WA units win first Green Star rating
A residential development in Western Australia has been awarded Australia’s first ever Green Star residential rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). “The Summer” has been awarded a 4 Star Green Star – Multi Unit Residential PILOT certified rating, following its participation as a national pilot project. GBCA chief executive Romilly Madew says residential buildings in Australia are responsible for 13% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. “While Australia’s level of greenhouse gas emissions per home is one of the largest in the world, buildings also offer one of the cheapest and easiest opportunities for greenhouse gas abatement,” he says. GBCA’s Green Star executive director Robin Mellon says The Summer demonstrates that residential developments can go ‘above and beyond’ minimum requirements and reach best practice outcomes by focusing on good passive design principles such as orientation, shading and natural ventilation. “It’s also great to see best practice in sustainability go hand-in-hand with good design aesthetics – a clear signal to the industry that ‘green’ and ‘good architecture’ are compatible,” Mellon says. Located on South Beach Esplanade in South Fremantle, The Summer will incorporate a range of environmental design techniques to re-use 80% of the site waste, provide 90% of apartments with dual aspect to allow natural ventilation and introduce moveable screens on balconies to provide solar shading.
