6 star green rating for design
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) awarded property
developers Stockland six green stars for the design of Durack 2,
a commercial office building in Perth’s CBD.
Durack 2 is the first West Australian property to receive six
green stars from the GBCA. The Six Star certified rating signifies
‘world leadership’ in the environmental potential of the design of
commercial offices (base buildings).
West Australian Mechanical Services Project Engineer Daniel
Hunt said the building takes into account all aspects of
sustainability to get the six star rating. Elements such as the
building location, efficient building orientation and façade design
play a vital role. The use of sustainable materials, highly efficient
building services, water catchment and water recycling and use of
innovative strategies and technologies were all considered
and used.
“The building has a lot of mass so that it can contain its thermal
inertia, but the hot afternoon sun can be an issue,” he said.
“To help solve this problem a fully automated louvre system on
the western façade has been incorporated. The automatic
louvres respond to the movement of the sun and can reflect the
heat away from the building while maintaining natural lighting
and views.”
The mechanical design uses an active chilled beam system.
Daniel said this type of system is becoming more popular because
of the apparent savings in energy use.
The building’s ventilation equipment and attenuation for the
mechanical services was supplied by Systemaire, Fantech’s
branch in WA. This included toilet and change room exhaust,
carpark exhaust, the tenant exhaust systems, substation
ventilation and the outside air ventilation systems.
Daniel said three wind turbines had been installed on the roof to
take advantage of the diurnal sea breeze, known locally as the
Fremantle Doctor. This will allow the structure to generate its own
power for a proportion of the building, and at times to put green
energy back into the grid.
“A growing number of property developers around Australia are
committed to adopting green building practices, so there are
more buildings gaining Six Green Stars accreditation for design,”
Daniel said. “However, putting all those environmental designs
into practice is not easy, so a building that gets six green stars in
the ‘as built’ category is a real achievement.”
