Sustainability

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.

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

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

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.

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.