High Performing Buildings - Spring 2009 - (Page 41) Szencorp Building B u i l d i n g at a g l a n c e Building name szencorp Building location 40 Albert road, south melbourne, Australia size 13,074 ft² started 2004 use office space Construction Cost $3.9 million u.s., or $304.25 u.s./ft² he majority of buildings that we live and work in are more than a few years old and not especially sustainable. The Szencorp Building was one such building — a four-story office building in South Melbourne, Australia, originally constructed in 1987 with no particular view towards sustainability. That changed in 2004, when Szencorp bought and refurbished the building. The old building relied almost entirely on artificial heating, cooling and lighting, consuming a great deal of energy. The new building features a mixed mode air-conditioning system, much greater levels of natural lighting and much more efficient mechanical systems. It is also an ongoing project — while the refurbishment was completed in late 2005, its occupants use monitors and data loggers installed throughout the building to constantly review and fine-tune the building’s performance. As a result, energy and water consumption per square foot have so far been dropping every year since the refurbishment. The building is an open book, too, as Szencorp has made the monitoring results available to the public every step of the way and has been candid about the systems that have and haven’t performed. T Façade The building has a narrow east-west floor plan. In its original incarnation, this restricted natural light penetration and discouraged the use of natural ventilation, so one of the first issues that needed addressing was changes to the façade. The original face of the building was replaced with full-height lowemissivity glass and external shading. This helps to maximize daylight penetration while also minimizing glare and heat gain. operating Cost $2.52 u.s./ft² per year (approx) distinctions include six star green star rating (equivalent to leed® Platinum); 2006 united nations Australia green Building Award; 2006 Banksia foundation Built environment Award; 2006 royal Australian institute of Architects Victorian sustainable Building Award; 2007 Property Council of Australia innovation and excellence Award for sustainable development Building team owner szencorp Project manager lascorp development group (Aust) Architects sJB Architects esd and services engineers Connell mott macdonald specialist solutions Consultant energy Conservation systems (eCs) mechanical services Contractor d&e Air Conditioning Quantity surveyor rider Hunt Builder Construction engineering HVac The building uses a mixed-mode air-conditioning system, controlled by the central building management system (BMS). A weather station on the building’s roof feeds data on external conditions directly into the BMS, which in turn automatically opens panels in either end of the façade to allow for natural ventilation when conditions are appropriate (when internal temperatures are above 77°F and external temperatures are below 66°F). The same system is also used to purge warm air at night. When required, mechanical air conditioning is supplied by a gasfired variable refrigerant flow system. The gas-fired unit generates less greenhouse gas emissions than an equivalent electric unit and also lowers electricity demand during peak tariff periods. Each floor of the office is divided into five zones. Passive infrared motion sensors connected to the BMS are installed in each zone, spring 2009 HigH Performing Buildings 41
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