This note was reviewed and approved for currency in August 2018. Passive design is a fundamental feature of good building design. Going further than just good orientation and fabric design, designers are looking to integrate natural ventilation and ...

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 in August 2018. Insulation and thermal mass are highly effective ways to reduce energy use and improve comfort in buildings. Insulation reduces the rate or speed of heat transfer through a building ...

Design strategies that may include natural, mechanical and mixed-mode forms of ventilation and/or passive cooling measures to meet thermal comfort, while contributing to energy conservation.

Strategies for optimising the use of land with respect to social, economic and environmental criteria. Includes consideration of urban form: the physical elements, pattern and density of land use and the nature of transportation within cities and ...

This note, originally published in November 2000, was reviewed by John Todd in August 2005. This summary page includes recent updates to the topic since publication. Air pollution in the sprawling Australian suburbs and many rural cities ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency in October 2018. There has been increasing reliance on mechanical heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to achieve thermal comfort in office buildings. The use of universal ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency in September 2018.  The use of double-skin facades has increased significantly over the last 10 to 15 years, primarily due to the benefits attributed to them in regard to increased energy efficiency ...

This note discusses how the quantity surveyor's skills can be harnessed in the development of environmentally sustainable design.  It focuses on the skills of managing quantity and the relationship of quantity to cost and environmental performance.

Read time: 14 minutes Nightingale 2.0 in Fairfield by Six Degrees Architects, is the second Nightingale Housing project to be completed. The goal of each Nightingale project is to provide quality urban housing to owner occupiers, with high ...