Sean McGowan

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

The new-look 388 George Street office tower in Sydney’s CBD represents one of the largest commercial office building refurbishments the city has ever seen. As Sean McGowan reports, the multidisciplinary approach taken by consulting engineer Arup has delivered world-class amenity, connectivity and comfort to tenants. Importantly, the clever refurb integrates the site with a newly pedestrianised George Street.