Is it possible to sign a declaration to say your home is Sustainable and yet not truly have a sustainable property? Signing a declaration on the transfer of property is the approach that has been adopted in the residential sector in Queensland. The success of this approach depends on your definition of sustainability, and whether a number of ‘sustainability features’ are sufficient to warrant the label sustainable.
The community debate about the benefits of the legislative reforms has started. Some in the real estate industry have seized the initiative and have viewed ‘energy’ sustainability as a branding opportunity. This trend follow similar initiatives in the US.
However, what is being addressed here is ‘the below the line emissions’ on the McKinsey cost curve.
What is being missed?
Before airconditioning and heating, is passive solar design of the building envelope, before passive solar design of the envelope is the design of the garden, before the design of the garden is the orientation and siting building, before the orientation and siting of the building is the layout of the plan, before the layout of the plan is the analysis of the site, before the analysis of the site is the selection of the site, before the selection of the site is the design of the subdivision….
Sustainability as is demonstrated by Orchid House can be costly, so where does sustainability begin and end?
Image courtesy http://www.lmearchitecture.com/featherstone-house-images.htm
Maybe we need JD Power to include Sustainable Housing in the list of consumer products which they rate. They already have a section for Homes but I could not find much about sustainability on the website. I think the Queensland Government have made a great start but the list is too short, as you say, and I don’t see that home-owners can be trusted to be honest – unless there are penalties for dishonestry. The recently-rejected Labour government in the UK had a system of Home Information Packs which has just been cancelled by the incoming Coalition government. The criticism was that the system did little more than provide work for surveyors.
Re the McKinsey Cost Curve, I was disappointed to see that it does not include cycling or other approaches to sustainable urban transport.
I have taken a slight interest in the Cotswold Water Park for a long time – but from the standpoint that the afteruse of gravel extraction pits should be planned BEFORE the excavation works begin.
Thanks Tom. I agree planning for the re-use of sites after they have been used for natural resource extraction, land fill or other uses which may be considered to require remediation prior to re-development is an essential step in achieving good environmental outcomes, cost effectiveness within the process and optimising human health and saftey throughout the different stages of the sites use.
Yes, sustainability is a very broad concept which the McKinsey Cost Curve doesnt quite capture – so the understanding how people come and go from a site is also important within a sustainable transport framework. It is good to see cycling has been considered at Cotswold Water Park.
I would also like to see Sustainability Statements for garden designs and for external works. A friend said recently that in Singapore there is a law specifying a multiple of the plot area which must be vegetated. My recollection is that three times the plot area must be vegetated (by the use of green roofs and green walls.
The old requirement for Zero Runoff Increase should also be maintained.
I would also like to see Sustainability Statements for garden designs and for external works. A friend said recently that in Singapore there is a law specifying a multiple of the plot area which must be vegetated. My recollection is that three times the plot area must be vegetated (by the use of green roofs and green walls.
The old requirement for Zero Runoff Increase should also be maintained.
See information from the International Green Roofs Association
It would seem by the visuals access to Orchid House is by boat
[ http://www.lowermillestate.com/howells_mere_properties.html ], and car with under-tree parking for the car? [ http://www.lmearchitecture.com/featherstone-floorplans.htm ] also [ http://www.lmearchitecture.com/featherstone-house-movie.htm ] and by plane.[ http://www.lowermillestate.com/docs/Geographical%20Map.pdf ]
Good question. Where are the boundaries to the property? In the absence of a traditional designed garden it is a little difficult to determine…does this represent a new trend in landscape design where the absence of gardens functions as a ‘ha ha’ device?
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha-ha ]
Haringey Council’s sustainability statement also does not address garden design as a sustainability issue other than in broad elemental terms ie. land contamination, drainage and water, trees/landscape, biodiversity and ecological heritage, local character (parking in front gardens), open space, food production, SUDs (green roof)…[ http://www.haringey.gov.uk/spg_9_-_sustainability_statement_guidance_notes.pdf ]
So are we to conclude that garden design (in the traditional sense) is an unsustainable activity?
Re Singapore, my recollection was inaccurate. See Appendix C Section RB 3-2 Greenery of the Singapore Code for the Environmental Sustainability of Buildings 4.0:
Up to 4 points can be scored for the provision of greenery within the
developments including roof top/ sky garden and green roof.
Greenery Provision (GnP) is calculated by considering the 3D volume
covered by plants using the following Green Area Index (GAI) :
Grass GAI = 1 ; Shrubs GAI = 3; Palms Trees GAI = 4; Trees GAI = 6
Greenery Provision (GnP) = total green area / site area
GnP = 2.0 to < 3.0 – 1 point GnP = 3.0 to < 3.5 – 2 points GnP = 3.5 to < 4.0 – 3 points GnP 4.0 – 4 points See the worked example 3.2a
The simple test of how well the Code works in practice is the question:
At what point is the distinction made as to which areas are air conditioned and which are not?
If the views to the west were incredible views out over the ocean, while the other three orientations had lesser views of the city to the south and east and mountains to the north
What approach would be taken by the design team (architecture, landscape…and M & E) to the requirement at Part 1. Energy Efficiency NRB 1-3, Enhance overall thermal performance of building envelope…..
(a)Minimum direct west facing facade through building design orientation.