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 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 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.

Air Quality. To maintain good Indoor Air Quality in the apartment all paints have been specified as low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound). VOC’s are found in some paints, vinyls, plastics and adhesives used in laminates. They are the source of “that new paint smell”. They can be dangerous to humans or can cause harm to the environment.

Laundry/Bathroom. The cold-water tap over the washing machine has been connected to the rainwater tank. The recycled water runs through a UV filter, which kills germs ensuring a clean sustainable recycled water supply. A folding drying rack has been supplied to every apartment.

The Living area has been located to maximise the most amount of the sunlight and heat during winter. The Living area is connected to the balcony through large sliding back doors opening the inside to the outside space.

Nature Preservation. The Master plan of the site has been designed to preserve the Cumberland Plain Woodland Forest thereby creating a natural landscape including a naturalised pond. The pond is topped up by rainwater collected from the roofs to maintain a natural and clean body of water at all times. The site location at Kellyville takes advantage of the Rouse Hill recycled water system. Facts & Figures • All toilets suites are 4 star dual flushes.

• All mixer taps are 4 stars 7.5-l/min

WELS rated.

• All showerheads are 4 stars 7.5-l/min

WELS rated.

• Rainwater tanks on the site have the capacity to store 130,000 kilolitres of collected rainwater when all the stages have been built.

• The water is used for landscape irrigation, toilet flushing, cold water supply to the washing machine as well as topping up the pond. There is a purple recycled water tap on each balcony for watering of plants and cleaning.

• The rainwater tank is also connected to the Rouse Hill recycled water system for topping up when the storage is low.

• Hot water supply is from a central gas fired hot water plant with a 16 panel solar pre-heat system.

• Each apartment has been supplied with a Fisher & Paykel Dishwasher with a 3 Star rating.