Bart Meehan: Sustainably Designed Buildings at the Australian National University

SUSTAINABLY DESIGNED BUILDINGS AT

THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

–

A SHORTJOURNEY IN

INNOVATION

BART MEEHAN

VISITING FELLOW AND RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

FENNER SCHOOL OF SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIETY

“…Structures such as London’s Crystal Palace and Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II used methods that

decreased the impact of the structure

on the environment. Systems such as

roof ventilators and underground air-cooling chambers were used to regulate indoor air temperature.2 In

the early twentieth century, several skyscrapers such as the Flatiron

Building and the New York Times Building in New York utilized deep-set windows and the Carson Pirie Scott

department store in Chicago had retractable awnings. Both of these

techniques were effective in controlling interior temperature while lessoning the buildings’ impact on the

environment….”

INTRODUCTION TO GREEN BUILDINGS

Reference: Marble-Institute.com

“…From the 1930’s through the 1960’s, the forward thinking cooling methods …gave way to

some new building technologies that would change inner-city

building construction dramatically. The invention of air conditioning, reflective glass, and

structural steel popularized the enclosed glass and steel buildings

that litter the American city today. These buildings were able to be heated and cooled with

massive HVAC systems that consumed huge amounts of

cheap and readily available fossil fuels.4 The massive consumption of energy required to inhabit

these buildings made their viability tenable and entirely

dependent upon energy availability and cost… “

“…Around the time that the “glass box” style high rise had become the icon of the

American city (circa 1970), a forward thinking group of

architects, environmentalists, and ecologists5 were

inspired by the growing

environmental movement and the higher fuel costs that

were prevalent during the 1970s.6 The genesis of these two scenarios ultimately

resulted in the modern build green movement…”

Reference: Marble-Institute.com

WOOLLEY BUILDING, MOUNT STROMLO CAMPUS

Completed in 1995

Natural ventilation with some air-conditioning, high levels of

insulation, unusual shaped window boxes on the Western

façade to reduce heat load and manages stormwater

through surface drainage and retention ponds.

Where it began for ANU…

IAN ROSS BUILDING – College of Engineering and Computer Science

Completed in 2000

Ian Ross Building maximizes passive environmental systems as a means of providing occupant thermal comfort. New walls are either

insulated double brick or reverse veneer for a stable internal environment and minimized heat/cool loading.

A narrow floor plate allows deep penetration of day light into internal spaces with clerestory windows where additional light is

required. Ventilation chimney stacks also double as light wells drawing light deep into the building. A hydronic slab heating system

that is suitable for future integration with solar hot water collection has been installed to heat the building during winter. Slab heating is

a storage heating system that utilizes the mass of the building to dispense heat to the space. The system has been zoned to take into consideration usage patterns, internal loads and conduction loads on each space. Any solar heat gain is distributed throughout the

building using the water with a reduction on energy consumption of 40-45% and a reduction in installed boiler capacity of 40%.

Two natural ventilation networks exist within the Ian Ross building – a fully automated system and a manually operated system, as well

as a night purge function that has been incorporated and will operate during the high temperature summer periods to purge stored

heat from the building overnight.

JOHN CURTIN SCHOOL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH

Completed in 2007

Several environmentally sustainable design features were

also integrated into the JCSMR.

Materials from the previous buildings demolished on site

were reused where possible.

Large windows allow abundant natural light to shine

throughout the school and automatic lighting control is

installed in many areas.

The building itself is east to west orientated, and an

adaptive air conditioning system is employed with a

passive solar chimney, operable windows, and night purge fans.

The wide concrete stairs leading up to the main entrance

act as a plenum space; fresh, outdoor air is drawn in

beneath the stairs and the 200 seat auditorium is ventilated

naturally, reducing energy consumption.

“Traffic light” system tell occupants when to open or close

windows.

SCIENCE PRECINCTStarted 2010 - Ongoing

The laboratory areas incorporate a large number of fume cupboards,

which are exhausted via a single manifolded duct, this exhaust system

also includes a thermal recovery coil. This is the first laboratory building in Australia to incorporate this feature and required the project to seek

a special exemption from the building certifier as it was completed

‘ahead’ of the Australian Standards for Laboratory design.

The building incorporates extremely complex facade elements, with a

mix of digitally moulded precast panels, high performance glazing,

lightweight aluminium panelling installed with complex geometric

patterns and recycled timber sunshades.

ESD initiatives & targets for the Biosciences Building include:

Adaptive air conditioning

Blackwater Treatment plant to recycle waste water for re-use,

Rainwater harvesting and recycling plant,

Lighting control systems including sensors, timers and low energy lamping with electronic ballasts

The building design meets GBCA 5 star Green Star

A new Central Plant facility constructed to provide hot water for

heating and chilled water supply to service the building (as well as 6

other buildings in the precinct).

JAEGER 8 Research School of Earth ScienceCompleted 2011

The innovative cooling system utilises the stored rain

water and the basement rock storage to assist with providing cooled air to the upper levels via thermal

stacks.

Individual temperature control within each office

space.

Partially exposed concrete ceilings in office areas to

assist with radiant cooling and heating.

Provision of ceiling fans in each office space.

Natural ventilation through operable windows to all

offices. Some windows controlled via actuators to

allow night purging of the building.

Double glazed windows.

Rain Water tank for building cooling and landscape

irrigation.

Recovered material used in construction of façade

5 Star Energy Rating

FENNER SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETYCompleted 2012

Sustainable energy generation

The building has a 40kw PV array that has the ability of generating over

65000 kWh of sustainable energy each year. The design intent was to

enable the generation rate to equal or surpass the energy consumption within the building resulting in carbon neutral operation.

Efficient heating & cooling

The building has been connected to the new College of Science

central plant which supplies the heating and chilled water for the

conditioning of the building . The waste water from the building Frank

Fenner building is also directed to the Black water treatment system in

the central plant.

Active chilled beams

Active chilled beams provide energy efficient cooling and are also

used in conjunction with an energy recovery system to further improve

the energy efficiency.

Traffic light system The traffic light system used in the building informs the occupants of

when the outdoor temperature is suitable for natural ventilation, and

when the internal heating and cooling should be used.

Fenner School of Environment and Society

Thermal envelope

To ensure that the energy being used to heat and cool is fully utilised the thermal

envelope of the building has incorporated Hebel block for its insulation value , along

with the wall and ceiling insulation. Particular attention to detail was required to ensure the minimisation of gaps to stop leakage. Double glazing and external shading also

play an important role in providing natural light and views while reducing solar gain

and noise infiltration.

Rainwater harvesting system

The rainwater harvesting system and the storm water management system integrates

best practice with bio filtration and provides habitat via the creation of an ephemeral

pond. This site development is monitored via time lapse photography and used as a teaching resource.

Wetlands

A wet land has been created to promote bio diversity and to provide an out door

teaching area. The growth of the wetlands is being monitored and recorded for future

research.

Brickwork

The pattern in the brickwork represents research data in climate change.

THE BUILDING WAS ACCREDITED WITH A 6 GREENSTAR FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

BY THE GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA.

LENA KARMEL LODGECompleted 2012

The building innovatively addresses the challenges of energy, water and

resource efficiency by implementing passive features and behaviour

modification strategies, while also implementing ESD initiatives such as:

• on-site solar photovoltaic panels,

• highly efficient zoned controlled lighting in common areas,

• rainwater harvesting for toilet flushing,

• roof top gardens,

• charging points for electric vehicles and;

• extensive bicycle parking.

SUSTAINABILITY AT LENA KARMEL

Community education and engagement

A number of “fun” initiatives have been

implemented to promote engagement including formal monthly competitions between floors of the residence to see which

has the lowest environmental footprint.

These data come from the real time information that is displayed on the dashboards.

The dashboard also displays the number of

people who use the central staircases, representing the data as the number of times the residents have “climbed” Mt Everest,

instead of taking the elevator.

What happens next? Some questions we are considering

Is innovation in sustainable design still

dependant on cost and/or return on investment?

Does the management and broader community understand sustainable

design and operations?

How will emerging demands in the tertiary sector (new research, changing teaching methodologies and high

volume information processing) influence sustainable design and operations?

Is industry really committed to innovation in design and construction?

SESSION: ISCN 2014 WORKING GROUP 1 - BUILDINGS AND THEIR SUSTAINABILITY IMPACTS

MODERATORS: BART MEEHAN AND EDDI OMRCEN

1. Innovation in building sustainability design and operations.

What is "innovation" in building sustainability?

Is it radical changes in design and operations or more gradual evolution that progressively improves on existing designs are as efficient as they can be?

What will a university building/campus look like in 10 years, in 20 years, in 50 years?What will be the expectations of the community and how will design have to involve to meet those demands?

Presentation: Evolution of sustainable building design at the Australian National University - Bart Meehan (10 minutes)

Presentation: TBA - Eddi Omrcen (Gothenburg University (10 Minutes)

2. Engaging the organisation in innovation.

The group will discuss institutional barriers to establishing innovative design and operations in campus buildings and explore strategies for creating

organisational engagement.

Presentation: Engaging the community in innovation - Rene Swart (St Stithians College, Sth Africa) (15 minutes)

Presentation: Energy Efficiency (Lighting Upgrade) - Meri Löyttyniemi (15 minutes)

BREAK - 20 MINUTES

3. Creating a knowledge base of best practice

The group will discuss the further development of the ISCN case studies database and how best practice should be assessed, including peer group

evaluation before the publication of the case studies.

The section will include the presentation of the online case study survey tool that has been developed, with the group being asked to provide feedback on design.

Presentation: Building a data base of innovative design and operations - Colin Reiter (University of Melbourne) (15 minutes)