Shaping Australia: Issue17, The Winter Edition

Shaping 17 issue

A Meinhardt Australia Magazine www.meinhardt.com.au

The Winter Edition Inner City Chic: Next Generation Boutique Apartments Internal Amenity: One for All, All for One? Overcoming Constraints for Urban Renewal July 2015

01 | INTRODUCTION

Message From The Top Welcome to the Winter Edition of Shaping Australia.

Depending on what paper you read, there may or may not be a housing bubble.

While there may be a greater degree of caution currently, we are certainly seeing a continued appetite for residential development nationwide from inner-city infill to large greenfield communities.

In this issue, we look at some of the challenges of both, as well as the apartment size debate.

Whatever the state of the market, the quality of housing and apartments will always be an important issue.

Denis Young, Managing Director – Australia denis.young@meinhardtgroup.com

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

Contents New Ideas

27.

02.

03.

General News Awards and appointments Environmentally Sustainable Facades Building envelopes’ role in sustainable built environments Rising Sea Levels And Sinking Buildings: What Gives?

Engineers have more to consider now than ever before

05.

05.

19.

Internal Amenity, One For All, Or All For One? Occupant comfort and experience, not the boy band

Case Studies

09.

15.

17.

19.

21.

Building A Greater Springfield GE’s new $55m headquarters Ryan & Leveson Adding value to residential apartments

03.

through engineering ideas West Ryde Village A new place to live and work The Gardens, Chirnside Overcoming the Challenges of Site Constraints Torrens University Integrating the new with the old

Events

13.

17.

3 days of Great Places PIA Planning Congress 2015 imagin8

The seminar series for new ideas that work SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

03 | NEW IDEAS

Rising Sea Levels & Sinking Buildings: What Gives?

Rennie Darmanin Discipline Leader – Structures (Aus) rennie.darmanin@meinhardtgroup.com

A

ccording to a recent article in Australian Popular Science, a study of satellite imagery in the aftermath of the first Nepal earthquake has found that part of the Himalayan Mountain range has dropped about 1.5 metres whilst the area around Kathmandu has risen by the same amount.

It is believed that these movements are the result of tectonic rebound, where the release of energy associated with the earthquake allows the meshing plates to slip and rebound.

The article suggests that as the process continues, the Himalayas and Kathmandu will settle back into place.

But this begs the question, what is the right place?

Building designers, particularly structural engineers, go to great effort to design buildings that move as little as possible, if at all. We look for solid founding on mother earth and design our buildings and infrastructure to rest ‘on solid ground’. We assume that, adequately tied to solid ground, our built form will be safe and functional for its entire design life, usually considered to be 50 years, and possibly beyond.

But increasingly, building designers need to consider the implications of changes to things that we thought would never change. The need for this has recently been highlighted in two projects I am currently involved with. This need was brought to light, not as a result of SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

earthquake induced ground movement, but because of rising sea levels.

A low-rise retail development located in Footscray is currently being designed. As with many developments in this area, the design has to deal with subsurface conditions associated with Coode Island silt, a highly compressible material with anticipated settlements of 5mm per year indefinitely into the future.

Being low rise and with intensive services reticulation, a stiffened floating raft slab was initially considered, rather than a conventional piled solution, primarily to minimise the risks associated with differential settlement of services and pavements transitioning from the hard piled platform to the surrounding settling ground.

Being in a flood prone area, the Town Planning permit required the floor level to be set to satisfy Melbourne Water requirements. In the Melbourne Water document “Planning for Sea Level Rise – Guidelines”, dated 5 June 2012, the current (at the time) 100 year flood level associated with Port Philip Bay is set at Australian Height Datum (AHD) 1.6m.

However, to deal with predicted sea level rise, the applicable 2040 100-year flood level is set at AHD 1.8m and the level predicted for 2100 is AHD 2.4m.

Melbourne Water instructed the design team to provide finished floor levels at a minimum of 2.4m to AHD.

To satisfy this requirement for a design life of 50 years on this site meant at least an additional 250mm of height needed to be added to the floor level so that after 50 years of settlement, the floor remained above AHD 2.4m The economic implications of raising all building and pavement levels to satisfy this requirement tipped the optimum foundation design solution back to piles.

The second project involved extending an aged care development that is situated in an overland flow path for 100-year floods. Once again, the issue became ‘which 100-year flood?’ 2040 or 2100?

The extent and height of the flood plain has significant impact on the siting of the proposed development and the level at which the floor level is set.

Sounds simple, but the implications can have significant impact on the extent of flood prone land that can be built on.

If additional hydrological studies are required to establish new flood plains in particular areas for particular developments, this can have time and cost implications for a project.

Perhaps the most famous international example of rising sea-levels and sinking buildings is Venice, Italy.

Venice’s subsidence was recognized as a major issue decades ago, when scientists realized that pumping groundwater from beneath the city, combined with the ground’s compaction from centuries of building, was causing the city to settle.

Although groundwater pumping was stopped and with it apparently the subsidence, new research has shown that natural forces – tectonic plates – are continuing to cause the city to sink, while the compaction of the sediments beneath Venice also remains a factor.

Climate change has seen floods occur more frequently along Venice’s canals with residents having to walk on wooden planks to stay above the floodwaters in large parts of the city about four or five times a year. Barriers have been designed to protect the city from tides but designers, engineers and builders need to still take into account the rate of subsidence to make sure the barriers can do their job.

Venice subsided about 120 mm in the 20th century due to natural processes and groundwater extraction, while in parallel there was a sea level rise of about 110 mm.

Researchers calculate that the city and surrounding land could sink by about 80 mm (3.2 inches) relative to the sea in the next 20 years if the same rate continues.

For those of you developing in Melbourne, I strongly recommend you read the Melbourne Water document referred to above. It is freely available from the Melbourne Water website, and may help to keep your head, and your building, above water.

As an aside the original 1.6m AHD flood level is a rounding up of a level of 1.52m AHD recorded in 1934, only 80 years ago!

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

05 | NEW IDEAS

Internal Amenity: One For All and All For One? The ‘Better Apartments’ Debate.

Jo Harrison Associate - Planning jo.harrison@meinhardtgroup.com

I

nternal amenity is delicate, multifaceted and, most of all, subjective. The uncertainly and often changing goal posts as to what is an ‘appropriate level of internal amenity’ have long created frustration within the development community. Perhaps as a response to this or, despite all of this, the recent proposition by the new State Government for apartment standards has prompted a lot of new debate and opinion on all things ‘internal amenity’.

Craig Yelland, Director of Plus Architecture, wrote an article for Urban Melbourne recently which demonstrates there is some heavy opposition to a new apartment code by well-respected and highly capable architects that continue to deliver a highly desirable product across the market.

There are also whispers of support, particularly from decision makers who want a transparent process and some defined ‘standards’ for applications to be assessed against.

As a former local government planner and appeals advocate, I have sat on both sides of the fence. There is no doubt that internal amenity has been high on the agenda for local and state government planners and VCAT over the past few years. The uncertainty and inconsistencies

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

between the different decision makers often forces applications into VCAT, creating unnecessary time delays and costs onto developers.

Perhaps this is the latest Government’s answer to the questions the decision makers have been asking for some time. What is an appropriate level of internal amenity? Do smaller apartments automatically equate to having lesser amenity?

The release of the better apartments discussion paper is at least start to address the ambiguity.

The benefit of a code with performance measures is that it provides guidance for decision makers and greater certainty for developers and architects. The expectations of decision makers will become more aligned, which will in turn reduce timeframes for planning applications that get caught up in the system due to subjective and overzealous concerns raised by individual planners or urban designers.

A reduced timeframe for decision making is urgently needed.

However, a balance should be struck between common sense, which allows for innovation and appropriate design responses, and prescriptive planning policy, which provides certainty. If policy is too restrictive, innovative architecture, affordable options and public benefit often achieved through ‘pushing the boundaries’ will be compromised. Flexibility and reasonableness must still be exercised.

image: Jo’s travels though a neighbourhood in Havana, Cuba Internal amenity is ultimately translated into the comfort and experience of the occupant, and to a certain extent what may be preferential to one person may not be to another. We can often trust the good architects to get the balance right and ensure that each apartment is afforded good internal amenity, but for others, the fundamentals of designing a dwelling are often overlooked. This raises the question: ‘what is the minimum comfort level?’ Does a code ensure that this minimum level is provided or does it thwart innovative design and ability for occupants to exercise their personal preference?

This brings me to the often blanket approach to no borrowed light. Borrowed light doesn’t mean poor design or amenity. It provides an option.

In a one bedroom apartment, for example, an occupant type would consist of one or two persons, none of which require privacy. The bedroom is for sleeping in; most people desire to sleep in the dark. If the owner/occupant market wants borrowed light, build it when appropriate.

There are so many successful examples.

Generally speaking Melbourne’s apartment market is a mature one. Buildings should be designed to offer a diverse range of dwellings to suit the needs of different people and price points. If all one bedroom apartments are 50sqm, does it provide housing diversity?

Does a code need to specify that a diversity of apartments should be provided in each development i.e. percentage of one, two and

three bedroom apartments. The market will be guided by profitability and demand may not always be met.

During a recent visit to Havana, Cuba, I became very philosophical about our planning regulations and way of life in Melbourne. In Havana (and obviously many other parts of the world), dwellings are small, comprise small or no balconies, and living areas are orientated to the street (not to the rear with a back yard). Residents leave their windows and doors open inviting interaction with the outside world; life, music, love, laughter, all the ingredients of a high quality way of life. It reminded me that small places to live can prompt activity and eyes on the street, creating safe and vibrant places.

Do we need a heavily prescriptive code or should it ask questions? Meeting the ResCode standard doesn’t always result in a good amenity or a site responsive outcome given it applies Melbourne wide, but it does provide guidance. Merits based assessment is how planning operates in Victoria and it is successful in the hands of a good decision maker.

A new standard for apartments should be developed in consultation with the industry, including developers, real estate agents and architects who have a here and now understanding of the market demands and development costs. An apartment is a home, it shouldn’t just be an organisation of its parts.

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

07 | EVENTS

imagin8 is a series of educational seminars designed to share the latest global thinking in the built environment space.

Inner-city Chic: Next Generation Boutique Apartments

In partnership with

Our Speakers

T

all buildings are getting all the press but they take time to deliver. With more infill sites being unlocked, smaller mixed-use developments are on the rise and the appetite for high quality inner city boutique apartments continues to grow. So what’s next?

That was the discussion amongst a select group of architects, developers and project managers at out latest imagin8 networking seminar held in Melbourne. It is a debate relevant across the country and we will be holding similar events in our other offices.

To register your interest to attend and/or to receive copies of the Melbourne presentations, please email justin.farmer@meinhardtgroup.com

Richard Drummond Director–Residential Project Marketing, Knight Frank richard.drummond@au.knightfrank.com New Global Trends in Residential Development

“ Good discussion points and to network. ”

Feedback from our imagin8 seminar.

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

Tom Harrington Associate Director–Planning, Meinhardt tom.harrington@meinhardtgroup.com

Ivano Piubellini Discipline Leader–Property & Buildings ivano.piubellini@meinhardtgroup.com

Jon Shinkfield Founding Director, REALMstudios jon.shinkfield@realmstudios.com

Boutique Apartments: A Successful Planning Formula

New Engineering Ideas That Work

Liveability and Amenity: Return on Green Space

opportunity

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

09 | CASE STUDY

Building A Greater Springfield The new GE HQ building is part of the new Greater Springfield urban development, 30 minutes south of Brisbane CBD. By 2030, Greater Springfield is expecting an equivalent population of over 100,000 in a sustainable urban and business hub.

Luke Taylor

State Leader – Property & Buildings (QLD) luke.taylor@meinhardtgroup.com

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

11 | CASE STUDY

T

he $55m GE HQ is a 15,000m² office building consisting of six storeys with two levels of basement carparking. The building has been designed to achieve a 5-star Green Star As Built rating as well as the operating potential for a 4-star NABERS rating, all whilst meeting PCA ‘A’ Grade standards.

As the Design & Construct Contractor, Kane Constructions engaged Conrad Gargett Architecture to undertake base building design, and Meinhardt (QLD) to provide civil and structural engineering services.

GE HQ is laid out in an L-shape to maximise staffs’ visual exposure to connecting parklands. The build comprises pre-cast concrete panels with aluminium-framed windows and vertical, aluminium sunshading panels extending from the facade.

This, together with its signature plaza roof, balances strong architectural form and a

high level of transparency, acknowledging the Queensland climate and limiting strong sun penetration into the building.

“We came up with an idea to design the Atrium roof framing on Level 5 over an area of 25m by 35m without any intermediate columns,” said Luke Taylor, Project Director.

“It was a challenging feat of engineering.”

In order to maintain the architect’s requirement of having a flush ceiling, a series of steel trusses were introduced which were positioned above the roof ceiling level. The main truss spans 30m, supporting two secondary trusses each spanning 16m, with three cranked trusses around the perimeter.

A low maintenance façade using precast concrete, aluminium framed glazing, aluminium spandrel panels and aluminium sunshading ensure maintenance costs are kept to a minimum. The use of dark

coloured, precast concrete façade panels topped by a large over-sailing roof produces a strong visual building signature. The building is overlaid with a system of sunshades.

Sustainable design principles have been applied to reduce maintenance and operating costs, such as reducing air conditioning needs through limiting sun penetration into the building. ESD principles were also applied to the build, for example incorporating the use of green concrete.

“We assisted Kane Constructions in optimising the construction program, by designing the shear wall elements as Precast Concrete Panels in lieu of more traditional lateral stability elements such as in-situ concrete or masonry block,” said Luke. “The Precast Panel system worked well with the post-tensioned flat slab system adopted for the suspended floor system.”

“ The project was completed 6 weeks ahead of schedule and 10% under budget. ”

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

13 | EVENTS

Great Places Thought leaders discuss the concept at this year’s PIA Planning Conference.

Alicia Burnett Senior Consultant–Planning alicia.burnett@meinhardtgroup.com

T

he annual Planning Congress provides more than 600 planners and allied professionals from throughout Australia and around the world an opportunity to engage with world leaders on current urban and regional planning issues. This year’s event held in Melbourne featured keynote speakers from Singapore, New York and London. The theme of Great Places allowed an opportunity to explore the tangible ingredients of ‘great places’, and an opportunity to discuss current issues with fellow experts in the field.

The program included a study tour to Sunshine, Victoria, the focus of a current revitalisation program and the site of MetroWest. Metrowest is a strategic site in the Sunshine Activity Centre and the first high-density mixed-use development for the area that was guided through the planning process by Meinhardt’s Planning team. Other key aspects of the program included presentations from the Victorian Minister for Planning, the Hon. Richard Wynne, and the Director of Housing and Urban Planning from the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, Shang Jing.

While always a successful and engaging event, this year the Planning Congress featured something particularly appealing, the Meinhardt Social Hangout. As Social Sponsor to the Planning Congress, Meinhardt ensured each participant was able to take full advantage of the opportunities to meet more casually with associated professionals. Each social event was well attended, with the ‘Meinhardt Cocktail’ being particularly well received by all attendees.

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

15 | CASE STUDY

Ryan & L

Two medium-rise buildings hous basement carpark levels, plus an courtyard and

Developer: PDG Architect: disegno australia Landscape Architect: FORMium Builder: Hamilton Marino Builders Other: Owners Corporation Management (OCM) Melcorp Property

Michael Brand Senior Structural Engineer michael.brand@meinhardtgroup.com

T

his project had some tricky latent conditions that required flexible thinking and engineering. For example, we arranged for a Ramset representative to attend site and conduct insitu pullout tests to anchors on an existing brick wall, free of charge. The results of this testing allowed the fixing detail for over 500 anchors to be simplified, which delivered a substantial time and cost saving at the start of the project.

In conjunction with Hamilton Marino, we were able to minimise precast walls on the project with a 3D ETABS model to allow analysis of the loads paths.

SHAPING | BOUTIQUE RESIDENTIAL–JULY 2015

Leveson

sing 96 apartments with 2 and ½ n extensively landscaped central d roof terrace.

“ Meinhardt in collaboration with Hamilton Marino

Builders were able to save significant construction time and cost by minimising the use of expensive precast walls throughout the project. Meinhardt’s Project Leader was very easy to approach for advice and design solutions onsite particularly when dealing with complicated existing conditions.

–Nick Duncan, Project Manager - Hamilton Marino Builders

”

SHAPING | BOUTIQUE RESIDENTIAL–JULY 2015

17 | CASE STUDY

West Ryde Urban Village A new place to live a work.

Rod Wong Associate Director rod.wong@meinhardtgroup.com

T

he West Ryde Town Centre is being upgraded to provide a safe and attractive mixed-use precinct with facilities for living, working and community services, and public events to meet the needs of the local cummunity.

The Mixed Development component involves the staged construction of a seven storey residential apartment building over a three storey podium with ground floor retail and two basement carparking levels.

The major retail tenant is Coles Supermarket Limited which occupies over 4,000 square metres of floor plate.

“ Meinhardt has successfully provided professional structural

engineering services for the Central Square, West Ryde development. We would like to thank Rod Wong and his team for their hard work delivering thorough and timely engineering services for the duration of the project. The high quality of service provided

by Meinhardt has contributed to practical completion being achieved 3 months ahead of program and already positive reviews from residents who have moved into the development.

James Aspinall–Site Engineer, Toga Constructions NSW Pty Ltd SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

”

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

19 | CASE STUDY

Overcoming Constraints for Urban Renewal The trend towards Urban Renewal and Infill development is clear throughout the capital cities of Australia.

Scott Carne Senior Civil Engineer scott.carne@meinhardtgroup.com

C

lients are seeking sites in the current hot market and competition is making easily developed sites harder to acquire. While there are still a lot of sites suitable for urban renewal some of the available sites are becoming more costly to develop. This is due mainly to the following:

• Planning Constraints imposed by authorities including densities, heritage or other overlays • Environmental Constraints requiring remediation of sites

• Servicing Constraints: Increases in density can put pressure on existing infrastructure such as drainage, sewer, water and electricity around urban renewal and infill sites

• Access Constraints: Increased traffic can put pressure on local roads and car parking

• Site Constraints: Topography of site can result in design challenges for higher density sites.

All of the above could be discussed in great detail, however the following case study will focus on the Site Constraints category.

SHAPING | BOUTIQUE RESIDENTIAL–JULY 2015

The Gardens, Chirnside Park Meinhardt have been involved in several medium density infill projects over the past five years. These sites all come with their own challenges. One particularly challenging site topographically is Sunland’s, The Gardens, 176 town home development in Chirnside Park. This 6.3 hectare site has a substantial 20m change in elevation from one corner to another resulting in an average grade of 1 in 18. The Sunland product requires flat town house sites that are 200-250m2 in size. The challenge therefore was how to get the site topography to work to enable feasible development of the site.

Meinhardt worked with the client and specialist consultants to develop the optimum earthwork strategy for the site.

This included developing five different retaining wall types for the various areas of the development that were at different cost and aesthetic brackets as follows: • Dry Rock Stack Walls: Highly aesthetic curved rock

existing site frontage surrounding the new council reserve; • Concrete Sleeper Retaining Walls: Located around lot boundaries; • Vegetated Earth Retaining Walls: Curved Tensar type earth waxsls constructed in reserve areas that double as green walls; • Concrete Shotcrete Walls: Shotcrete walls up to 3.5m in height on site boundary in backyards of town home lots; • Timber Retaining Walls: Constructed in areas that required less than 400mm of retaining Construction of the project is progressing with town home building works recently commenced. This innovative design approach on a constrained site is another representation of Meinhardt Practical Imagination at work.

faced walls were constructed without mortar on the SHAPING | BOUTIQUE RESIDENTIAL–JULY 2015

21 | TOPIC HEADING

Torrens University Integrating the old with the new is the theme for Torrens University project.

Bob Ellis State Leader–Property & Buildings bob.ellis@meinhardtgroup.com

A

t Torrens University, our multi-disciplinary engineering team worked with MPH Architects to help create a new campus within the historic building previously known as the Menz Biscuit Factory – built between 1878 and 1946. Central to the campus are 3 x multipurpose teaching spaces with the ability to open in to 1 large space. Acknowledgement and respect for the historic fabric of the building combined with an honest expression of materials and finishes have been integral to the design.

Air conditioning outside air supply is pre-treated in Climate Wizard units. These units use a evaporative cooling process to generate cooled water, which is then circulated through a cooling coil to dry cool outside air before supply to the air conditioning units. Significant cooling capacity is saved by precooling outside air prior to supply into the building.

Outside air supply to air conditioning units is automatically regulated

by EcoHVAC constant airflow regulators. When outside air is controlled by fixed dampers then too much or too little outside air is often supplied to spaces resulting in energy waste or poor indoor conditions. The automatic constant airflow regulators are selfregulating and always supply the design quantities of outside air.

LED lighting is used extensively throughout the tenancy resulting in significant energy savings.

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

“The design team for the Torrens University project faced a number of challenges with the existing and historic fabric of the building which was originally the Menz biscuit factory. Meinhardt responded to the challenges accordingly and the end result is a fully integrated architectural and services solution maintaining the integrity of the building.”

–Maureen Fry, MPH Architects

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

23 | NEW IDEAS

Environmentally Sustainable Facades

Mathieu Meur Managing Director – Meinhardt Facade Technology mathieu.meur@meinhardtgroup.com

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

Building envelopes play one of the most important roles in the sustainable built environment.

For the interior to work effectively the design of the exterior is crucial, conversely an environmentally responsive façade is reliant on the efficient design of the guts of a building.

T

he building envelope is a significant contributor to heat gains and losses for buildings. The actual percentage obviously depends on many factors, including orientation, building location, etc. but can be as high as 30% or more. This simple fact highlights the need for a concerted design of building façades between the architect, façade consultant, ESD consultant and mechanical engineer.

Simple decisions at an early stage have the greatest impact on the overall envelope performance, at the lowest possible cost.

For instance, selecting the optimal building orientation has very little cost implication, if any at all, while having massive effect on the energy bill of the building. Similarly, adopting optimal window-to-wall ratio can allow outside views and harnessing of daylight, while severely reducing heat transfer, all of it at virtually no cost to the developer.

A number of such strategies can be implemented, but all require the early involvement of the façade and ESD consultants right from concept stage.

Working with the façade consultant, the ESD consultant may deploy a number of tools, such as whole building energy modelling and ROI computations, to test various combinations of façade materials and performance, shading strategies, window-to-wall ratios, etc. so as to assess the most viable solution for a specific building.

Once again, this requires teamwork and close coordination between the architect, façade consultant, ESD consultant and mechanical engineer.

Occupant comfort is another area where the project façade and ESD consultants must work closely together. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the building is livable, and pleasant to its occupants. For residential buildings, this may involve carrying our CFD studies in order to determine the optimal opening sizes and locations, so as to harness available wind to cool internal spaces at no or minimal cost.

For commercial spaces, the aim is to achieve thermal and visual comfort, ensuring that building occupants, especially those located close to the façades, are not subjected to excessive radiant heat or glare. Specific tools are available to ESD consultants to carry out such studies.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, the performance of building façades has progressed tremendously.

“However, when looking at how much headway has been made in other industries within the same timeframe, I believe that much more can be done,” said Mathieu Meur, Managing Director of Meinhardt Façade Technology.

“Encouragingly, the importance of the building envelope in the heat gains or losses of buildings is such that there currently is abundant research into new building materials and technologies to further improve on presently available materials.”

“The advent of thin-film coatings, phase-changing materials and other high-tech strategies is certainly encouraging, and giving additional time, I am confident that much higher performance at reduced costs will be achieved,” Meur added.

In Practice CREATE (Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise) is a precedent-setting, scientific research centre located at the National University of Singapore’s University Town campus. It encompasses three mid-rise buildings and a high-rise tower.

Building envelopes play one of the most important roles in the sustainable built environment. For the interior to work effectively the design of the exterior is crucial, conversely an environmentally responsive façade is reliant on the efficient design of the guts of a building.

“ The building envelope is a

significant contributor to heat gains and losses for buildings. The actual percentage obviously depends on many factors…but can be as high as 30% or more.

”

The building envelope is a significant contributor to heat gains and losses for buildings. The actual percentage obviously depends on many factors, including orientation, building location, but can be as high as 30% or more. This simple fact highlights the need for a concerted design of building façades between the architect, façade consultant, ESD consultant and mechanical engineer.

For instance, selecting the optimal building orientation has very little cost implication, if any at all, while having massive effect on the energy bill of the building. Similarly, adopting optimal window-to-wall ratio can allow outside views and harnessing of daylight, while severely reducing heat transfer, all of it at virtually no cost to the developer.

A number of such strategies can be implemented, but all require the early involvement of the façade and ESD consultants right from concept stage.

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

25 | NEW IDEAS

images 1. Create NUS 2. Annual Sun Path over the building 3. Effect of Sunshade Depth

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

Working with the façade consultant, the ESD consultant may deploy a number of tools, such as whole building energy modelling and ROI computations, to test various combinations of façade materials and performance, shading strategies, window-to-wall ratios, etc. so as to assess the most viable solution for a specific building.

Once again, this requires teamwork and close coordination between the architect, façade consultant, ESD consultant and mechanical engineer.

Occupant comfort is another area where the project façade and ESD consultants must work closely together. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the building is liveable, and pleasant to its occupants. For residential buildings, this may involve carrying our CFD studies in order to determine the optimal opening sizes and locations, so as to harness available wind to cool internal spaces at no or minimal cost.

For commercial spaces, the aim is to achieve thermal and visual comfort, ensuring that building occupants, especially those located close to the façades, are not subjected to excessive radiant heat or glare. Specific tools are available to ESD consultants to carry out such studies.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, the performance of building façades has progressed tremendously.

“However, when looking at how much headway has been made in other industries within the same timeframe, I believe that much more can be done,” said Mathieu Meur, Managing Director of Meinhardt Façade Technology. “Encouragingly, the importance of the building envelope in the heat gains or losses of buildings is such that there currently is abundant research into new building materials and technologies to further improve on presently available materials.”

“The advent of thin-film coatings, phase-changing materials and other high-tech strategies is certainly encouraging, and giving additional time, I am confident that much higher performance at reduced costs will be achieved,” Meur added.

In Practice CREATE (Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise) is a precedent-setting, scientific research centre located at the National University of Singapore’s University Town campus. It encompasses three mid-rise buildings and a high-rise tower.

The building itself is orientated along an East-West axis, with long, glazed façades on the North and South elevations to harness daylight with minimal heat penetration, and with short, solid sides along the East and West for minimal heat gain.

Natural lighting and thermal modelling simulations were run to assess the best possible length of sunshades to use on the façade, to achieve an optimal balance between daylight and heat penetration.

Daylight levels within the building were calculated using a uniform design sky.

As the name suggests, the uniform design sky model represents a sky with a constant value of luminance across the entire hemisphere. Therefore, no matter where in the sky you look, the model will return the same value of luminance.

Design Sky values are derived from a statistical analysis of dynamic outdoor sky illuminance levels. They represent the horizontal illuminance value that is exceeded 85% of the time between the hours of 9am and 5pm throughout the year. Thus they also represent a worst-case scenario that can be designed to; ensuring the building will meet the desired light levels at least 85% of the time.

For the thermal modelling an annual model simulation was run, which means it takes into account weather conditions, sun positions and sky conditions from every hour of the year.

This showed that there was only a 3.1% increase in total heat gain when reducing the sunshade length to 0.6 m, and a total 5.6% increase when reducing to 0.4 m.

Since the energy input ratio of the HVAC cooling equipment for this project was at most 0.185 (COP = 5.4), a 3.1% increase in heat gain equates to only 0.6% increase in cooling energy use, and a 5.6% increase in heat gain equates to 1.0% or less increase in cooling energy use.

This increase in cooling energy is however offset by the increased levels of daylight light within the building due to the smaller sunshade. More daylight means less artificial lighting, which also mean less lighting heat load in the building. These two effects make up for the 1.2% increase in cooling energy consumption.

The outcome therefore taken was that the sunshades’ length was reduced from the original intent of 1,200mm down to only 400mm. This was better for the envelope performance (smaller frames), preferred by the architect in terms of aesthetics, reduced the amount of building material used and saved the client about S$1m in capex, with no increase in opex.

The relationship between façade, ESD and building services is intrinsically linked to delivering optimized environmentally responsive building envelopes.

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

27 | GENERAL NEWS

Senior Appointments

Valentine Sports Park Completion

Ivano Piubellini, Associate Director – Building Services (AUS) ivano.piubellni@meinhardtgroup.com | P: +61 3 8676 1203 Ivano has carried out roles as project leader and lead mechanical designer for a diverse range of projects including aircraft maintenance hangars, airport terminal buildings, and airport thermal infrastructure design and development. His experience also includes accommodation facilities, laboratories, telecommunications facilities, archives buildings, auditoriums, TV and radio studios, industrial and commercial buildings.

His specialist skills include the design of aircraft maintenance plant and systems, design of high temperature hot water heating systems, design of central thermal plant and design of reticulated site thermal distribution systems.

Dave Race, Sector Leader–Aviation dave.race@meinhardtgroup.com | P: 61 8676 1289 Dave is a career aviation professional with a broad range and extensive experience across the industry. He has formal qualifications in aircraft engineering and holds a current commercial pilot’s licence with instructor, instrument and night ratings.

With some 35 plus years within the industry he is highly experienced in negotiating with all levels of management in airlines, airports, regulatory authorities and other government agencies. He is well known for his hands on approach and strategic thinking in achieving outcomes that drive both commercial and technical solutions to deliver exceptional results for his clients. He has headed two global consulting firms as Global Business Leader - Aviation and has the ability to understand the client requirements in relation to budgets, program and outcomes.

Anthony Donald, Director–Aviation anthony.donald@meinhardtgroup.com | P: 61 8676 1429 Anthony has over 20 years of experience in the Infrastructure Asset Management and Project Delivery environment, including 6 years in senior Project Delivery roles at Melbourne Airport Anthony has extensive experience in Infrastructure Asset Management following 10 years in local government and successful involvement in the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) STEP Asset Management Program.

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

The $22 million dollar redevelopment provides improved and expanded facilities for country NSW, interstate and international teams to play and train.

The project was designed by HBO+EMTB Architecture and built by Taylors. Meinhardt provided structural, civil and building services engineering.

The primary requirement was the design and construction of a 9,000 sqm, 3 level multi-use building to include office headquarters for Football NSW, spectator stadium and indoor amenities, replacing the two small grandstands on the site.

FFA CEO David Gallop has welcomed the state-of-theart facility: “Valentine Sports Park is going to be a birthplace for champions, but it’s also going to be a place where men and women, boys and girls can play the game for fun in a fantastic facility.”

It is estimated over 200,000 people will pass through the venue every year.

Meinhardt Scoops Major Facade Wins

Meinhardt has been appointed by Hickory Group as façade consultant for MAB Corporation’s twin tower, New Quay Promenade project in Melbourne’s Docklands.

Engaged to provide design and shop drawings, the team will also assist with the construction phase services for the residential-led development designed by architects Woods Bagot.

The Aqui Tower (Bronze tower) consists of 277 apartments over 23 levels and measuring 76 meters to the top of the crown.

The Promenade Tower (Silver tower) consists of 160 apartments over 19 levels measuring 65 metres to the top of the crown.

All apartments feature floor to ceiling windows.

Other features include a common 5 storey podium housing resort-like facilities and 4-level car park, Both towers will be constructed in a single project program with completion scheduled for October 2016.

Meinhardt has been appointed by BPM Construction and Development Group as façade consultant for Shadow Play Project on Melbourne’s Southbank.

The team will provide façade and BMU concept design, specification, tender documentation and contract documentation. They will also assist BPM and architect Elenberg Fraser in the construction phase.

Shadow Play features 46 levels of 546 apartments above a 9 level podium.

The podium and tower both carry a subtle rippling façade which give the tower its name. Optimising the efficiency of the façade solution is integral to helping deliver both a successful commercial and architectural outcome.

SHAPING | WINTER EDITION–JULY 2015

29 | TOPIC HEADING

Your Contacts

Denis Young

Jon Brock

Luke Taylor

Bob Ellis

Tom Harrington

Jason Murdoch

Amelia Russo

Tony Douglas

Michael White

Steve Dunstone

Dr. Santo Ragusa

Mathew Burke

Ivano Piubellini

Brendan Smith

Managing Director – (Aus) denis.young@meinhardtgroup.com

State Leader - Land Development (VIC) tom.harrington@meinhardtgroup.com

Discipline Leader - Civil Infrastructure michael.white@meinhardtgroup.com

Associate Director - Building Services ivano.piubellini@meinhardtgroup.com

Feedback

National Director - Land Development (Aus) jon.brock@meinhardtgroup.com

State Leader - Property & Buildings (QLD) luke.taylor@meinhardtgroup.com

State Leader - Land Development (QLD) Associate Director–Environment jason.murdoch@meinhardtgroup.com amelia.russo@meinhardtgroup.com

Discipline Leader - Civil steve.dunstone@meinhardtgroup.com

Discipline Leader – Project & Programme Management brendan.smith@meinhardtgroup.com

If you have any queries about the content in the magazine, please contact: Justin Farmer PR and Marketing Manager – (Aus) justin.farmer@meinhardtgroup.com

Discipline Leader Environmental Services santo.ragusa@meinhardtgroup.com

Rennie Darmanin

Discipline Leader - Structures rennie.darmanin@meinhardtgroup.com

State Leader - Property & Buildings (SA) bob.ellis@meinhardtgroup.com

General Manager - Facades Australia tony.douglas@meinhardtgroup.com

Discipline Leader - Property & Buildings (NSW) mathew.burke@meinhardtgroup.com