Category Achievements

Management

• A Green Star Accredited Professional is a principle participant in the project team to provide advice on the Green Star aims and processes from design through to the delivery.
• Three of the building's environmental attributes will be displayed for easy understanding with the measurable environmental and economic benefit to the building users.
• A design review will occur at both preliminary and final design stages by the person responsible for building maintenance concerning the access, ongoing maintenance and ongoing cleaning of the building services and external building features.
• Contracted to provide comprehensive pre-commissioning, commissioning and quality monitoring for all building services. The design team and contractor are to transfer the information and documentation to the building owner upon completion.
• Contracted for a minimum 12 month building tuning period after handover, including quarterly reviews, monthly monitoring and final re-commissioning.
• Appointed a commissioning agent independent of the design team and contractors.
• A Building User's Guide is developed.
• A Building Maintenance Guide is developed.
• The contractor is required to implement a project-specific Environmental Management Plan (EMP) in accordance with Section 4 of the NSW Environmental Management System Guidelines during construction. The contractor must also hold ISO14001 accreditation.
• Committed to re-using or recycling 80% of construction waste (by weight).

Indoor Environment Quality

• Ventilation rates are designed for 50% improvement above the the fresh air rate requirements in AS 1668.2-2002.
• Automated blinds and external shading are components of the design, reducing glare from natural lighting.
• High frequency ballasts are to be included to reduce occupants' eye strain from low frequency flicker.
• 60% of the nominated area is designed for direct line of site to the outdoors or a day-lit internal atrium.
• A carbon dioxide monitoring system is specified to track and adjust ventilation rates with low carbon dioxide levels upon occupancy. Also, a VOC monitoring system is specified to detect and alert when pollutants are too high in the building.
• Daylight modelling shows that 30% of the project's nominated area provides a Daylight Factor (DF) of 2% for building users.
• Mechanically air-conditioned work space is designed to be a comfortable temperature, within Predicted Mean Vote levels of -1 to +1.
• Internal noise levels are designed for minimisation.
• 95% of painted surfaces, adhesives, sealants and tenancy fitout items and all carpets and flooring are specified to be low in volatile organic compounds.
• All composite wood products specified have low-formaldehyde emissions.

Energy

• The building's predicted greenhouse gas emissions are reduced 40% compared to a standard benchmark building.
• On-site energy systems are shared by at least 2 buildings.
• Sub-metering is to be installed to monitor lighting and general power consumption for primary functional areas, such as class and lecture areas, office and administration spaces and laboratories.
• Lighting is designed for automated zones of not more than 100m2 with occupant detection and daylight adjustment.
• HVAC in each separate enclosed space within 90% of the nominated area is designed to automatically shut down when not in use.
• Building is designed with amenable and highly visible, accessible and convenient stairs.

Transport

• Car parking provisions are 50% less than the maximum local planning allowance.
• Cyclist facilities are to be provided for 10% of building staff and 5% of the peak number of students at any one time (with 75% occupancy).
• Public transport networks operate in close proximity with peak hour services.
• One dedicated pedestrian route will be provided on and off the site, alongside a Travel Plan with a site-specific transport assessment and a report on sustainable transport initiatives.

Water

• The project will be a leader in efficient use of potable water for sanitary use.
• Metering is specified for all major water uses, with an effective mechanism for monitoring consumption.
• Landscapes are designed for a 90% reduction in irrigation.
• Designed to return 80% of the water used for testing fire protection systems and drain-down water from sprinkler systems to temporary storage for reuse. Each floor is fitted with a sprinkler system has isolation valves or shut-off points for floor-by-floor testing.

Materials

• A dedicated storage area for separation and collection of recyclables is to be provided in a convenient and accessible location.
• The design of flooring throughout the project has a reduced environmental impact.
• The design of joinery throughout the project has a reduced environmental impact.
• The specification of loose furniture throughout the project has a reduced environmental impact.
• Specified more than a 30% reduction in absolute quality of Portland cement across all concrete mixes.
• 90% of all steel (by mass) specified is reused or contains a post-consumer recycled content greater than 50%.
• Alternative materials are specified to replace 60% (by cost) of total PVC costs.
• 95% of specified timber and composite timber products (by cost) to be used in the building and construction works was sourced from more sustainable means or are reused/recycled.
• 95% of the total facade is designed for disassembly.

Land Use & Ecology

• 75% (or greater) of the site was previously developed.
• Development will reduce environmental impact upon the site.

Emissions

• All specified HVAC refrigerants have an Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP) of zero.
• Refrigerants are to be contained, in conjunction with a leak detection system. In addition, automatic refrigerant pump-down is specified to prevent refrigerants escaping the equipment and into the atmosphere.
• All specified thermal insulation avoids the use of ozone-depleting substances in both manufacture and composition.
• Predicted project outflow to the sewerage system from building occupants’ usage has been reduced more than 20% compared to an average-practice benchmark.
• Exterior lighting designs comply with AS4282 and do not direct any light beams into the night sky or beyond site boundaries. At least 95% of outdoor spaces are not to exceed the minimum requirements of AS1158 for illuminance levels.