ESD Consultancy and Assessment
With over 17 years in business as a leader in managing the built indoor air environment, HBI is well placed to supplement its services with environmentally sustainable design (ESD) solutions. ESD in design encompasses many aspects of “green building design” including demand management of resources such as energy and water through efficient design, as well as the inclusion of environmentally aware initiatives such as provision of transport alternative, management of wastes in construction, certification of contractors, and native plant rehabilitation programs, to name a few.
ESD also considers the principles of life cycle costing, also known as the “whole of life” approach.
Our certified Green Star Practitioner has valuable experience from several ESD or WOL projects. The evolving nature of design solutions, combined with a limited but growing, understanding by the balance of the design team, of what ESD or WOL is intended to achieve, means that practical experience in these fields is second to none. Our involvement in sustainable design projects include:
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development of sustainable development outcomes as part of tender preparation for the redevelopment of the former PrinceHenryHospital at Little Bay in NSW. This included coordinating a team of specialist expertise in architecture, water sensitive urban design, energy management, to produce a compilation of cost effective ESD initiatives so that the bid team could demonstrate compliance with various Landcom ESD and Triple Bottom Line reporting requirements, and Environment Australia’s triple bottom line requirements.
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reviews of Landcom’s civil and building contractors to ensure the contract environmental conditions are effectively implemented and to encourage the use of correct environmental management techniques.
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ESD and WOL design consultant for the Holsworthy Special Working Group Accommodation redevelopment. Responsible for facilitating ESD and WOL design initiatives in conjunction with the mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and structural building elements, ecologically sustainable initiatives that could be incorporated into the design of the new facilities. Key initiatives considered for this project included the option of passive ventilation against the more traditional mechanical ventilation, alternative use of building materials, and options to re-use/recycle waters on this dry site.
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HBI is currently engaged as the Whole of Life sub-consultant (with Parsons Brinckerhoff) for the RAAF College Relocation project for the Department of Defence. Working with managing contractor Thiess Pty Ltd in Melbourne, this project involved facilitation and documentation of various whole of life initiatives included in the facility design for the 1RTU at Wagga Wagga (NSW), and 1OTS at East Sale (VIC), Defence facilities. This assessment included a qualitative and quantitative analysis of value for money in terms of “Whole of life” for a range of design features including built form aspects, proposed building services (such as HVAC, lighting and water management) and site supporting infrastructure.
Our HBI (USA) and HBI (UK) offices also have significant experience in the development of Green Buildings providing a depth of experience that the Australian operations can draw from. HBI (USA) is currently running indoor air quality tests in the new Regional headquarters of the USA EPA nearing final construction in Arlington Virginia, required as part of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the US Council of Green Buildings.
