Residential (including aged care) Thirteen per cent of green projects were residential in 2010, with two particular types of residential projects tending to employ strict green building standards. The first of those types is the large-scale inner city apartment development. At the site of the former Carlton United Brewery within Sydney's central business district, Fraser's Broadway brings together a variety of environmental design principles in order to make the most of the location and provide comfort to the residents. At $1 billion dollars and providing 1,400 units with an aim of a 6 Star Green Star rating, it will be a significant green residential development. The other type of residential project which is likely to incorporate green designs is social housing. Not only are social housing units expected to be cheaper to build and maintain but also more accessible for people who are ageing or living with disabilities. It has also become clear that there are very sound reasons for using green design principles. Under the NBESP's Social Housing program, the state and territory governments have advised that 97 per cent of units built or refurbished under Stage 2 (approximately 16,155 units) will achieve a six star energy efficiency rating. This entails fitting insulation, draught proofing, solar hot water heater (or equivalent), energy efficient lighting and glazing, shading, ventilation, closing mechanisms and water tanks.
General observations The 2010 statistics suggest that, overall, the green building sector has performed well in an unstable economic environment. The Australian construction market is learning from the performance of existing green buildings and translating these successes into new buildings. BCI’s Chief Executive Dr Matthias Krups says: “In speaking to construction professionals and contractors, BCI researchers have noticed a promising shift from a perception of green building as an expensive ideal, to an expectation that the majority of projects should at least be minimally environmentally sensitive.” Furthermore, the federal government’s emphasis on economic stimulus through construction, together with the pressure for governments to develop or occupy spaces constructed with environmental best practice standards, has pushed a high volume of green projects into the development pipeline. Dr Krups believes sustainable buildings are here to stay. “Anything built today that is not green will age prematurely,” he comments. 2011 will be a year to look forward to with confidence.
About BCI Australia BCI Australia provides crucial construction information, project leads and a powerful online CRM solution to building product suppliers, contractors and related organisations within the Australian construction industry. BCI’s dedicated team reports and researches Australian construction projects – within the public and private sectors – from concept design and planning stages to documentation, tender, the awarding of contracts and commencement of construction.
For further information, please visit www.bciaustralia.com Data collated from 1 September 2009-31 August 2010. For further information, please contact Brooke Barr, Community Director, on 0410 420 713 or b.barr@bciaustralia.com or visit www.bciaustralia.com
30 Green building in Australia 2010
2011 will be a year to look forward to with confidence.