THE GRACEWOOD COMMUNITY
How sustainable design enhances high-quality living for senior Australians WORDS :: BETTINA DEDA
Interior stylist Bettina Deda was invited to speak at an exclusive downsizing event at The Gracewood Community, Kellyville, earlier this year. When doing a tour through this new community, developed and owned by BaptistCare, she learned that it is an example for an innovative approach to providing high-quality living for seniors in an environmentally responsible manner. From the earliest concept stage sustainability principles were included into the Building Design and External Fabric as well as the Building Services. The apartments at The Gracewood Community are designed to incorporate as much solar access as possible in order to optimise light and heating from the sun. External walls are reverse brick veneer, which means the heavy thermal mass brickwork is on the inside and high levels of insulation are on the outside. In winter the thermal mass of the walls and concrete floor absorb heat from the sun during the day, store it and then release it back in to the room at night. The windows installed
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are double glazed with a high Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, which means in winter the sun’s radiant heat is allowed to enter through the glass but then is contained at nighttime. All windows have weather seals to contain air leakages. Heating and Ventilation. The air conditioning HEATING mode has been set so that when the internal temperatures reach 21° C it will cut out to save energy use and costs. The air conditioning COOLING mode has been set so that when the internal temperatures reach 26° C it will cut out to save energy use and costs. As ceiling fans cost much less than air conditioning to run, residents are encouraged to use them in winter mode to circulate heated air around the home. All apartments are designed to be double sided to allow cross ventilation breezes to run through the whole unit. In summer the heavy thermal mass external walls and concrete slabs will help absorb daytime heat from the air. In the evening, when the heat is released, cross ventilation breezes carry the heat out of the building. The sealed air gap in the double glazed windows provides a barrier that prevents WWW.THEDESIGNERCHICKS.COM.AU
heat transfer in summer as well as winter. If the outside air temperature is hot the double-glazing helps to prevent that heat being transferred through the glass and into your home. North facing window shading is horizontal to block high summer sun but allow low winter sun. East and west facing window shading is both horizontal and vertical to block low altitude early morning and late afternoon summer.
