Sustainability

For more than 30 years, 101 Collins Street has remained one of Melbourne’s most prestigious office building addresses. Now on a path of decarbonisation, its management team aims to leverage the innovation of the HVAC industry to deliver a fully electrified building.

Canberra Grammar School’s new Snow Concert Hall features a subterranean design boasting an innovative ground‑source heat pump system. 

Our industry has increasingly focused on the electrification of building utilities coupled with low-carbon electricity to support the global decarbonization effort. Examples include the University of California’s system-wide ban on the use of on-site fossil fuel combustion in new construction and major renovations, and the City of Seattle’s recently passed measure to prohibit the use of natural gas for space heating in new construction and major replacements of heating systems in commercial buildings, as well as for water heating in new hotels and large apartment buildings. This column presents an approach to integrating the production of domestic hot water with an electric heat-recovery chiller plant as a streamlined solution.

Located in the heart of the CBD and overlooking the river, Brisbane Quarter is Brisbane’s first truly integrated, world-class mixed-use precinct. Consisting of three buildings, the project presented the ideal scenario for a district-style heating and cooling scheme. Sean McGowan reports on the design and construction of the HVAC systems serving this $1 billion development.

HVAC&R specialists have key role to play if Australia is to meet emissions targets and keep building healthy, argues ARBS Chairman Tony Arnel.

A new ASBEC report confirms electrification “unlocks the pathway” to net zero buildings.

The HVAC-related energy usage of a group of three existing buildings on a Canadian university campus (the “Cluster”) was simulated. Two scenarios were compared: (1) an ambient loop paired with conventional HVAC equipment (boiler plant and cooling tower), and (2) an ambient loop using wastewater energy transfer (“WET”). The study aimed to assess the feasibility of implementing WET as a heating and cooling method for cold-climate institutional buildings, as well as to measure the effects of WET implementation on energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy costs

One of three similar facilities to be built in regional Victoria, the Ballarat GovHub is helping to revitalise the CBD of this regional centre and centralise government services in the area by accommodating up to 1,000 workers. Mass timber is at the heart of the building’s superstructure.

The Australian federal government has commenced work to develop a National Energy Performance Strategy.

A Danish power plant that converts trash to energy just happens to also be a year-round ski slope. 

As parts of the world experienced record downpours, the Arctic ice continued its seemingly inexorable retreat.

District heating and cooling could offer an important pathway to decarbonisation – and one of the biggest barriers to its uptake might simply be our mindset, writes Mark Vender.

The GBCA has issued some practical advice about electrification of the existing building stock, writes Rachel Urquhart.

Using a hybrid of dynamic thermal simulation and detailed hourly spreadsheet calculations, the analysis identified design and operation strategies to size PV and batteries for various degrees of grid independence.

Located in South Korea’s capital, the HQ for a luxe fashion brand boasts several sustainability initiatives, including a high-performance façade.

The Australian building industry is on the path to electrification, signalling an end to a reliance on natural gas for hot water, heating and cooking. Sean McGowan explores how this path is being forged with Bruce Precious M.AIRAH, principal consultant at Six Capitals Consulting; Yale Carden, M.AIRAH, founder and managing director at GeoExchange Australia; VA Sciences’ James Moyes and Simon Witts, M.AIRAH; and RMIT industry fellow Alan Pears. 

As part of the i-Hub project, masters-level architectural and engineering students from the University of Melbourne, industry consultants, university academics, and Ambulance Victoria staff embraced the challenge of designing net zero emergency response stations. The university’s Brendon McNiven; Lu Aye, F.AIRAH; and Dominik Holzer discuss

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.

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.