Sustainability

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.

The application of phase-change material thermal energy storage, with a state-of-the-art control algorithm has enabled the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium in Townsville to make full use of its onsite solar electricity generation. Sean McGowan reports on this AIRAH–Award–winning technology.

As we wrestle with the various issues around climate change, one trend has become clear. We are now on an inevitable drive for an all-electric HVAC&R future.

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.

Hansen Yuncken CEO Peter Salveson has picked out what he calls the four Cs of post-pandemic construction: complex challenges, culture and climate.

The A.G. Coombs Group has committed to achieving net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 operational emissions by 2030. The building services specialist will work with its value chain, industry partners and customers to achieve net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2040.

In mid-January Perth notched its sixth consecutive day above 40°C, breaking the previous record of four days set on three previous occasions. All three were achieved in the past 20 years.

The LeBron James Innovation Center at Nike World Headquarters (WHQ) embodies the pursuit of excellence in sport and sustainability, writes Mark Vender.

As part of the ACT’s government’s drive to net zero by 2045, it has effectively decarbonised the territory’s electricity supply – a bold move in a cold capital.

By taking advantage of Perth’s abundant geothermal resources, a new aquatic centre in Armadale is substantially reducing its reliance on natural gas to heat its swimming pools and indoor areas. Sean McGowan reports on the 2021 AIRAH Awards Excellence in Sustainability finalist.

A remote Canadian factory is constructed from the very products made under its roof: Eco-friendly prefabricated wall panels.

ASBEC says the built environment has a pivotal role to help the nation reduce emissions.

Patterns of rapid ice loss in the past could predict the style of future Antarctic ice sheet retreat.

The federal government has published the sixth edition of Your Home, an independent guide to environmentally sustainable homes.

The Institute of Refrigeration (IoR) is calling for consultation on two policy papers that address key aspects to support users of HVAC&R technologies in the pathway to net zero emissions.

This paper explores the role of optimisation of existing infrastructure, onsite renewable and non-renewable generation, hardware changes and energy-procurement activities in achieving carbon neutral status for a mixed-use building in Melbourne, with consideration to moving electricity and gas grid factors (cost and emissions) across 15 years.

With an ever-growing list of successful projects around the country, Passivhaus has shown to be as effective in Australian climates as has been proven elsewhere around the world.

The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) has been on the rise in Australia for a number of years, with a host of projects taking advantage of its versatility, sustainability and ease of construction. As Sean McGowan reports, the latest example of CLT showcases all that and more.