Good indoor environment quality (IEQ) can have a positive impact on the health, wellbeing and productivity of occupants in office buildings. Productivity benefits can potentially be financial as well as intangible in nature, and can be realised at ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency of underlying principles in August 2018.  The disassembly of buildings to recover materials and components for future reuse is not widely practiced in the modern construction industry. This note ...

'Sustainable Urbanism' encompasses Australian urban design and transportation practices that seek to create vibrant, liveable communities.  This approach proposes the creation of compact, walkable communities centred around high quality public ...

David Baggs looks at the role of the built environment in our un-sustainability and explores the full spectrum of strategies and solutions as to how our buildings might become a pathway towards a low-carbon future. Baggs explores the concepts of ‘ ...

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 ...

Energy saving technologies can significantly reduce building energy consumption, while enhancing thermal comfort and occupant health and wellbeing, and reducing running costs. Further resources: Yang RJ, Zang Y, Yang J, Wakefield R, Nguyen K, Shi L ...

This note was reviewed and retained for legacy in November 2018. This paper discusses a pilot study which involved altering the thermostat set-points to 2-3°C above the normal summer setting in two air-conditioned buildings during a Brisbane ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency by the author in December 2018.  Thermal mass can be effectively employed in buildings to increase occupants' thermal comfort conditions. This paper seeks to clarify the ways in which this can be ...

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 ...

During the twentieth century the earth warmed by about 0.6°C, primarily due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Consequent to this were changes to the characteristics of climatic patterns all over the earth that can be linked ...