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.
• 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 150% improvement above the the fresh air rate requirements in AS 1668.2-2002.
• Natural ventilation designs eliminate the need to prevent mould.
• High frequency ballasts are to be included to reduce occupants' eye strain from low frequency flicker.
• Lighting levels are designed to be maintained at no more than 25% above the minimum maintained illuminance levels recommended in AS1680.2.3 Table E1.
• 60% of the nominated area is designed for direct line of site to the outdoors or a day-lit internal atrium.
• Ventilation is designed for superior air change effectiveness, according to ASHRAE 129-1997 and laminar flow patterns.
• 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 60% of the project's nominated area provides a Daylight Factor (DF) of 2% for building users.
• Internal temperatures fall within 80% of ASHRAE 55-2004 Acceptability Limit 1 in design.
• 95% of adhesives and sealants 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 is predicted to emit no greenhouse gases per annum, relative 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.
• Energy demand will be actively reduced by at least 30% during peak hours.
• Lighting is designed for automated zones of not more than 100m2 with occupant detection and daylight adjustment.
• 90% of the nominated area is designed with a combination of natural ventilation spaces which do not require energy when unoccupied and mechanically ventilated spaces designed to automatically shut down when not in use.
• Building is designed with amenable and highly visible, accessible and convenient stairs.
• External lighting will be connected to daylight sensors and have a light source efficacy of more than 65 lumens/watt. Outdoor spaces exceed the minimum requirements of AS1158 for illuminance levels.

Transport

• Car parking provisions do not exceed the minimum local planning allowance.
• Cyclist facilities are to be provided for 10% of building staff and 10% of the peak number of students at any one time (with 75% occupancy).
• Many public transport networks operate in close proximity with frequent 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.
• No water-based heat rejection systems are to be provided.
• Fire protection system will not expel water for 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 higher than 30% reduction in absolute quality of Portland cement across all concrete mixes. 20% of all structural mixes is recycled and no natural aggregates are used in non-structural uses.
• 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.

Land Use & Ecology

• The project is a building extension.
• Development will reduce environmental impact upon the site.

Emissions

• All specified HVAC refrigerants have an Ozone Depleting Potential (ODP) of zero.
• All specified refrigerants have a Global Warming Potential (GWP100) of less than 10.
• 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 40% 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.
• No water-based heat rejection systems to be included in the project.