Power and Water's green building

22 Sep 2010

Local builders, developers and engineers will tomorrow tour a building with a 4 Star Green Star rating at Power and Water’s operational headquarters in Darwin, the Ben Hammond Complex, as part of the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Building Week.

This is the only building in the Northern Territory that has so far received a Green Star accreditation from the Green Building Council of Australia and only the second building north of the Tropic of Capricorn to do so.

Power and Water’s Tony Wright, Manager Organisational Services, said that the rating is an acknowledgement of the building’s environmentally sustainable design.

“While all buildings at the Ben Hammond Complex have design features to reduce energy and water usage, this particular building was purposely designed and built to achieve best practice environmental sustainability.”

Power and Water is showcasing the building’s environmental credentials during World Green Building Week on 20 to 24 September. Territorians will be shown that it is possible to construct a green building without compromising aesthetics and functionality or adding significant extra cost to the project.

The Green Star environmental rating system for buildings was developed by the Green Building Council of Australia and is the nation’s first comprehensive rating system for evaluating environmental design and performance.

Some of the key design features of Power and Water’s 4 Star building include:

• High efficiency air conditioning and lighting systems
• No cooling towers
• Occupant control of temperature levels
• Automatic daylight glare control
• Low emission internal finishes such as paint, carpets, blinds, adhesives and sealants
• Large amount of natural lighting
• Facilities for cyclist and walkers such as showers and change rooms
• High efficiency irrigation for the landscaping
• High efficiency water fittings such as toilets, taps and showerheads
• Recycling facilities
• High efficiency glazing and thermal insulation

“In addition to the Green Star rated building, redevelopment across the Ben Hammond Complex is also the largest commercial project to date in the Territory that incorporates a comprehensive environmental strategic design resulting in a 20% reduction in energy and water use across the entire site,” said Mr Wright.

For a tour of the 4 Star building, meet at the Ben Hammond Complex front entrance on Iliffe Street, Stuart Park at 9am, Thursday 23 September.

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