Defence

Defence Support

It’s not just the Army that’s green—Defence’s Green Buildings

Defence is one of the largest property owners in Australia, with infrastructure and building assets with a replacement value of about $15 billion and an annual Capital Works Program of around $500 million. Defence is therefore uniquely placed to provide leadership by example for industry and the rest of government in many environmental and other areas. Susan Elekessy explains.

One of the first ‘green buildings’ Defence designed and constructed, the striking HQs training command building in Paddington challenged traditional building paradigms.

Enter the foyer of some modern buildings in the more progressive cities of the world, and you enter a space that has been designed to optimise the atmosphere and the working environment for the people who work there, while minimising the building’s impact on the environment.

Although there has always been a strong economic argument for making buildings energy-efficient, it has only been in more recent times that the importance of water efficiency and the recycling of building materials has been understood and these measures have become common practice. The health and wellbeing benefits of using low-emission paints and fabrics, and maximising fresh air and natural light are also now recognised as key contributors to productivity improvements.

Defence has long been a leader in the environmental arena and has a focused Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) strategy with several key goals for Defence’s buildings. The provision of healthy internal and external environments for customers, staff and contractors is a priority; the reduction of whole-of-life environmental impacts of buildings is another.

Additional key goals of the Defence ESD strategy are to reduce:

• greenhouse emissions
• water consumption
• pollution and emissions
• impact on local ecology
• use of natural resources
• generation of waste
• toxicity of materials used.

Defence also takes a collaborative approach to further research and development in the area of ESD, and is a founding member of the Green Building Council of Australia. Indeed, due to its success with some recent projects, the Green Building Council of Australia has publicly congratulated Defence on its demonstrated leadership in building ’green’, with Chief Executive Romilly Madew stating: ’The Green Building Council of Australia recognises the Department’s leadership and commitment in achieving sustainable environmental outcomes’.

The sign of Australian Excellence. One of the 5-star ratings that Defence received for the new HQ Building at RAAF Base Richmond. It received 5-star ratings for the three areas of Design, Construction and Fit-out.

Defence is also leading the field in the development of ESD guidelines for other types of buildings, so that it can better tackle the challenge of developing green hangars, workshops, stores and other types of buildings that are required to support the Australian Defence Force. Due to its commitment to sustaining Australia’s environment, Defence has developed tools that are now being embraced by industry as cutting edge.

Defence’s internal tools, developed to assist estate managers, include Green Building guidelines and targets, as well as the Defence Green Buildings Toolbox, which is available online through the department’s Infrastructure Manual found at http://intranet.defence.gov.au/im/.

New Headquarters at RAAF Richmond—Defence’s first 5-star green building

Defence has not only developed the tools for ESD, but it has put them to good use, most recently achieving a first for the Australian property industry, with the awarding of 5-star Green Star Certified Ratings for the RAAF Richmond Headquarters. Its design encompasses the lessons learnt from our first green buildings, including those at Victoria Barracks in Sydney and at Canungra in the Queensland hinterland. The new Headquarters is an important milestone in a journey to position Defence as a leader in ESD in design, development and construction.

The Headquarters building is an Australian leader in water efficiency and management, receiving a perfect 100 per cent score in these two Green Star assessment criteria. The design, construction and fit-out of RAAF Richmond Headquarters have all been awarded 5-star Green Star Certified Ratings (out of a maximum of 6 stars), which recognise Australian excellence.

To ensure that the new building at RAAF Richmond met Defence’s ESD requirements, it was necessary to challenge standard design assumptions. This is the most important aspect of successful implementation of ESD into projects, the ability to think outside the square and continually come up with innovative methods in design and construction.

Basic principles regarding occupancy patterns, space requirements, equipment, lighting levels and comfort requirements are all analysed for impacts on both the natural and human environment, and opportunities are sought to develop smarter ways to meet our requirements.

The ‘green’ features of the building include:

• the implementation of an Environmental Management Plan (EMP)
• water-efficient fixtures and fittings throughout, including waterless urinals
• rainwater collection to supplement all toilet-flushing demands
• the provision of fresh air at a rate 150 per cent above the Australian Standard requirement
• the design performing more than 20 per cent better than the Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) 5-star energy benchmark
• the provision of cycling facilities for 10 per cent of staff
• minimal use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) through the use of alternatives
• treatment of all sewage by the RAAF Richmond Base wastewater treatment plant and reuse for irrigation on the base
• the recycling of more than 65 per cent of timber used in the building, including flooring and external cladding
• the diversion of 87 per cent of construction waste away from landfill.

The opportunity at Amberley

Defence is now taking up the challenge to more broadly apply Green Building practices on redevelopments. These practices are now being applied to the $285 million program of works at RAAF Base Amberley. The redevelopment will include the design and construction of many new buildings and facilities, and key ESD principles have been applied throughout planning stages, where practical and cost-effective.

Along with their fellow units from Sydney’s Richmond Base, the Air Force members based at Amberley are under constant pressure to provide services for coalition and humanitarian support. This can include military air support currently in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the globe. The Air Force members also provide a vital service that includes recent participation in humanitarian missions in Pakistan, and even Tsunami-affected parts of Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

In addition to dealing with the high operational and exercise tempo, the planned introduction of new capability for the Air Force at Amberley is also under way, and Defence planners are taking the opportunity to ensure that ESD initiatives are being pursued throughout the planning, design and development phases.

The first step is to respond to the key areas of the ESD Design Guide for Australian Government Buildings, and Defence’s goals include:

1. Integrated design—complying with both the Green Star Office Design Tool for office buildings, and the ABGR 4.5-star rating, ensuring that ESD consultants are used throughout all stages of planning and design.
2. Social sustainability and occupant satisfaction—onus on providing natural daylight and ventilation, designing for accessibility where possible, providing a visual connection to the outdoors where possible.
3. Indoor air quality optimisation—using natural light and ventilation, where possible, and minimal indoor air pollutants in materials; installing carbon dioxide sensors; minimising noise pollution, and providing natural ventilation instead of airconditioning where possible.
4. Energy use minimisation—focus on passive design including orientation, natural lighting, shading, natural ventilation and optimal thermal insulation of buildings.
5. Transport impact minimisation—facilities for bicycles for staff.
6. Minimisation of ozone layer depletion—all refrigerants with an ozone depletion potential of zero.
7. Choice of materials—high recycled content in concrete, minimal timber usage, timber drawn from certified sustainable sources, and reduction in usage of PVC generally.
8. Waste minimisation—design using recyclable materials where possible, on-site waste management strategies appropriately considered and addressed during construction.
9. Water use reduction—waterless urinals being investigated, rainwater collection and on-site reuse for toilet flushing, and recycling of washing water within vehicle wash facility.
10. Land use and ecology—preservation of wildlife corridor along the length of the site, reuse of topsoil to revegetate associated areas, retention and reuse of stormwater on the site.

Not only are the builders and contractors committed to these principles, but so are Defence’s senior leaders. Indeed, Head Infrastructure Division in the Defence Support Group, Mr Geoff Beck, has expressed his wish for this project to set the pace, not only for Defence projects in the future, but for Australia’s building industry generally.

‘Defence is no stranger to best practice ESD and the pursuit for excellence in Green Building design and construction. The upcoming redevelopment at Amberley will take the next step for our work in the area, with Defence looking to further incorporate ESD throughout major projects.

Defence has already demonstrated its commitment by being the first in Australia to meet the 5-star Green Star Certified Rating for buildings in design, interiors and as-built, and we will continue to aim to be environmentally responsible where possible, with redevelopments such as Amberley’, said Mr Beck.

Susan Elekessy works for the Defence Heritage and Environmental Communications section of the Environment, Risk and Heritage Branch, Defence Support Group.

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