Congratulations to the 2018 Chapter Award winners announced in June and July which saw Named Award, Award winners and commendations in the sustainable architecture category recognised across the country. Named Award and Award winners will progress to the National Awards as contenders for the National Sustainability Award to be announced in Melbourne in November.
A round up of Named Award winners, Award winners and commendations for each chapter in this category is presented below:
NSW Sustainable Architecture Award winners Milo Dunphy Award – International House Sydney |Tzannes Award – The Beehive | Raffaello Rosselli Architect with Luigi Rosselli Architects Award – Joynton Avenue Creative Precinct | Peter Stutchbury Architecture for City of Sydney Commendation – Coogee Beach Centre | Brewster Hjorth Architects Commendation – Macquarie University Incubator | Architectus Commendation – Cabbage Tree House | Peter Stutchbury Architecture Commendation – Paper Bird | Plus Minus Design
NT Sustainable Architecture Award winners
Not awarded.
Queensland Sustainable Architecture Award winners Harry Marks Award – Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve | Guymer Bailey Architects Award – Blackwater Aquatic Centre | Liquid Blu Architects Award – The Science Place | Hassell Commendation – Yeronga House | Tim Bennetton Architects
South Australian Sustainable Architecture Award winners Derrick Kendrick Award – Trop_Pods @ Robe |Troppo Architects Award – The Darling Building | Williams Burton Leopardi Commendation – Last Stand | BB Architects Commendation – Royal Adelaide Hospital | Silver Thomas Hanley DesignInc (STHDI) Commendation – Tess and Michael’s House | Max Pritchard Gunner Architects Commendation – Timberland | SW Architects
Victorian Sustainable Architecture Award winners Allan and Beth Coldicutt Award – Nightingale 1 | Breathe Architecture Award – Barwon Water | GHD Woodhead Award – New Academic Street, RMIT University | Lyons with NMBW Architecture Studio, Harrison and White, MvS Architects and Maddison Architects Commendation – North Fitzroy Library and Community Hub | Group GSA
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Refer additional guidance material with a downloadable table outlining the differences between the 2008 and 2018 contracts.
Note: Parties can continue to use the ABIC 2008 issues of MW, SW and BW for a short transition period in 2018 (to allow for projects tendered on the 2008 issues and to use existing inventory). The ABIC authors will soon withdraw the right to use all 2008 contracts and we encourage all users to purchase and use the 2018 contracts and related documents.
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Congratulations to the 2017 Chapter Award winners announced in June and July which saw Named Award, Award winners and commendations in the sustainable architecture category recognised across the country. Named Award and Award winners will progress to the National Awards as contenders for the National Sustainability Award to be announced in Canberra in November.
A round up of Named Award winners, Award winners and commendations for each chapter in this category is presented below:
NSW Sustainable Architecture Award winners Milo Dunphy Award – 88 Angel St | Steele Associates Architects Award – Central Park Sydney | Tzannes and Cox Richardson and Foster and Partners Award – Sydney Processing Centre | Genton Architecture Commendation – Charles Sturt University Engineering Building | Thomson Adsett
Queensland Sustainable Architecture Award winners Harry Marks Award – Mt Alvernia College Anthony and La Verna Buildings | M3 Architecture Award – 480 Queen Street | BVN Award – Elements of Byron | Shane Thompson Architects Award – New World City Design Guide: Buildings that Breathe | Arkhefield with Brisbane City Council and Urbis
Award – St Joseph’s Nudgee College Bathersby Boarding Village | M3 Architecture
South Australian Sustainable Architecture Award winners Award – Crayon House | Grieve Gillett Andersen Award – Plant 4 Bowden | Ashley Halliday Architects Commendation – Clare HPR | BB Architects Commendation – Flinders University Student Hub and Plaza | Woods Bagot Commendation – WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff Workplace | JPE Design Studio
WA Sustainable Architecture Award winners Award – Gen Y Demonstration Housing Project | David Barr Architect Commendation – East Pilbara Arts Centre | Officer Woods Architects Commendation – Mediterranean Shipping Company (Aust.) Pty Limited – Head Office for Australia and New Zealand | Slavin Architects
Held in Melbourne at the end of August, the all-day symposia Work Place / Work Life, part of Architecture Media’s Design Speaks program, brought together local and international speakers, case studies, analysis and trends on the design and experience of workplaces. Flexibility, in the context of the rise of the shared economy, was a significant trend that emerged throughout the presentations. Can buildings deliver in a world demanding flexibility?
Space matters but so does experience, engagement, community and choice for the high performance workplace of tomorrow.
Kursty Groves, Author ‘Spaces for Innovation: The Design and Science of Inspiring Environments’
Posing ‘what creates a space for innovation?’, Groves presented a blueprint combination of community, creativity and space, underpinned by collaboration – space being only one part of the equation. Noting the tendency to design the ‘what’ before the ‘why’, Groves outlined a sensory dashboard of designing for experience encompassing qualities of comfort, sight, sound, spaciousness, movement (ideas and ambient), aliveness, density, orientation, posture and ambience. She warned against the extremes of both highly curated (designer led) and highly created (user led) workplaces, recommending a happy medium between the two.
Peter Andrew, Director of workplace strategies, Asia Pacific at CBRE (Singapore) and Su Lim, Head of global client engagement, Hassell and founder, Workcollectiv (Singapore/Australia) both picked up on the momentum of the shared economy and its impact on the workplace.
Su Lim posited ‘Work has left the building’ presenting data on the exponential rise in 2015 of co-working space growth worldwide. ‘Australia has the highest number of co-working spaces (per capita) in the world’, paralleling similar trends in the sharing economy’s worldwide market size presented by Peter Andrew. Confirming the trend, the AMP Quay quarter, Sydney, was noted as providing a significant allocation to co-working in its new office building.
Lim summed up community, choice, experience and purpose as the drivers for the upsurge in co-working, presenting trends such as Hoffice (home/office – think arbnb for sharing your home as office) and the potential frontier of underutilised spaces such as restaurants. Andrew pointed to WeWork, AnyWorkspace and LiquidSpace as just some of the platforms currently connecting demand and supply.
On high performance workplaces, Andrew noted that a diversity of places was key, with ‘work in a space that supports what you are doing at that time’. Picking up on the factor of designing for wellbeing as part of the user experience, Andrew noted that 35% of WELL projects currently in progress are in China.
Cai Kjaer, Optimice Co-founder and CEO and Co-founder of SWOOP Analytics (Australia)
Kjaer explored the role of buildings in enabling connectivity by first posing ‘aren’t they permanent?’ – ‘some companies don’t work with buildings at all’.
Kjaer presented The Allen curve (aka the 50 metre rule) mapping the probability of communication against the physical distance of workers with the level of communication shown to rapidly level out beyond a short physical distance. Significantly, physical distance/space ‘still mattered’ when the study was repeated for email communications. A 2015 study by Kjaer and Hassell revealed that beyond six metres, the frequency of both face to face relationships and email communications dropped off significantly. The results reinforced the earlier Allen Curve study suggesting ‘space matters’.
Geraldine Maher, Principal, Jackson Architecture on the Supreme Court of Western Australia fitout
Supreme Court of Western Australia fitout by Peter Hunt Daryl Jackson Architects. Image: Acorn Photography
The case study of the Supreme Court of Western Australia fitout by Peter Hunt Daryl Jackson Architects presented a different type of workplace and one of civic connection and experience. Faced with housing the courts in a new office tower in Perth’s CPD, Maher set the context for bringing the symbolism and workings of the court into a modern building. Maher noted that the structural hierarchy of the courtroom itself has not changed for centuries – its layout determined by communication – sightlines are key. Jackson Architecture set about to imbue the courtroom and mediating spaces with a calming palette of natural materials, including the extensive use of pale timber. Detail was considered down to the level of tactile door handles – humanising the experience.
In a nod to more contemporary court procedures, more meeting style rooms were accommodated as part of the brief to function as mediating rooms. Seating in these rooms was carefully considered – arranged to be separated but facing. In one of the larger meeting rooms, the decision to curve the meeting table to follow the ceiling was an aesthetic one, but feedback anecdotally is that it has been very harmonising – a key quality of mediation.
2016 National Architecture Awards – Sustainable Architecture
Educational and public projects were the award winners in the Sustainable Architecture category of this year’s National Architecture Awards. The sole residential project, Project Zero, was awarded a national commendation. The University of Queensland featured in the awards for the second year running, this year with the new multi-award winning Oral Health Centre.
2016 Jury chair, Jon Clements, reflected that the award entries overall ‘had clear commitments to their clients’ aspirations but also to environmental and social sustainability’.
David Oppenheim Award
The David Oppenheim Award – Tonsley Main Assembly Building and Pods by Woods Bagot and Tridente Architects. Photo by Sam Noonan.
Urban renewal project, Tonsley Main Assembly Building and Pods by Woods Bagot and Tridente Architects, received the David Oppenheim Award for Sustainable Architecture and was praised by the jury for demonstrating ‘an exemplary commitment to sustainability outcomes’. Central to the project was the adaptation and re-use of the eight-hectare structure, formerly housing the Mitsubishi car manufacturing plant – acknowledging the social history of the site, while minimising environmental impact. ‘Sustainability principles are at the core of the development, including clean technologies, sustainable energy, sensitive water design, passive ventilation and natural lighting. Interconnected paths for cycling and walking and access to public transport are also well considered’. ‘Tonsley is the first Australian urban renewal project to be granted a six-star Green Star Communities certification award’.
‘Northern Beaches Christian School has been reconfigured to allow for both indoor and outdoor learning environments’. The architects have reconnected existing classrooms and established new collaborative spaces under an overarching canopy. The outdoor spaces are protected by the prefabricated steel structure, which also incorporates energy generation and rainwater harvesting. A series of multi-level pavilions provide a variety of dedicated new spaces together with the flexible outdoor learning spaces that encourage freedom of learning and interaction, and a connection to the local environment. ‘Sustainability goals are advanced by the students’ ability to actively engage with and monitor the building’s performance’.
National Award
National Award – University of Queensland Oral Health Centre by Cox Rayner Architects with Hames Sharley and Conrad Gargett Riddel. Photo by Christopher Frederick Jones.
Following recent directions in health design that promote a salutogenic approach, the University of Queensland’s Oral Health Centre was noted for ‘contributing to a feeling of calm’ through ‘an inviting sequence of spaces that engage students, staff and the public. Collaborative learning environments, laboratories, interconnected pathways, study spaces and common areas connect with the outside environment, letting in ample natural light’. ‘This six-star Green Star rated building incorporates numerous sustainability initiatives, including passive design, solar power, the re-use of old building materials and on-site water treatment’. The Centre also took out awards for Interior Architecture and The Daryl Jackson Award for Educational Architecture.
National Commendation
National Commendation – Project Zero by BVN. Photo by Christopher Frederick Jones.
‘Both a new home and a significant alteration to an original structure’, this Brisbane house was commended by the jury ‘for its thoughtful commitment to sustainability principles within a suburban setting’, including the use of reclaimed building materials, on-site water treatment and solar energy initiatives.
For the full listing of the 2016 National Architecture Award winners, click here.
Quoted words by National Architecture Awards Jury 2016.
National President, Ken Maher. Photo by Brett Boardman
Seven questions with Professor Ken Maher on sustainable built environments
EDG editor, Belinda Strickland, spoke with Professor Ken Maher, National President Australian Institute of Architects and President Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), on a wide-ranging approach to sustainable built environments in the current Australian context.
Smart Cities The federal government’s Smart Cities Plan was welcomed by the Institute as a timely plan for Australian cities
(May 16 policy update). On the re-election of the Coalition, the Institute has called on clear definition for detailed programs as part of this plan and has previously highlighted that the importance of design has not been addressed.
What is the value and importance of design, and how can it be deployed, in building the sustainable, resilient and equitable cities and towns of tomorrow?
We [the Institute] really welcome the Smart Cities Plan and the federal government’s commitment and involvement in the cities agenda. Once the new government is bedded down, we will be talking to them in more detail. It is a very broad framework, it would be acknowledged that there is a lot of detail to follow if it is to have real effect.
Good cities require really good public space, they require the integration of public transport and a shift away from cars – they will require to be very effective and efficient in their sustainable performance, given that we will need collectively to meet the targets of COP21 as we have committed to as a nation. But they also need to be places that people wish to be in and that gets down to the importance of design.
We can see the design at a number of levels – we can see it at a more strategic level – where things are and that they interrelate well. More importantly, we see it at an urban design level – essentially the qualities of the public places in the city. It’s also important at a more detailed level around the architecture that forms the definition of those public spaces, the types of housing we have, the types of public buildings we have and the public spaces and the landscape design.
The world we experience is largely the world that is designed. If we don’t follow through strategies to a detailed design level, it can all fall short of achieving the outcomes that the government is seeking to have. We’ve been quite successful with apartment housing in NSW in particular (SEPP 65 and the Apartment Design Guide (ADG). Other states are getting interested in design quality issues around housing in the cities.
We need to ensure that the Smart Cities Plan places design in the critical role that it has in order that we deliver the towns and cities that are fit for our future populations.
Net zero buildings Australia is a signatory to The Paris Climate Change Agreement, committing to zero net emissions around 2050. The World Green Building Council (WGBC) has launched its Advancing Net Zero project (with a long term goal of all new buildings and major renovations to be net zero in 2030, and no buildings built below net zero standards beyond 2030).
What will a national zero carbon buildings plan look like and what role can architects play in delivering it?
It’s interesting when we talk about net zero buildings – much of it is to do with what I would call passive design – designing the buildings so they’re not reliant upon energy. That’s the major role that we can play.
There are clearly technologies that can improve efficiencies, there are technologies that harvest energy, etc. But, really in architecture it’s almost the avoidance of technology that will be the greatest path to success. Technology also assists us in sophisticated ways. But we’ve moved away, particularly in buildings not designed by architects, from the idea that the building itself can do much of the work that needs to be done without mechanical assistance or without air-conditioning systems particularly. Unfortunately, in our suburban housing, air-conditioning has become expected and it’s really to do with the very poor design of the housing stock. If there’s more intelligently designed houses, we reduce that reliance enormously.
Retrofitting existing houses and improving them so their performance is better – a lot of that is to do with sensible passive design, over shadowing walls, using vegetation to reduce temperatures, ensuring cross-ventilation, opening up buildings so they can take in more natural light, etc. The fact that a big percentage of housing is existing stock – there is a strong need to adapt this stock – architects have a significant role to play in doing just that.
The question is how to get to the broadest possible market. That means working with the housing industry and working with the larger developers. It’s happening in multi-residential housing, particularly in NSW through legislation such as SEPP 65 and other environmental performance legislation.
Another dimension is the building codes themselves and the need for them to be updated [refer Regulation]. ASBEC, through its energy efficiency and emissions task group, produced the ‘Low carbon, High Performance’ report which does look specifically at the contribution that the building industry can make to a zero carbon future [Editor – the Institute is a contributing member of ASBEC].
The fact is that zero carbon buildings can be achieved through existing technologies along with energy efficiency, fuel switching and low carbon electricity. While there are some leading players in the industry, the level of improvement has been fairly low over the last 10 years in the performance of our buildings. Design will be absolutely a key part of this if we break it down to the performance of the fabric of the building. A well designed building can really reduce reliance upon energy through air-conditioning, lighting and so on, but appliances also need to be made more efficient over time.
Practices, materials and technologies What are some practices and technologies available today that can facilitate zero carbon buildings and what would assist their uptake?
There are improvements going on with the efficiency of energy consuming appliances and equipment. There are improvements possible, not just to do with ventilation and daylight, but the thermal efficiency of the envelope. At the point of replacement of any appliance, they need to be replaced by more efficient ones – that will help make a difference. But to assist the uptake, there were a number of key points raised in the Low Carbon High Performance report – one is the National Construction Code (NCC) – to implement a trajectory for the future upgrades to minimum energy performance standards, so part of that is legislative.
Then to improve compliance. Because even when the standards are there, but in practice they are not complied with. These are not design issues, but they are industry issues.
Governments can demonstrate in their own stock by the way they procure and implement projects, using best practice in their own markets. There can be targeted incentives and programs – these are things like accelerated depreciation to encourage the uptake of green equipment and also stamp duty discounts on green homes and properties, and in the planning system – to put incentives in – these are policy issues that can help. The Energy Efficiency Obligation scheme could be introduced to states and territories that don’t have them (only NSW and Victoria do have them).
Outside the design cycle – fuel switching – gas, wood and other fossil fuels need to be switched to electric alternatives and of course you have battery storage potential with that. Many heating and cooking appliances and equipment can be switched to electricity – that’s quite critical into the future. Energy efficiency schemes can incorporate incentives for replacement of non-electrical appliances.
The third area is around deployment of onsite distributed energy systems like solar photovoltaic (PV) or procurement of off-site low carbon electricity – ultimately to the decarbonisation of the electricity grid. Energy market reform can help drive that.
What are some emerging technologies and materials that could be considered for designing sustainable buildings of the future?
Low cost sensors for monitoring and optimising performance of support systems for buildings. If they are applied more generally it could reduce energy consumption by 20-30%. The costs are rapidly reducing and there’s been work done in the United States Department of Energy around that;
Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) – now work on integrating PV’s into roofing materials – developing modular roofing materials which involve PV’s, insulation and finishes – not yet price competitive, but under development and won’t be long before they can be applied more generally;
Smart thermometers – can control the output of heating and cooling systems and can also manage around pricing of electricity – not widely applied but in development;
Geothermal heating and cooling that use the temperature stability of the earth – many architects are using this in design now – can bring significant reduction in energy cost. Other countries such as the US, Canada and the UK are giving rebate schemes for people implementing these;
Smart glass – glass which switches from clear to tinted can deal with different heat and light conditions – it takes advantage of intensity of light and enables greater insulation and cost savings. In America, there has been a big push for this;
Monitoring systems – real time feedback of energy use, this is in use now – people able to get data and be aware of their energy use and modify their behaviour or use of appliances accordingly;
Prefabrication – we are moving to a time in the industry where a lot of housing will become built off-site and assembled on site – this means the time and cost of construction is faster, also the wastage of materials is less and the capacity for adequate thermal performance in the buildings becomes more guaranteed. Associated with this trend is cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction which is a factory production system. The recent amendment to the building code [on CLT] is a very positive move.
[Editor: See online continuum course ‘NCC Change: Now you can aim higher with timber‘]
Regulation The 2019 National Construction Code (NCC) is earmarked in the low carbon report as part of a policy recommendation for setting strong mandatory minimum standards.
What areas should be prioritised for review/inclusion to strengthen and improve minimum energy performance standards for the next edition of the NCC (now on a three year cycle)?
We [ASBEC] had a housing workshop in Adelaide between ASBEC and the CRC for low carbon living – it’s been acknowledged that we are quite behind many of the advanced international standards. We’ve got catch up to do, which is a problem with the three year cycle.
ASBEC has a building energy performance standards project. It’s currently focusing on developing and implementing an industry vision for improving energy performance requirements for both residential and commercial buildings. We’re keen to get some certainty to foster innovation and deliver the benefits of this rapidly improving technology (as discussed above) and design approaches to apply them.
We do need to increase minimum energy performance standards for both commercial and residential sectors. It will have to increasingly tighten the minimum standards if we are going to reach zero carbon 2050. Also considering potential improvements in the code to make it simpler and more useful for design and construction professionals to comply with and to monitor. We think the code does need significant review.
ASBEC did a scoping workshop last April with a broad range of stakeholders – refer ASBEC’s Building Energy Performance Scoping Workshop Outcomes Report. The priorities will be establishing that forward trajectory so there’s an agreed stepping up of process and then also to collate evidence on residential stringency – the way it’s really performing.
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) are focused on increasing commercial stringency and including both whole of building requirements and fabrics and systems, and to move towards as-built performance requirements. There is also a need to improve state and territory enforcements, because it is quite variable around the country.
What role and opportunities should architects take in the retrofitting of commercial buildings?
Architects need to advocate to clients what the opportunities are – to be able to, through evidence, demonstrate economic benefits that can occur in upgrading commercial buildings – it’s tricky because the ownership of commercial buildings is so varied – from large institutional property trusts through to small investors.
Retrofitting buildings for better performance can be a combination of the passive systems as well as the active systems. In mid to small scale commercial buildings, there are great design opportunities of looking intelligently at the way that building systems operate – what you can do to refit and re-adapt buildings – to put new skins on buildings and keep the structure essentially. Doing that work to existing buildings is one of the more sustainable activities you can do, because it doesn’t involve the energy consumption of demolishing and rebuilding. Often there are hidden opportunities for inventive thinking when you are faced with the constraints of an existing building.
Inspiration What are some recent examples of inspiring and innovative sustainable design in Australia that you would like to share with EDG readers?
Jeremy McLeod of Breathe Architecture (see EDG May 2016 interview) – I’m really inspired by the work that he’s doing, initially in the Commons, but also Nightingale 1.0 and the whole Nightingale program that other architects are getting involved in. Not only is it about zero carbon buildings – passive design, reliance only on electric fuel and non-use of cars where possible, but also the social side of it which is looking at more compact forms of housing with shared facilities and building communities within the developments. From a social sustainability point of view – it’s a great model.
The University of Queensland Global Change Institute by Hassell – An experimental building but a zero carbon building. It has won a number of awards including the 2015 National Sustainable Architecture David Oppenheim Award. A building that explores technology but also explores passive systems and looks at the idea of sustainability as a whole experience.
Changing practice – Models of projects – Josh’s house, Perth – not what I call high design, but it’s very responsive and responsible and it shows what can be done – how it can be completely off the grid and you can have a very light carbon footprint. As a model to show others what can be done – I think that’s an inspiration.
Community development – Landcorp’s White Gum Valley (south of Perth) – A zero carbon community – important as models, ‘living laboratories’, to demonstrate what can be done and which can then influence the behaviour of others.
Recently I was able to visit Indigo Slam by Smart Design (William Smart), which won the Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New) in the NSW Architecture Awards this year. While it’s a big house – the use of natural daylight, the use of heat exchangers, the use of non-electronic simple mechanical winder systems to draw air through the house is really quite impressive. It’s a beautiful work of architecture but it is really taking seriously the issue of low energy. It’s great to see that happening, not just at the committed environmentalist end, but also at the high design end of the spectrum.
For me the exciting thing is that, decades ago, sustainability was seen as separate from the mainstream of the profession – we’ve seen that shift over time. Responsive and responsible architecture is really what we all need to be doing now and it’s great to see this emerging – many younger architects are taking it very seriously.
The other shift is working at the level of the precinct and the level of the city, and also seeing sustainability much more entwined with the health and delight of our daily lives. Out of the imperative to reduce carbon emissions, I believe we’re going to see a lot of positive things come about in terms of health benefits and community building, and also creativity and innovation in design.
Events publicised in this section are not necessarily endorsed by the Institute. Information on these events is provided for the interest of EDG readers.
evoke – Regional Conference
With a line-up of international architects as far reaching as Costa Rica and Finland, and rounded out by local talent, join us in Townsville this September for the Regional Architecture Conference, evoke.
When: 8-11 Sept Where: Townsville
Bouncing Back from Disasters: Using Design & Technology
This event will investigate how cities rebuild, regenerate and develop post disaster. With a focus on Christchurch, New Zealand, the speakers will look at how smart design and technology have shaped the progress and the future of disaster affected places.
One Planet Living training
Bioregional Australia is pleased to launch the 2016 training series with the One Planet Living Introduction course and One Planet Program 1 & 2 professional training for OPL Integrators.
When: Sept – various dates Where: Melbourne and Sydney
Aim for the [NatHERS] Stars This CPD session will analyse the different construction requirements of a 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 star NatHERS house. The session will identify the energy heating and cooling requirements for the different star ratings, including a thermal analysis of the different ratings using temperature profiles for summer and winter performance.
When: 28 Sept Where: Hobart
2016 prefabAUS Conference
prefabAUS is holding its annual conference this October ‘Delivering Next Generation Buildings’. Hosted by the University of Sydney Architecture Design and Planning, it will feature some of the industry’s most highly regarded thought leaders, ground-breaking projects, explore innovative technology and host tours.
When: 10 – 12 Oct Where: Sydney
9th International Urban Design Conference
‘Smart Cities for 21st Century Australia – How urban design innovation can change our cities’. The extensive program includes an interactive and discussion oriented format with forums, concurrent sessions, keynote presentations and conference tours.
When: 7 – 9 Nov Where: Canberra
Glenn Murcutt Architecture of Faith
Architecture of Faith is a unique exhibition providing an in-depth exploration of the new Australian Islamic Centre at Hobsons Bay, Melbourne, designed by renowned Australian architect Glenn Murcutt.
The 2016 Chapter Awards were announced in June and July with Named Award, Award winners and commendations in the sustainable architecture category recognised across the country. Named Award and Award winners will progress to the National Awards as contenders for the National Sustainability Award to be announced in November. Congratulations to all who received recognition, and all those who entered.
Milo Dunphy Award – Northern Beaches Christian School | WMK Architecture Award – Netball Central by Scott Carver Award – Ocean Shores House | A-CH (Atelier Chen Hung) Commendation – 70 Castlereagh Street, Sydney | Bates Smart Commendation – Abbotsleigh Multi-purpose Assembly and Sports Hall and Sports Field | AJ+C Commendation – Liberty Place | francis-jones morehen thorp
NSW Sustainable Architecture Milo Dunphy Award – Northern Beaches Christian School by WMK Architecture. Photo by Brett Boardman.NT Sustainable Architecture Award – Charles Darwin University Trade Training Centre by MODE. Photo by Shaana McNaught
Harry Marks Award – Project Zero | BVN Award – Learning Innovation Building at the University of Queensland | Richard Kirk Architect Award – Noosa Coastal Bus Shelter | majstorovic architecture Award – University of Queensland Oral Health Centre | Cox Rayner Architects with Hames Sharley and Conrad Gargett Riddel Commendation – Cape York Partnership Offices | Kevin O’Brien Architects Commendation – TAS Science Facility | Charles Wright Architects Commendation – ELF 2B – Enhanced Land Force Stage 2 Phase 2B Gymnasium and Pool | BVN Conrad Gargett Commendation – Bothwell Street | Arkhefield
Award – Tonsley Main Assembly Building and Pods | Woods Bagot and Tridente Architects Award – Tonsley | Oxigen
Queensland Harry Marks Award for Sustainable Architecture – Project Zero by BVN. Photo by Christopher Frederick Jones.SA Sustainable Architecture Award – Tonsley Main Assembly Building and Pods by Woods Bagot and Tridente Architects. Photo by Sam Noonan.
Victorian Sustainable Architecture Award winners Allan and Beth Coldicut Award – Western Business Accelerator and Centre for Excellence (BACE) | Six Degrees Architects Architecture Award – Saltwater Community Centre | Croxon Ramsay Architects Commendation – Melrose Health | BENT Architecture
Tasmanian Sustainable Architecture Award – Five Yards House by Archier. Photo by Adam Gibson.Victorian Sustainable Architecture Award – Saltwater Community Centre by Croxon Ramsay Architects. Photo by Dianna Snape.
WA Sustainable Architecture Award winners The Wallace Greenham Award for Sustainable Architecture – Mirvac OTB Tower, COMO The Treasury & Annex | Kerry Hill Architects (Design Architect & COMO The Treasury Project Architect), HASSELL (Mirvac OTB Tower & Annex Project Architect) and Palassis Architects (Heritage Architect) Commendation – Mosman Bay House | iredale pedersen hook architects
The National Construction Code (NCC) 2016 came into effect on 1 May, commencing a three year cycle. In welcome news, proposals that did not proceed to the 2016 edition included the energy efficiency verification methods:
JV2 Stated value
JV3 Reference building for class 2 buildings.
In response to industry feedback (see EDG Oct 15 news), the ABCB intends to consult more widely with industry on these items.
Visibility in an emergency, exit signs and warning systems, Vol.1, EP4.1 – clause notes sufficient ‘visibility’ (not limited to lighting to allow for new and innovative products)
Ventilation, Vol 1 & 2, FV4.1 & V2.4.5 respectively – a new verification method provided as a means for verifying that a building ventilated with outdoor air has suitable indoor air quality
Design requirement for floor edge insulation, Section J, Vol.1.
With a continued focus on performance based design, the term ‘performance solution’ has replaced ‘alternative solution’.
For further detail, refer the list of amendments, Vol.1 and Vol.2
Proposals for change for the NCC 2019 are open from now until 1 Sep 2017 and public comment will be taken from 1 Feb 2018 to 13 Apr 2018. If you have any comments you would like the Institute to put forward on your behalf, please forward them to policy@architecture.com.au
Australian Achievement in Architecture Awards (AAAAs) Leadership in Sustainability Prize 2016
Congratulations to Jeremy McLeod, founder and director of Breathe Architecture, recipient of the 2016 AAAA Leadership in Sustainability Prize. The jury noted Jeremy’s ‘exceptional contributions to sustainability through innovative holistic built projects and powerful public advocacy with a particular focus on social and economic factors’. Breathe Architecture are renowned for their multi-residential projects: The Commons, QV8 and Nightingale.
The 2016 Jury for the Leadership in Sustainability Prize (LISP) comprised of:
• Anthony Nolan (Chair), Kennedy Associates Architects
• Alex Nock, Nock Architecture
• Allan Rodger, 2015 LISP Winner
• Trudy-Ann King, Green Building Council of Australia
Congratulations to all the AAAA winners. Past winners and entry requirements for 2017 can be found here.
EDG editor, Belinda Strickland, spoke with Jeremy about his inspirations and approach to sustainability in Breathe’s work.
You can listen to a podcast here (22 mins). An edited transcript of the interview is below:
Guiding principles The Commons is referred to as a Triple bottom line development (social, environmental and financial sustainability). What are the guiding principles of sustainability that you aim to embed in your projects?
The Commons by Breathe Architecture. Photography: Andrew Wuttke
For us, at the outset of The Commons, we wanted to set a new benchmark, particularly in the Brunswick area – because of what we’d been seeing that was being built here. We were naive – we decided that we would design Australia’s most sustainable apartment building and that importantly that we would make it liveable. One of the problems that we saw was that people weren’t taking up apartments because they were too small or too dog-boxy or they were uninspiring – so we wanted to make something that had space and volume and light and air – that people wanted to live in, importantly as a home, not just as a short term rental. And importantly we wanted to make it affordable. We thought that if we could make it affordable, that we could make it replicable – that other people would see it as some other possible solution than a free-standing house 50km from where you work or where your kids go to school. We’re interested in sustainable urbanisation. We want to house people, we want to house them elegantly and in a home that fills their world with delight.
We’ve been to cities like Rome and Barcelona where there’s this beautiful apartment culture. When you look at those buildings that have might been designed or built 150 years ago – they are very simple in terms of how they get light into the apartments – the light courts cut into get natural ventilation or light into the bedrooms. These people live in close proximity to each other, they live close to the market – the city was designed for people not for cars. If you look at the environmental footprint of the average Barcelona resident, it’s tiny in comparison to the Australian living in a 7.5 star free-standing “sustainable home”. Part of the answer in all of that is people living where they need to live, close to services, close to food and also being able to live without a motor vehicle – without having the carbon miles attached to their transit.
We came to realise that if we could house 24 families right next to a train line, a bike path, a tram line and a fresh fruit and vegetable market – then perhaps that might be much more incisive. The importance of that triple bottom line was to make sure that it was replicable. That if we could show that you could do something that was sustainable and liveable – you start to build a market. You make it affordable, which means you guarantee that the market exists – people will want to live there. In terms of financial sustainability – the investors needed to get a fair and equitable return for their risk, so they got a return on their money. That enabled The Commons to then ideally work as a case study that could be done again. What we’ve now done with The Commons is use that as the precedent or case study for Nightingale.
Can you tell us about a current or recent project that encapsulates sustainable principles that has particularly inspired you?
QV8 apartment by Breathe Architecture. Photography: Peter Clarke
When we approach sustainability, what our intent is with that is to mainstream it, so what we try not to do is to associate sustainability with any sort of aesthetic. One of the most interesting and important projects we’ve done recently was QV8. We took a disused carpark which had access to abundant northern light and views to the dome of the State library in the middle of Melbourne’s CBD. It had 800mm thick sheer concrete walls. We converted that carpark into eight luxury apartments. They were through apartments with southerly ventilation and northerly solar gain. They cross-ventilated beautifully, they had north facing terraces overlooking the State Library. It was so easy to hit 7.5 stars on that project because of the thermal mass and orientation. I find it very difficult to imagine why anyone wouldn’t be hitting 7.5 star average across an apartment building. Importantly for us, one of the things that we have been pushing as a practice is decoupling private car ownership from home ownership. We’ve been big advocates for the movement ‘housing people not cars’. We thought it was ironic and poetic that we were asked to convert a carpark – from housing cars literally to housing people.
Inspirations/mentors The inspiration for the Commons came from the BedZED Eco Village in the UK…
We also looked at housing models happening in Freiburg at the time in Germany. What was interesting about Freiburg was that they’d taken cars out of the apartments themselves and located them in a precinct, with the intent that people would park in the precinct and then walk to their apartments. What that led to was a massive reduction in private car ownership. The other big drivers for The Commons were any apartment built since the 1960’s in Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark. Denmark has this incredible history of co-housing projects. Gaudi put shared rooftops on Casa Batlló and Casa Milà in Barcelona.
The Commons is not an incredible piece of imagined design – it’s not a stroke of genius, it’s just hard work and precedent studies. I think if The Commons had existed in Denmark or Sweden or the Netherlands, I don’t think we would have got an architecture award for it. Because I think it would have just been business as usual over there, which I think is sad. When we designed the Commons it was just meant to be as good as what was happening in Denmark.
Who inspires you in the architecture profession (past or present)?
Gaudi is incredible. If you go to Casa Batlló in Barcelona, you see that he has built in cross ventilation vents, light courts. He understood simple ideas of passive solar design, sun shading, thermodynamics – how to use the buoyancy of hot air to ventilate a space. But also Gaudi’s ideas around egalitarianism, so that his rooftop laundry at Casa Milà is designed in this kind of neo-gothic form so that the servants that had to work up there washing the clothes were in this beautiful space with this view out to this beautiful rooftop garden and across the city. He spent his time giving delight to everyone in the building, not just the rich people on the first floor.
Locally, James Jones – he was my lecturer in third year and changed the way that I perceived my role as an architect in society. I think it was James who taught me the importance of providing inspiration in architectural delight as a form of sustainability in its own right.
Then of course, from a local spectrum, it would be the incredible Nonda Katsalidis. Nonda had been developer/architect at Melbourne Terrace, probably one of the greatest examples of recent medium density housing in our city. And importantly it was led by Nonda as a developer and as an architect, as was St. Andrew’s beach house. Then he went on to do Republic tower with Nonda being part developer, part architect – leading it both financially and from a design point of view. With each of those projects, I got to see what happened when the architect took financial control of the project – where he was able to prioritise design over a simple figure on the spread sheet.
If we’re on that architect as developer and instigator and trouble maker, an architect by the name of Howard Lawson, who in 1936 built Beverley Hills in Darling Street, South Yarra which is to this day still I think the best example of medium density housing in Melbourne – I think it’s better than The Commons. It was post-depression, it was built out of recycled materials and he was both developer and designer.
Information How do you keep informed on new materials, design strategies and technologies in sustainable design?
I lean heavily on a couple of very trusted ESD consultants and my colleagues that are often much better informed than me. What we try to do at Breathe is be strategic and incisive about the way that we approach, and uncompromising about the way that we approach, sustainability. Our mantra at Breathe is ‘ethic before aesthetic’, so for us, every building that we do needs to do more than what it takes – that’s the guiding principle for us. Sometimes the solution is doing as little as possible – particularly with adaptive reuse, it’s about using the least to get the most.
Often at the end of the day, we will look at our project against another project that might be a 6 star green star project and then look at the energy or water consumption per square metre and our building uses half of this much more complex beast over here but without the certification and the cost associated with it. A lot of that is about behavioural change, so sometimes we will talk to our end users and really challenge them on what it is they are actually asking for, what it is they actually need. At the end of the day we all have a responsibility, not just us as architects but also the end users, so sometimes it’s up to us to have those hard conversations. Everyone told us that we couldn’t sell apartments in Melbourne without air conditioning, and we’ve done it twice so far. Mind you, if climate change keeps on doing what’s its doing, we might need to put it back in again!
Practice/Advocacy How do you see the role of the architect and how is this changing?
I don’t think the role of the architect has ever changed – I think that we just got lost along the way somewhere. In the 50’s, Boyd and Clerehan led with the small home service, showing Melbournians that you could have meaningful architecture without being wealthy. In the 70’s, David Yencken and Graeme Gunn led with merchant builders, again to show that there was some other possible solution. Since then as an industry, we seemed to have gone quiet.
We have such a responsibility for the built environment, for the occupants of our city and the future of the planet – if we don’t speak up, we’ll be responsible. We have no choice. We have to advocate for change where change is required. We have to have those hard conversations with our clients, with our governments and with the end users of the building.
How important is it for architects to be that voice/advocate for the built environment?
It’s incredibly important – we are uniquely positioned in the city. We have a broad based education which allows us to look at a system holistically and design a possible solution. That might not be a building, it might be something much bigger or much broader or a step to the left. If not architects, then who? We’re the ones that people come to for solutions, but at some point we stopped thinking about what could the solution possibly be and started thinking that the solution has to be a building. It feels like that’s changing.
There have been examples – we saw Gregg Pasquarelli from SHoP speak at the National Conference. He talked about having both an architecture degree and an MBA. When there was a problem, when no one else could resolve it, as architects they said we’ll resolve that, we’ll engage some software developers, we’ll buy a manufacturing plant. [Editor’s note – Gregg Pasquarelli’s 2015 National Conference talk is available on Continuum here]. Whatever the problem, architects have the ability and the skill set to be able to work out the processes to get to the solution. In our case we thought the answer was in designing a sustainable building, but we found post GFC that the answer was actually in the financial model.
You have made the Nightingale model intellectual property available to other architects. Recently, Alejandro Aravena has made Elemental’s public housing plans open source – how important is this sharing of knowledge to advance the uptake of new models and what do you aim to achieve by that?
Nightingale v0.1 courtyard. Render by Breathe Architecture
It’s very important because we waste resources all the time redoing what’s been done before. Shouldn’t we be spending our time finding better, newer solutions to things rather than redoing someone else’s work? If you are generous with your IP – it forces you to go and find new solutions, it encourages you not to rest on your laurels, but to know that there’s some other better way to do it. It also encourages generosity with our colleagues – people return the favour. Obviously what Elemental are trying to do, which is the same thing that we’re trying to do, is to have an impact – the best way we can have that impact is to make it as easy as possible for other architects to be able to take what we know and improve on that.
Collaboration The importance of collaboration and putting that team in place…
Collaboration is obviously incredibly important to us. We built the Commons, we finished it 2.5 years ago. We finished one project, Breathe Architecture, but that’s it – the story stops there. We collaborate with six architects to build Nightingale One. Then 6 degrees take that IP and build Nightingale Two and then Andrew Maynard takes that and starts Nightingale Three and then Clare Cousins takes that and starts Nightingale Four. So as a group, within two years there’s four Nightingale projects going. There’s so much more agency in us working together as a collective rather than working alone.
For Nightingale One we got a bunch of big ESD brains in the room and we had a think tank session at the start of Nightingale One. All of these people gave their time for free to meet with us to talk about how do we do a multi-res building better than The Commons. Nightingale is fossil fuel free. There’s no gas. We’ve been working with the R & D team at Citipower. They’ve been pulling off data out of The Commons – which shows that The Commons uses one tenth of the power that the Australian standards says that this building should be using. We’ve worked with them to be able to design an all-electric apartment building in the city. We’re working with Curtin University to put in an embedded network, which will give us the ability to provide 100% renewables cheaper than black energy. [Ed – so looking at battery storage as well?] Yes – 17KW of solar. Obviously to do that now, it’s not a particularly smart financial move – if we waited 5 years it would be better, but we want to be part of the education process, the R & D process. One of the great things about Nightingale is that you can make decisions around sustainability that might impact on the bottom line, but you understand their importance.
The full edition of the May 2016 Environment Design Guide (EDG) newsletter can be found here.
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