Universities need to meet students’ changing needs and they need strong business skills and design skills to do so. The end of “chalk and talk” is coupled with the drive…
Monash delivers biggest passive house building
Melbourne’s Monash University has just delivered a major first – Australia’s largest passive house building and the first multi-residential passive house structure to be constructed from cross laminated timber. Gillies…
Monash University’s “living laboratory” for zero carbon, micro-grid innovation
Melbourne’s Monash University is in a good position to become a “living laboratory” for sustainable, zero carbon, micro-grid innovation.
University labs – probably the toughest challenge of all
Universities talk about sustainability but few are doing anything to reach the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations, a leading sustainability expert has told The Fifth Estate.
Sustainable buildings – 10-years later, are they living up to the promise?
Bond University’s Mirvac School of Sustainable Development building was the first in Australia to be awarded a 6 Star Green Star Education PILOT rating when it was opened in August…
The hidden benefit of both commissioning and managing facilities
Universities are ideally positioned to commission energy efficient and inclusive buildings because they will also be responsible for managing and maintaining them, says Richard Sale, senior architect at national practice,…
Empowering schools to improve their own sustainability
School buildings and facilities, much like the rest of the rapidly ageing building stock in Australia, are becoming increasingly inefficient and costly to run. But the education sector has a…
Swinburne University shows why hydronics makes for healthier buildings
Swinburne University’s Advanced Manufacturing and Design Centre (AMDC) is unlike most educational buildings in Australia. It uses hydronics – water pipes embedded in the floors and walls – for heating…
Government Architect NSW on designing good schools
Children deserve to learn in high quality schools and the Government Architect NSW is working hard to make this happen. Discussion on education infrastructure generally focusses on the quantity of…
Uni of South Australia – how the M2 fared
When University of South Australia’s Materials and Minerals Science Building and Plasso at the Mawson Lakes campus was completed in 2011, it marked a new trajectory for the university’s approach…
How a 6-star green building becomes its own teaching resource
Working and teaching in a six star, green rated, high performance building – the Tyree Energy Technology Building at UNSW Sydney – not only provides a sustainable, healthy space, but…
Should “beauty” be a requirement for a green building?
It’s been said the Living Building Challenge rating system is the toughest standard to achieve in terms of green building credentials. Is this because of the requirement for “beauty”? Under…
Why open plan isn’t right for academia
Tertiary institutions must accommodate the unique workspace needs of academics if they are to continue to contribute productively. Australian universities, according to international ratings, are world leaders in knowledge creation…
How to best use space in today’s dynamic learning environment
While Australian universities achieve at building design and management, they must work harder at getting the most out of their buildings, says Geoff Dennis, a facilities management executive. Having visited…
Retrospective UoN: A more scientific approach to thermal comfort and natural lighting
This is an excerpt from Philip Pollard’s PHD thesis, concerning the design and construction of the Callaghan campus of the University of Newcastle (UoN) between 1990 and 2005. This section…
Green buildings in Australian universities: are we walking the walk?
What are some of the drivers and challenges for the built environment in the university sector in Australia?
People: the messy variable in the convergence of education and commerce
The worlds of commerce and education are colliding. From sharing or reusing CBD spaces to new alignments and business partnerships.
Charter Hall on what today’s universities want and how to deliver it
At Western Sydney University in Parramatta, Charter Hall is forging an exciting asset class that delivers the very best in flexible, well located educational space for universities plus their choice…
Education 4.0: the revolution hitting higher education campuses worldwide
Distance learning, micro-courses, AI tutors, shrinking lecture theatres, flexible spaces and micro-campuses: these are all ways in which higher education is responding to the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a seismic…
Charles Sturt University’s journey to carbon neutral
Going carbon neutral could be seen as an embodiment of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) adopted ethos based on the Wiradjuri people’s phrase, Yindyamarra winhanganha – the wisdom of respectfully knowing…
1PSQ at Parramatta is drawing the crowds
“Agnostic” is not a word often used to describe buildings, but it’s the favourite of Woods Bagot’s Georgia Singleton in relation to the Charter Hall/University of Western Sydney’s 14 storey…
Designing sustainable educational buildings in New Zealand
The last 10 years has seen over NZ$1.5 billion worth of new educational buildings constructed in New Zealand. While population growth, particularly in Auckland, is a factor, a significant portion…
Universities as drivers for the economy, sustainability and beneficial impact
Australian universities have never had it so good. To accommodate demand, universities in Australia are growing their building portfolios to record levels.
Curtin University: Living Campus brings real-time data to students, academics and facilities managers
When Dr Rocio Bona, planning director, properties, facilities & development at Curtin University was tasked with developing an energy management plan for the university, she asked the obvious question, “I…
2020 hindsight – the University of Melbourne’s emissions reduction journey since 2007
“The Spot”, constructed for the University of Melbourne’s Business and Economics faculty, was reported to be the first 5 Star Green Star university building in Australia. Constructed in Pelham Street,…