer, Professor Mat Santamouris.

As we learn to live with COVID-19, improving indoor air quality (IAQ) has been touted as a potential solution in our return to the workplace. Sean McGowan explores the issues with VA Sciences national division director Simon Witts, M.AIRAH; Mechanical project engineer, principal and Australian discipline leader at Stantec Patrick Chambers, Affil.AIRAH; Litmas technical and managing director Claire Bird, Affil.AIRAH; and Probuild technical director Sean Treweek, F.AIRAH.

AIRAH’s first official journal was published in 1947. That means the July 2022 edition marks Ecolibrium’s 75th birthday.