This note was reviewed and approved for currency in October 2018. In the Australian subtropics, high rainfall, warm weather and humidity present unique challenges and opportunities for the architects tasked with designing eco-sensitive projects. The ...

This note has been written to show firstly, where lighting design fits into the overall sustainability context, and secondly, to show how lighting design forms an integral part of that sustainable context. It does not detail design techniques or ...

Put simply, solar access is the availability of sunlight to a property. For architects, the need to consider solar access in the overall design of a structure is two-fold: Firstly, the structure must be designed and situated on the property to ...

As Australia faces a number of challenges, including water shortages, rising fuel costs, expanding population and insufficient land, resources and services to support it in a sustainable manner, there is a growing need to address these issues, adapt ...

This note discusses the difficulties currently being experienced in implementing Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) from a development perspective. It looks at what motivates developers and examines what is needed, either through mandatory ...

This note was reviewed in September 2018 and has been retained for legacy. This article describes the upgrade of an existing government building, 55 St Andrews Place in Melbourne’s Treasury Reserve, utilising an unconventional design process and ...

Building T at Deakin University, Burwood in Victoria was designed by DesignInc.  The development, located in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, utilises thermal mass and hybrid ventilation systems.  This case study provides a detailed evaluation of the ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency in September 2018. Sydney is not short of terraces and semis that have been completely reworked with a modernist treatment. They are filled with light, planned for contemporary living on small sites ...

The previous version of this note (Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings by Deo Prasad May 1995) emphasised the need for including fundamental concepts of energy efficiency such as climatically suitable designs and forms, benefits of tailored ...

This note was reviewed in October 2018 and has been retained for legacy. In 2003 a demonstration home was constructed by a local authority in Perth to raise public awareness of practical ways to reduce the energy needs for heating and cooling. The ...