Academic Accommodation 3
6 Star Green Star Rating
Project OverviewThe Charles Sturt University (CSU), Academic Accommodation Stage 3 (AA3) office building located in Thurgoona NSW, was designed to achieve best practice occupant satisfaction and a 6 star Green Star - Office Design v2 certified rating which represents "World Leadership" in environmentally sustainable design.The building is the most recent contribution to form part of the Campus wide sustainability methodology. CSU's Albury-Wodonga Campus is Australia's first environmentally friendly university campus and is a developing, dynamic model of how communities can address environmental concerns and create sustainable environments. The University's commitment to the environment can be seen in a wide range of design features on the campus including buildings made from rammed earth and recycled building materials, rehabilitated creeks and wetlands, windmills and solar collectors. The principles used in building the Thurgoona site demonstrates a comprehensive, environmentally sensitive process that spans from site planning to selection of materials. Special features of the site include the minimal use of energy and on-site management of water and waste. Environmental benefits of the site address local, regional and national concerns for global warming, ozone depletion, genetic diversity and air and water pollution. The function of the AA3 building is to provide additional office accommodation for the School of Business and Technology academic staff. The building aims to integrate the existing Academic Accommodation building to the west and also to present a commercial office image further connecting the building with the local business community. The building is orientated along the east-west axis and is divided into three (3) zones: north offices, south offices and a communal area in the middle. The building design includes a complementary mass manifested at the south facade. The north facade is a thick composite wall shaded by deep fenestration and includes two (2) banks of deep reveal light shelves. The building is heavily insulated in every roof, wall and floor area and uses low-e double glazed windows. Phase change microcapsule (PCM) plasterboard is also used for internal ceiling and wall linings to give additional thermal mass. Project AchievementsThe first regional 6 star certified rating!The peak electrical load of the AA3 building was demonstrated to have been reduced from 44.5kW (no thermal storage) to 15.3kW (with thermal storage); a peak electrical load reduction of 65% compared to the "25% reduction" Green Star benchmark. The performance of the AA3 building exceeds this Green Star benchmark by 40%. The environmental benefit of this significant peak load reduction is the reduced demand on electrical distribution infrastructure. In addition, any reduction of peak load occurring in the middle of summer reduced the requirement for grid power generative capacity. A reduced peak load reduction also reduces the need for the construction of new power stations which are only built to meet peak demand requirements. The operational energy performance of the AA3 building was demonstrated to achieve a 5 star ABGR rating with an additional 65% carbon dioxide reduction. This level of performance exceeds the Green Star benchmark of 5 star ABGR rating plus 60% carbon dioxide reduction (or 28.4kgCO2/m2 per annum). The building as modelled using DOE-2.1 E simulation software produces 24kgCO2/m2 per annum which is an additional reduction of 4.4kgCO2/m2 per annum or 3,506kgCO2 per year. CSU pursued a unique opportunity to facilitate research and integrate new technology into the building design. An agreement with an industry partner, BASF, the largest chemical company in the world, was negotiated to achieve a cost effective and energy efficient building conditioning system. BASF had developed an innovative lightweight "thermal mass" building element, labelled PCM SmartBoard. PCM SmartBoard 230C is a gypsum plasterboard product that contains BASF Micronal PCMs and remains at 230C whilst the surrounding ambient air increases during a Summer day. PCM SmartBoard has the ability to absorb large amounts of heat; a 15mm PCM SmartBoard sheet has the same thermal capacity as a 100mm slab of concrete, yet it can be worked as a conventional material. During the design and documentation phase, CSU was able to work closely with BASF experts to develop a new approach for achieving a low energy building conditioning system and identifying ways in which PCM SmartBoard can be incorporated within a building as a "working" element. In AA3, PCM SmartBoard has been used to form the ceiling and Micronal PCMs have been embedded in the floor screed, which effectively doubles the building's thermal mass. Whilst the use of PCM SmartBoard 230C as a ceiling material is a first for Australian office buildings, the use of Micronal PCMs in the floor screed is a first in the world! |
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Category Achievements
Management
Northrop Consulting Engineers were appointed as the Green Star Accredited Professional throughout project design and documentation;Contractor implemented a comprehensive Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and has an ISO14001 accreditation;
Contractor committed to greater than 80% recycling of construction waste; and,
Building User's Guide has been prepared to enable the building to achieve its intended environmental performance.
Indoor Environment Quality
Outside air supply rate are equivalent to a 150% improvement on AS1668.2:1991Good levels of daylight are provided to 60% of the Net Lettable Area (NLA). The Daylight Factor is not less than 2.5%.
Direct line of sight through vision glazing to the outdoors is provided to all offices (100% of the NLA).
Acceptable noise levels in accordance with AS/NZS 2107:2000 is achieved for both the building services design and the overall building design
Low volatile organic compound (VOC) products are used for all carpets, paints and sealants/adhesives
Daylight glare and associated discomfort to building occupants is reduced using fixed shading devices
Electric lighting levels have a luminance level of no more than 400 lux for 95% of the NLA
Low emission formaldehyde is used in all composite wood products
Active humidity control systems ensure relative humidity is kept below 60% in the space and 80% in the supply ductwork to reduce the risk of mould growth
Energy
Building performance achieves a NABERS Energy 5 star plus 65% carbon dioxide reduction (exceeding the Green Star benchmark of 60% reduction)Building performance achieves a peak energy load reduction of 65% (exceeding the Green Star benchmark of 25% reduction)
Electrical sub-metering is provided for each floor and tenancy, and for all substantive energy uses greater than 100kVa
Office lighting power density of 2.5W/m2 per 100 lux is achieved
Individual switching is provided to individual or enclosed spaces not exceeding 100m2
Transport
No additional car parking is provided within this projectCyclist facilities are provided including secure bicycle storage, secure lockers and accessible showers and changing facilities were provided for 10% of the building staff and additional bicycle storage facilities for visitors
Water
High efficiency fixtures and fittings are used throughout the buildingWater sub-metering is provided for all major water uses and all meters are linked to the Building Management System (BMS) to provide a leak detection system
No irrigation systems are installed as the landscaping does not require watering after establishment
Cooling tower water consumption achieves six cycles of concentration
Roof water is collected and stored in a 10kL tank for reuse water supply to toilets, irrigation and cooling towers
Grey water is collected from showers, sinks and laundries and is treated in artificial wetlands
Materials
Building fit-out is 100% fully integrated to minimise material churn20% of all cement used in the project is replaced with industrial waste product and 20% of all aggregate is recycled aggregate
No PVC materials are used in the building services (100% reduction in PVC by cost) exceeding the Green Star 60% reduction by cost benchmark
All timber and composite timber products used in the building and construction works are sourced from post-consumer re-used timber and/or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified timber
Land Use & Ecology
Development site is not of high ecological valueRehabilitation of over 40% of the site are is regenerated native habitat
Emissions
No HVAC refrigerants are used within the project, hence the ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP) is zeroThermal insulation avoids the use of ozone depleting substances in both its manufacture and composition
All storm water leaving the site is directed through grass lined swales to an existing constructed wetland. All storm water up to the 1-in-20 year storm even is treated and filtered in accordance with the Victorian EPA Best Practice Guidelines for Environmental Management for Urban Storm water. The development has maintained peak flows for all events up to the 1-in-2 year storm event at pre-developed levels
Innovation
Building performance achieves a NABERS Energy 5 star plus 65% carbon dioxide reduction (exceeding the Green Star benchmark fo 60% reduction)Building performance achieves a peak energy load reduction of 65% (exceeding the Green Star benchmark of 25% reduction)