Section J of the National Construction Code (NCC) Volume One codifies minimum glazing thermal performance measures for both facade vision glazing and roof lights. NCC 2019 contained the first major revision to the Section J measures in nine years. A ...

Read time: 18 minutes Water is necessary for human survival, but it is also a key ingredient in the production of construction projects. Increasing water scarcity means that we must reduce water use and improve water efficiencies across all human ...

This note, originally published in August 2000, was reviewed by Stephen Pupilli in June 2005. Energy consumption related to Australia's non-residential buildings is expected to double between 1990 and 2010, unless a comprehensive program of energy ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency in August 2018.  This paper describes how green roofs influence the energy performance of a hypothetical commercial office building in each of the Australian Building Code Board’s eight climate zones ...

Environmental design is in the broadest sense, the human response to the understanding that we are a part of our environment. This is the design realisation that ecology matters.  This area of human endeavour has undergone a rapid transformation in ...

This note provides building design professionals and other green-building stakeholders with an overview of the complex interrelationships which must be managed if green buildings are to deliver improved human productivity.  The note gives a brief ...

This is one of three companion papers taken from a study that assesses the comparative costs of urban redevelopment with the costs of greenfield development. The first paper, The costs of urban sprawl – infrastructure and transportation, showed that ...

Read time: 25 minutes The residential building sector is a significant contributor to carbon footprint and climate change. This is primarily due to operational energy consumption derived from fossil fuels, and the impact of embodied carbon in ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency by the Author in September 2018. Without the virtually free services of nature like clean air and water, humans would not last long. Natural systems can be incorporated in existing urban structures or ...

Wood products are a staple of the construction sector, and are important in delivering environmentally preferable projects. However the sustainability of many wood products remains difficult to assess.  This note overviews key issues and considers ...