Sustainable Built Environments
Completed Projects
International comparison of housing performance
2005
AusIndustry - Green Star Diffusion Project
2004
CERES - Urban Water Project
2003
onSITE
2002
2001
BuildLCA
2000
Savewater.com.au
Local Government Program
COBEII Case Studies
The Centre for Design was commissioned by Sustainability Victoria to write up some of the case studies for the COBEII (Commercial Office Building Energy Innovation Initiative) project.
COBEII is a joint venture between Sustainability Victoria and the Property Council of Australia and other partners to create commercial building stock that is more sustainable, cost-effective to build, cheaper to operate and more comfortable to occupy.
The Commercial Office Building Energy Innovation Initiative assists developers, property owners and tenants to demonstrate innovation in the design and application of sustainable energy in the following four project categories:
- Major refurbishment
- Tenancy fit outs
- Building services upgrades
- New buildings
COBEII partners have a common goal to integrate innovative sustainable energy design or technology into a commercial office building, to establish new levels of energy performance and will lead by example.
Download a copy of the case studies from the Sustainability Victoria website
International comparison of housing performance
The Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage’s Australian Greenhouse Office commissioned this study undertaken with Sustainable Built Environments. The study compared building code requirements from 8 different Australian cities from different climate zones with similar overseas locations in the USA, UK and Canada. A total of of 51 house plans were also rated using current Australian AccuRate software. The study showed that, on average, current overseas house designs would perform to almost 7 stars if they were to be built in equivalent climate zones across Australia. In Australia, buildings are currently required to meet a minimum of a 5 star energy efficiency rating. This research demonstrates that Australia still has room for improvement with its new house building code requirements and design performance for energy efficiency.
AusIndustry - Green Star Diffusion Project
In partnership with the Green Building Council of Australia and funded by AusIndusty, the Centre for Design participated in the national delivery of the Green Star rating scheme. The project’s aim was to customize Green Star training to the specific needs and learning styles of architects and engineers. The Centre performed a variety of workshops to identify relevant learning styles and methods, and developed learning materials to support the various professions.
CERES Urban Water Project
RMIT worked with CERES (Centre for Education and research in Environmental Strategies) through the Centre for Design to assist in developing an urban water conservation demonstration and research facility.
Students from RMIT’s Landscape Architecture, Environmental Engineering and TAFE areas, worked with CERES to investigate wastewater treatment options on their site.
The Urban Water Conservation Demonstration and Research Facility demonstrates the latest technologies for water conservation, recycling and reuse in a variety of settings, including the home, nursery, café, organic farm and community centre.
For more information see
www.ceres.org.au
http://www.ceres.org.au/watertrail
onSITE
The Centre developed a website dedicated to Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste minimisation. onSITE provides an efficient and effective way to access authoritative information on waste avoidance and resource recovery related to construction and demolition.
Via Case-Studies, Online Forums, Web links and other Information Resources, onSITE starts the process of value-adding existing information and presenting it in a simple and straightforward fashion.
A vital part of onSITE is the industry based Case Studies section. The first series of case studies has been researched and written by Bruce MacDonald - a pioneer in developing and implementing C&D waste minimisation initiatives in Australia. The emphasis is on residential building projects that have attempted to cut waste and recycle materials and packaging.
Four projects reflect a diverse range of residential building from small-scale 'Do it Yourself' renovations through to multi-dwelling developments and multi-storey apartments. Each seeks to tell a real life story about how builders are successfully addressing waste avoidance and resource recovery in the residential construction sector.The Victorian series of case studies has an emphasis on major construction projects that have cut waste and recycled materials with spectacular success. The projects tell real-life stories about how construction companies and engineering firms are successfully addressing waste avoidance and resource recovery in major road construction projects and the new Docklands development in Melbourne.
We also want ensure that onSITE is a dynamic site reflecting up-to-the-minute information, so we are eager to ensure its ongoing growth and development. This means we need your input to keep abreast of the latest Web sites, reports, handbooks and manuals, videos, training materials, projects and organisations active on C&D waste minimisation. Be sure to let us know if a useful link, publication, project or organisation is missing from onSITE and we will include it. Information about new information resources should be forwarded to onsite@rmit.edu.au
BuildLCA
This project was commissioned by Environment Australia. The project consortium was lead by the Centre for Design at RMIT and was to assess the status of life cycle assessment (LCA) tools in the building and construction sector and to develop strategies to improve the uptake and use of these tools. This project aimed to improve of the environmental performance of the building and construction sector, by promoting LCA as a tool to assess the environmental impacts of building materials and building systems in Australia.
Life Cycle Assessment tools in Building and Construction
The BuildLCA website contains resources for understanding LCA in the building and contruction area. This inlcudes:
- Case Studies
- Environmental Performance Data Sheet - A data collection framework for getting data from building material suppliers
- LCA Tools - Analysis on national and international tools
- Decision Support Tool - Designed to help you find the information you are looking for and to help you find out where tostart with using LCA on a building or building product?
Savewater.com.au
The Centre for Design partnered with Yarra Valley water in the development of savewater.com.au, a web site on water conservation.
The site includes advice on water conservation in the home, in business, manufacturing, horticulture and construction, a 'virtual' tour of water conservation in the home, case studies and product listings.
The site is constantly being expanded and updated.
The web site was developed in 2000. The Centre for Design was involved in updates to the site until early 2005.
Local Government Program
The Local Government Advisory Program supported the implementation of green building programs by Local Councils.
Services provided included:
- Applied research to drive innovation and implementation
- Facilitation: workshops with clients to develop commitment and capability to drive sustainability principles in project activities.
- Training: developing short courses and tailored training program to support the impelementation of sustainability principles.
- Tools and products: developing guides and checklists to support building and design and information dissemination through websites, documentaries, interactive displays, brochures and community presentations
Project Partners included:
- Darebin City Council
- Banyule City Council
- Melbourne City Council
- Kingston City Council
Dowload a copy of the program brochure