Attitudes and Behaviours in Consumer Spaces: Quantifying the Benefits of a Sustainable Retail Environment. The project provides a new level of understanding of the impact of retail environments that are ecologically responsible. Almost one quarter of the ecological footprint of the built environment in Australia is associated with some form of consumer space. While there are more than 8,000,000m2 of lettable retail environments in major centres alone in Australia, the ecological footprint of thi ....Attitudes and Behaviours in Consumer Spaces: Quantifying the Benefits of a Sustainable Retail Environment. The project provides a new level of understanding of the impact of retail environments that are ecologically responsible. Almost one quarter of the ecological footprint of the built environment in Australia is associated with some form of consumer space. While there are more than 8,000,000m2 of lettable retail environments in major centres alone in Australia, the ecological footprint of this space is far higher. This footprint may be minimised if the right combination of design and behavioural solutions can be enabled. But before this can occur, a detailed understanding of these complex attitudinal and behavioural issues must be developed. Read moreRead less
Exploring synergies with innovative Green Technologies for Advanced Renovation: Redefining a Bioclimatic approach for multi residential and office buildings in warmer climates. Building energy consumption accounts for nearly 27% of all energy related greenhouse gas emissions. By 2010, emissions' from buildings is estimated to increase by 48% above 1990 levels. This projected trend is alarming given that Australia's obligation under the Kyoto Protocol is only 8% above 1990 levels. Renovation of e ....Exploring synergies with innovative Green Technologies for Advanced Renovation: Redefining a Bioclimatic approach for multi residential and office buildings in warmer climates. Building energy consumption accounts for nearly 27% of all energy related greenhouse gas emissions. By 2010, emissions' from buildings is estimated to increase by 48% above 1990 levels. This projected trend is alarming given that Australia's obligation under the Kyoto Protocol is only 8% above 1990 levels. Renovation of existing buildings is necessary to achieve this target. Research will address this problem by providing principles, strategies and solutions demostrating improvement of environmental performance and cost benefits. The application of new principles will assist with transforming the building industry to meet Kyoto targets.Read moreRead less
Towards a Quality of Life Model for Sustainable Housing in South East Queensland. Current reports, on Quality of Life in South East Queensland and the Queensland Governments State of the Environment demonstrate a paradox, - high quality of life but also increasing environmental impact. How to address this paradox is a major research question addressed in this project. Through examining examples of best practice sustainable housing it is possible to address this question. The key factors of quali ....Towards a Quality of Life Model for Sustainable Housing in South East Queensland. Current reports, on Quality of Life in South East Queensland and the Queensland Governments State of the Environment demonstrate a paradox, - high quality of life but also increasing environmental impact. How to address this paradox is a major research question addressed in this project. Through examining examples of best practice sustainable housing it is possible to address this question. The key factors of quality of life will be identified for housing, which will assist policy makers plan for a sustainable future. Read moreRead less
Embodied energy modelling of individual commercial buildings. This research will develop a method for modelling the energy embodied in individual commercial building construction. Construction material manufacturing emissions are well known in most industries, but the total embodied energy of the construction supply chain is difficult to model for individual buildings. For efficient commercial buildings, the embodied energy can represent up to 40 years of operational energy. The results will be ....Embodied energy modelling of individual commercial buildings. This research will develop a method for modelling the energy embodied in individual commercial building construction. Construction material manufacturing emissions are well known in most industries, but the total embodied energy of the construction supply chain is difficult to model for individual buildings. For efficient commercial buildings, the embodied energy can represent up to 40 years of operational energy. The results will be used to develop cost effective strategies for optimising the total life cycle energy of individual commercial buildings. This will in part improve the environmental performance of the Australian construction industry.Read moreRead less
Occupant comfort in naturally ventilated and mixed-mode spaces within air-conditioned offices. The Australian Greenhouse Office indicates that air conditioning is responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to Australia's commercial sector. The sector's uptake of energy efficient strategies and sustainable design will depend on post-occupancy evaluated exemplars that have been demonstrated to enhance, rather than detract from, workplace amenity, worker satisfaction and prod ....Occupant comfort in naturally ventilated and mixed-mode spaces within air-conditioned offices. The Australian Greenhouse Office indicates that air conditioning is responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to Australia's commercial sector. The sector's uptake of energy efficient strategies and sustainable design will depend on post-occupancy evaluated exemplars that have been demonstrated to enhance, rather than detract from, workplace amenity, worker satisfaction and productivity. Naturally ventilated spaces within air-conditioned offices can readily be designed into new buildings, and retrofitted to many existing buildings. This project will document how such spaces are used, and interpret their costs/benefits to workers, organisations and environment.
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Occupant comfort, cognitive performance and task performance in wind-excited tall buildings. Strong winds are sensitive to climate change and highly unpredictable, critically affecting the design of tall buildings and our built environment. The outcomes of this research will revolutionalise current design approach for occupant comfort in wind-excited tall buildings and deliver a new generation of tall buildings that provides a comfortable living and working environment without a degradation of w ....Occupant comfort, cognitive performance and task performance in wind-excited tall buildings. Strong winds are sensitive to climate change and highly unpredictable, critically affecting the design of tall buildings and our built environment. The outcomes of this research will revolutionalise current design approach for occupant comfort in wind-excited tall buildings and deliver a new generation of tall buildings that provides a comfortable living and working environment without a degradation of work performance due to wind-induced vibration. The transfer of this knowledge from research to practice will enhance the international competitiveness of our architecture, engineering and construction professionals, boosting our involvement in major tall building projects worldwide and bringing long-term economical benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less