Professional Documents
Culture Documents
November 2010
environmentdesignguide.com.au
In the News
- Lead: The Premium Audit Karen Wright investigates the promise Making international news this month, the
- National News and pitfalls of urban consolidation in ‘The world’s first zero-carbon conference building
Relationship between Housing Density and opens in Dublin.
- Comment: Climate Policy Built-Form Energy Use’, new to EDG Journal.
- International News
- Awards and Competitions From the Editor
- Publications and Reports EDG was launched in 1995. With the support of the Australian Institute of Architects,
- National Events and and an ever-growing library of papers authored by built environment experts, EDG has
Training established itself as an invaluable resource for students, academics and practicing
professionals.
- International Events
But an awful lot has changed since that first EDG paper rolled off the presses. In 1995,
Google wasn’t even a start-up, and to tweet meant to chirrup like a bird. Paul Keating
was our Prime Minister, and Al Gore was famous for being American Vice President, not
the author of An Inconvenient Truth.
In 1995, the internet was still in its infancy, and it was standard practice to print journals
like EDG on paper. Not any more.
EDG ceased to be a printed journal in November 2009. But that is not the same thing as
saying it became an online journal.
The Environment Design Guide
is published bi-monthly by the The way we organise and obtain information online is fundamentally different to the
Australian Institute of Architects way we organise and obtain it in print. Keywords and search algorithms have replaced
ACN 000 023 012
indexes and tables of content. Content must be easy to scan and retrieve. It must be
To submit material, information, able to be ported to different platforms, and it must be interlinked with other, similar
or event details for publication or
for further information contact:
content.
Michael Day, Editor None of these things applied to EDG’s content when the journal ceased to be printed in
edg@raia.com.au 2009. Our challenge, then, is to bring EDG properly into the online space.
environmentdesignguide.com.au
or It begins this month. Note our new-look website. Note too our Twitter feed and the
Knowledge Services
‘Subscribe to EDG News’ field. These are intended to take EDG that step closer to living
Level 2, 41 Exhibition Street a full life online; to actually make it better: more engaging, more relevant, more attuned
Melbourne VIC 3000 to its readers’ needs and requirements.
Telephone
(03) 8620 3877 On the content front, our criteria are simple: that our papers be stimulating, relevant
Facsimile
and useful. We always ask ourselves: would a time-poor practicing architect want to
(03) 8620 3864 read this through? And would they have learnt something they can take to the next job
ISSN 1442-5017 by the end of it? If so, we publish it; if not, we don’t. There’s no room online for prolixity.
Michael Day
Editor
New Journal Papers
This month, EDG Journal publishes three papers on sustainable design for the built
environment. The first presents passive design solutions for Australia’s climactically
challenging interior. The second takes a ‘back-to-basics’ approach to passive design’s
most deployed but least understood materials: thermal mass and insulation. And
the third explores an area where urban planning and building design intersect, and
asks: if urban consolidation is so good for the environment, why are our high-density
developments such energy guzzlers?
Lead
Our lead this month is by Emilis Prelgauskas, an architect in sole practice in South
Australia with a background in sustainable building design. Emilis developed the
‘premium audit’ concept (for which he owns copyright) as a way of applying his expertise
in sustainable design to ‘the large stock of existing buildings not undergoing substantial
updating’. Emilis is the author of a number of EDG Journal papers, including the newly
published ‘Climate Responsive Design: Cooling Systems for Hot Arid Climates’.
Contact: emilis@emilis.sa.on.net
It’s a problem a number of programs have tried to grapple with. South Australia’s
Energy Friends and Residential Energy Efficiency Scheme (REES) programs, and
more recently Green Loans/Green Start have all used ‘audits’ of premises which
then recommend basic retrofits – updating fridge doors seals, light bulbs, hot water
temperature settings, insulation.
At best, these achieve modest performance improvements – but none have effectively
tackled the more fundamental drivers of achieving occupant comfort at modest
resource demand levels.
To address this need, a decade ago my practice set about developing a more holistic
approach to auditing existing buildings, using the broader skills architects can bring to
the task. For the last six years, this has been a specific work area within my practice,
with over 50 premium audits completed to date. This provides sufficient baseline
experience from which to draw conclusions.
The audit process involves a multi-hour site view and occupant conversation, and
a follow-on report tailored individually to each site, suggesting up to two-dozen
improvements trailing from least-cost-greatest-benefit down to nice-to-do-but-small-
benefit.
Some of the bookings for premium audits came to this practice after the homeowners’
underwhelming experience with simplistic audits. Not surprisingly, some of the items
recommended those audits fell at the low end of the premium audit report.
The premium audit looks at the locality context and site development for clues to
specific microclimate opportunities and threats impacting the building performance. It
looks at the building envelope for heat flow control and mitigation potential. It looks at
functional spaces disposition and internal elements for barriers to heat, light and air
flows.
The report looks to adaptations in functional use indoors and out, building addition
and modification, services updating, fuels and water supply. It also looks at the usual
updating to modern fixtures and fit out. All this work is within the knowledge sphere of
many architects.
The premium audit approach continues as a small, steady component of this practice’s
work, at about eight audits per year. The value of this segment to my practice, however,
is many times greater.
Premium audits address a part of the built environment which architects can’t
otherwise approach – the large stock of existing buildings not undergoing substantial
updating. They show architect-specific skills at work – the conception of the built
environment holistically, from microclimate through to occupant human issues and
their performance consequences, rather than just the building’s components. And in
establishing our credentials, the audits have led to more traditional renovation/addition
architect commissions for this practice.
The charge-out for premium audits is based on the work involved, in contrast to audits
carried out under subsidised programs where the site time and output is constrained
by the preset financials of the program. The market is early adopters, with most of the
work coming from word-of-mouth referrals. This means that initial resistance to price
is overcome by feedback from peers about the service delivered and the pay-back after
retrofit.
Emilis Prelgauskas
National News
Barangaroo Development Set to Kick Off
Lend Lease’s plans for office towers at Barangaroo South, in Sydney CBD, continue to
polarise debate, with critics decrying their height and bulk – the tallest, C4, will be 180m
high – while proponents point to their six-star Green Star design credentials.
Leading the opposition is Sydney City Council. Lord Mayor Clover Moore, well known for
her environmentalism, resigned in protest from the Barangaroo Development Authority
in September. The council’s submission to the Department of Planning claims that the
buildings’ height will result in loss of winter sun over Darling Harbour. It also cites a
lack of transport and inadequate waterfront access. Councillor John McInerney, of the
Barangaroo Action Group, says the Lend Lease plan ‘trashes’ the council’s 20 year-
old Central City Strategy, which was to maintain ‘a low scale of development at the
harbourside…allowing for a human scale water edge’.
Lend Lease’s main response to its critics is to claim that C4 will be the ‘greenest office
building in the world’, re-using all water and using 75 per cent less energy than the
average office building. It also points to their architectural pedigree: the design of
the towers is by Pritzker Prize winner Richard Rogers, Ivan Harbour, and Australian
Institute of Architects Gold Medal winner Ken Maher.
Meanwhile, under the auspices of the NSW State Government, the wider Barangaroo
refurbishment project is forging ahead, with earthworks for a headland park, cove and
culture centre due to start before the end of the year.
www.barangaroo.com
Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp’s Surrey Hills Library received the national award for
their design which incorporates a comprehensive suite of sustainable technologies
and practices. A rooftop photovoltaic system, green roof, air handling system, low-VOC
finishes, and formaldehyde-free furniture are among the library’s key green features.
‘While hospitals, schools, shopping centres and industrial sheds have been able to
achieve Green Star ratings for some time, law courts, museums, art galleries and
places of worship could not,’ says GBCA Chief Executive Romilly Madew. ‘This is about to
change, with the release of the Green Star - Public Building PILOT rating tool.’
www.ecosmartelectricians.com.au
Comment
This month’s Comment is by Leigh Ewbank. Leigh is currently Editorial Assistant at
EDG. He will be leaving EDG shortly to take up a position as Director of Communications
at Beyond Zero Emissions (beyondzeroemissions.org).
The views expressed in this article are the views of the author only and not necessarily those
of the Australian Institute of Architects or any other person or entity.
The narrow terms of reference of the Gillard government’s recently established Climate
Change Committee is a good example of this thinking. The committee is only tasked with
identifying ways to put a price on carbon emissions, rather than craft a comprehensive
package of measures to successfully decarbonise our economy.
It is frequently argued that establishing domestic carbon price signals will reduce
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, and international examples of carbon pricing
initiatives are cited to substantiate these claims. Unfortunately, incomplete accounts
of these efforts hide important lessons for policymakers at home. While it’s true
that carbon-pricing measures are operating in several nations and that Australia is
lagging behind in addressing our changing climate, the efficacy of carbon pricing is
questionable.
According to Sandbag’s Morris, the scheme’s flawed design has the potential to trap
Europe in a high-carbon economy. Firms covered by the scheme are permitted to carry
unused permits from earlier phases into the 2013–20 phase. This means that cheap
permits bought during the recent economic downturn can be traded to allow for carbon
increases in the future. Then there’s the additional problem of cheap offsets that ‘could
allow Europe’s domestic emissions to grow a staggering 34 per cent from current levels
by 2016’.
Europe provides a test case for poorly designed emissions trading schemes. Its flaws
should not be glossed over by those who support emissions trading in Australia.
A similar pattern can be observed in China. Although China’s 12th five-year plan is
rumoured to establish carbon pricing for the energy sector, this is only after massive
government investments helped China emerge as the world’s leading clean technology
powerhouse. China has rapidly built their domestic manufacturing capacity over the
past several years. Its companies are on track to make 39 per cent of the wind turbines
and 43 per cent of solar panels sold worldwide in 2010. As a result of this concerted
effort, Ernst & Young now rank China as the most attractive destination for private
investment in renewable energy. On top of all this, the nation has pledged to invest a
whopping AU$743 billion over the next decade to meet ambitious renewable energy
deployment targets.
South Korea and China demonstrate the benefits of staged policy implementation.
Both nations preceded carbon pricing with large-scale public investments and industry
development to create economies that benefit from reducing emissions. This approach
is economically sensible and politically strategic, yet the Australian government has not
undertaken anything comparable.
Australia can learn valuable lessons by taking a closer look at the climate and energy
policies of the EU, Korea, and China. We can only benefit from paying greater attention
to the tried and tested approaches of others. My hope is that policymakers draw on real
life examples of what works rather than put their faith in silver bullet solutions.
Leigh Ewbank
International News
Dublin Claims World’s First Zero Carbon Conference
Centre
The Convention Centre Dublin, the world’s first ‘zero carbon’ conference centre (Image:
Convention Centre Dublin 2010)
The City of Dublin has laid claim to the world’s first carbon-neutral conference centre.
The building, designed by Irish architects Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates,
deploys a suite of sustainability technologies.
The centre uses 6000 tonnes of low-carbon concrete, and automated energy and HVAC
control systems in conjunction with an ice storage thermal unit (ISTU) to monitor and
minimise energy use.
The lack of on-site energy generation is a notable omission for a building that claims
to be carbon neutral. Although the centre is committed to purchasing sustainable
electricity, its dependence on external energy sources is likely to be viewed as a weak
spot in the building’s claim of carbon neutrality.
Common Carbon Metric for Buildings a Step Closer
The world has moved a step closer to a common carbon metric for buildings after the
recent UNEP Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (UNEP-SBCI) meeting in
Shanghai. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
has recognised the need for a global standard to measure carbon emissions in the built
environment.
According to Romilly Madew, Chief Executive of the Green Building Council of Australia,
‘A common metric for measuring carbon emissions from buildings will enable the global
construction sector to participate in carbon markets and attract investment that may
not otherwise have been available, in turn delivering tangible carbon reductions.’
wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/living_planet_report
The Vision Awards is a program developed by glass manufacturer and Institute multi-
program sponsor, Viridian™ to celebrate and promote innovative uses of glass for
commercial and residential applications. With $20,000 prize money to be won, this is a
competition not to be missed!
Entry submissions accepted until 31 March 2011, for projects completed between 1
January 2010 and 31 December 2010.
www.viridianglass.com/visionawards/default.aspx
Nominations for the 2011 Banksia Awards open in March. Details for how to nominate
can be found at www.banksiafdn.com
The Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Laureate will be presented with an award certificate,
a gold medallion and a cash prize of S$300,000. Nominations are open till 31 March
2011.
www.leekuanyewworldcityprize.com.sg/home.html
www.grattan.edu.au/pub_page/report_cities_who_decides.html
www.garnautreview.org.au
National Events and Training
Conference in Review
GBCA Master Class Conference
When and where: 28 October 2010, Melbourne
Attendee: Michael Day
The GBCA’s Master Class series is a suite of small-group intensives for green building
practitioners.
I attended this years Master Class in Melbourne as a guest of the GBCA. Sessions that
day included Lifecycle Assessment, Renewable Energy and Technology and Navigating
Green Regulations and Policies. I was torn between a few classes, but settled on
Green Star for Architects and Clients, given that this is an area of great interest to EDG
readers.
The class instructor was Digby Hall, of Digby Hall Architecture, and what he doesn’t
know about Green Star probably isn’t worth knowing.
Some of the learnings to come out of the class were the importance of iterative
modelling and integrated design teams; how to contract for outcomes; common
paperwork pitfalls; and containing costs. There was also an interesting class debate
about the ‘Green Star premium’ (which anecdotally ranges from 3.5 per cent for 4 stars
through to 10–11 per cent for 6 stars).
One positive development Digby mentioned is that the GBCA is seeing a trend towards
‘as built’ certification and away from ‘design’ certification. Tenants and buyers are
beginning to discern a difference between a building that actually performs, and one
that essentially just promises it will.
On the negative side, an ‘as built’ certification is still considerably more difficult and
costly to document and administer than a ‘design’ one. Hence there is still a strong
incentive to travel the easier path.
If red tape is discouraging people from going down the performance measurement
route, then I would encourage the GBCA to do all it can to remove some of that red
tape. The result will be better performing buildings. [Ed. note: The ‘performance gap’
between the design and operation of green buildings is the subject of a forthcoming EDG
paper by Brett Pollard.]
The GBCA will be conducting more Master Classes in 2011. I can heartily recommend
them to all built environment professionals.
www.gbca.org.au/education-courses/master-class-conference/
2010
Energy Efficiency Council National Conference
2 December 2010, Sydney
The EEC’s annual national conference will discuss all aspects of the energy efficiency
policy and practice. In the wake of the recently released Prime Minister’s Task Group on
Energy Efficiency report, the conference is perfect for architects interested in finding out
what lies ahead for energy efficiency policy in Australia.
www.eec.org.au
2011
Sustainable Urbanisation: A Resilient Future
16-18 February, Melbourne
This conference for planners and built environment professionals will explore ways to
create resilient sustainable cities. Speakers include Professor Rob Adams, Director City
Design for the City of Melbourne; Environment Design Guide contributor Professor Janis
Birkeland; and Jane-Frances Kelly, Director of the Grattan Institute’s Cities Program.
The event will also feature a free public forum at Federation Square presented by
TEDxCarlton.
www.sustainableurbanisation.com.au
Green Cities
27 February – 2 March, Melbourne
Green Cities is the largest green
building conference in the Asia-Pacific
region. Conference organisers have
just announced the first round of
speakers, which includes controversial
environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg, leading
architect Michael Green, and innovation
expert Jeb Bruggman. With more
announcements still to come, Green Cities
2011 is shaping up as an exciting event.
www.greencities.org.au
International Events
2010
Arc Asia Pacific
2–5 December, Penang, Malaysia
Arc is a forum for the Asia Pacific’s leading architects. The forum is designed to help
architects learn about the most recent developments and opportunities that exist across
the region. The forum features networking events in addition to seminars on a wide
range of topics including green design and eco cities.
www.arc-ap.com/index.html
www.polyu.edu.hk/fclu/ICSU2010/iframe_aim.html
2011
Subtropical Cities Conference, Subtropical Urbanism:
Beyond Climate Change
9–13 March, Florida, USA
The 3rd biennial Subtropical Cities conference will bring together experts in various
disciplines for an exchange of ideas and best practices on subtropical urbanism in a
changing climate. The conference is a collaborative partnership between the Florida
Atlantic University College for Design and Social Inquiry (USA) the Queensland
University of Technology Centre for Subtropical Design (Australia). The conference will
address the following themes:
www.mascarocenter.pitt.edu/conference/about.php
http://ashraem.confex.com/ashraem/s11/cfp.cgi