A student residential development at Monash University is the first multi unit
residential project in Australia to achieve a Green Star rating for sustainable construction.
The Briggs and Jackomos residences have achieved a Green Star – Multi Unit Residential As Built v1 rating.
They offer students low-cost housing funded through the National Rental and Affordability Scheme.
Green Building Council of Australia chief executive Romilly Madew, said the rating is an outstanding achievement.
“To achieve a Green Star design rating requires a commitment to innovation and a holistic approach to sustainable building,” she said.
Achieving an ‘As Built’ rating means actually implementing those plans and realising that vision.
“Monash University has also demonstrated that sustainability is something that can be affordable and achievable, even on a modest budget,” Madew said.
Designed in conjunction with BVN Architecture, the site comprises two five-storey buildings, each housing 300 students.
Sustainable features on the project include a greywater treatment facility, as well as a 150,000 litre water storage facility which blends greywater and rainwater.
Productive garden beds and orchards enable the students to harvest their own food.
A 153kw photovoltaic system is the largest residential solar installation in Australia.
The project team also ensured that environmental impacts were minimised through modularising and prefabricating where possible, and by sourcing environmentally sustainable materials.
Monash University’s manager of environmental sustainability, Brett Walters, said there are another two new laboratory buildings in the design or construction phase, and the university is seeking Green Star Design and As Built ratings for both.
For Emmanuelle Delomenede, ESD consultant at Norman Disney & Young, the unique challenges of this project provide a benchmark for future projects.
“The main challenge was applying the 5 Star Green Star benchmarks in the early stages of development to a student accommodation facility where environmental design was paramount,” he said.
“Incorporating innovative solutions, such as trickle ventilators to increase the provision of outside air to the dwellings, was an important factor in achieving a synergy between a Green Star rating and affordable housing.”
The Briggs and Jackomos residences were delivered ahead of schedule and budget, and has already received a number of awards including the Victorian Architecture Award for Multiple Housing 2012 and a Royal Institute of British Architects 2012 International Award.
Monash University
