Tag Archives: sustainability

Apartment Living in Australia is Currently Unsustainable

Over the last 20 years in Australia developers, in providing apartment living in Australia, have made many mistakes. Simply legislating now to put sprinkler systems in all new apartment buildings is just not the answer. Existing, poorly built examples are the problem not well designed solutions that follow in the wake of this expose of legislative, financing disaster.

Density

The idea of increasing density in cities is a good one provided that they are well built and of course now we know they were definitely not. Density needs to be at railway and commercial nodes with infill very well done in architectural quality to be justified to the public. Of this has not always been the focus, nor has the principles of solar orientation and ventilation been a high priority.

Quality

Improved Quality is the answer. What is the point of cheap, so called affordable buildings that crash in value, impossible for strata owners to repair, insure, or insurance companies going broke, let alone catching on fire, impossible to escape or even die?

Professional Superintendence and Project Management

For hundreds of years builders were supervised by architects and legally responsible for superintendence during construction and making sure all designs and documentation is to authority standards.

But this will take courage by authorities and the banks to face reality, that they have gotten it badly wrong and should go back to a system independent professional architects and engineers signing of construction payments.

Damage Bill

My previous assessed damage bill was initially $1.6 Billion but really that was in Victoria alone. The $6 billion cost in Australia would largely have been avoided and at least covered by insurance if developers were forced to engage full professional services at about $200 million. It has been proved once again that proper process that evolved over the last 500 years is the answer. Who thought allowing builders to take full control and responsibility was a good idea.

Due to Australia Institute of Architects (AIA) Federal Government attempts to relegate architects from the head professional on public buildings in the same way failed in the late 1990s, thankfully. But greed prevailed in the commercial sector.

Governance Improvement

It is a pity that governance still does not see continuing disaster by this professional relegation. But now blaming the victim and providing silly regulations as over reactions is a poor, obvious attempt to hide culpability.

The original perpetrators in governance and finance have all now left the scene mostly around Australia. So what is the problem in going back to a solid sane approach that insurance companies can cover and the costs being seen as an investment against calamity? It is time to front up to reality and of course 21st century sustainability. What is sustainable about failed buildings?

See Four Corners Program from August 2019 – https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/cracking-up/11431474

Ilios an Exemplar of Sustainability

Of course none of these issues will apply to ‘Ilios’ at Swanbourne Railway Precinct because it will be professionally designed, engineered and project managed by professionals, signing off on open book assessment as construction contracts are implemented.

Fore more information contact us or see our website: http://swanbournevillagetrust.com/

 

Sustainable City Masdar

The sustainable city of Masdar, designed to house 50,000 people and covering an area of 7 sq. km. on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, will be the world’s first carbon neutral city.

Whilst we in Australia are still debating how to tackle Climate Change and implement policies to shift from carbon-guzzling fuels to alternative energy, in a most unlikely place in the world, the United Arab Emirates is well on its way to making this shift. Based on policy decisions made years ago, the UAE already has real programs for a carbon neutral sustainable city at an advanced stage of implementation.

The State of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, launched their Masdar ‘Carbon Neutral’ City Plan and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (‘MIST’) in 2007. Four years later, sustainable city Masdar, with MIST (associated with USA’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology) at its centre, is under construction.

Masdar Institute of Science and Technology

Image Solar Panel Roof MIST

Sustainable City Solar Panel Rooftop

MIST, with onsite student accommodation facilities, solar, geothermal and construction prototype practice facilities was designed by Lord Foster (Foster & Partners Architects UK) has been completed. Abhu Dabi’s Future Energy Company (FEC’) Headquarters, also designed by Foster, is now under construction.

Sustainable City Promises

Image of model Masdar Sustainable City

Residential Quarter Model by Aedas Int'l

The water use savings for Masdar are huge. For a city of 50,000 people the sustainable city designers promise 8,000 cu m3 of desalinated water use compared to 20,000 cu m for a conventional city: a saving of $2 billion in oil use over 25 years.

Additionally, the design offers 99% recycling of city/construction waste and a car-free person-mover automated transport system with 200m maximum  walking distance from domicile to public transport.

Whilst China’s Dong Tan Eco-City has yet to get off the drawing board, the Masdar development is in its second stage.

Alternative Energy Companies Hub

Construction of a hub of 1,500 alternative and sustainable energy and associated technologies companies, including company giants like Siemens, are taking space around the administrative core of the city.

Benefitting From Results

It is the FEC management and the Masdar Institute that methodically plot the technological space and the standards that define this carbon neutral city. Their aim is to develop methodologies, intellectual property and hardware which Masdar FEC’s management will sell to the rest of the world:

Reproduce Masdar Elsewhere

The management of MIST distils the results of field testing from their various initiatives, including the use of materials and their  industry applications to define guidelines based on these results.

Abu Dhabi intends to leverage the knowledge gained in developing this sustainable city with a minimum carbon footprint, by building other sustainable communities elsewhere.

The Masdar project is developing through a six-pronged development structure consisting of:

1.    Masdar Institute of Science and Technology,
2.    Masdar Research Network,
3.    Innovation and Investment,
4.    Special Projects,
5.    Carbon Management and
6.    Masdar Zone Development

What Australia Can Learn From Masdar

There are lessons here for Australia, specifically ‘how to implement and quickly achieve real results,’ in a situation where we are running out of time.

This article written by Sasha Ivanovich FRAIA

SIA Architects Pty Ltd

sasha@slaarchitects.comlau

http://www.slaarchitects.com

Sasha recently returned from a four week study of the City of Masdar as the recipient of the Commonwealth Endeavour Award and hosted by Aedas International in UAE and supported by RISE.

Energy Consumption Growth

By Garry Baverstock AM, Director of Wise Earth P/L

Introduction: Energy Consumption Growth

In 2005 World President of ISES Professor Yogi Goswami of USF in Florida, made a keynote speech at the ISES Solar World Congress in Beijing. There he predicted that most of the world’s uranium, gas, oil and much of the world’s coal depleted.

At many of my talks in Australia and overseas since and in private discussion with fossil fuel, and uranium experts I noticed that I have either been looked at as have ‘two heads’, or the ‘specialists’ simply disagree, but offer absolutely no factual back up for their opinions. I have had the impression that it is yet another instance of an ‘inconvenient truth’ as exposed by Al Gore, or just plain ignorance that gets no response of any worth to anyone except their feelings of security.

This article squarely presents the latest information from the USA that clearly states Goswami and I, by my re-quoting his 2007 facts, have been perfectly correct. Having experts around the world that there is not an issue with population growth, energy consumption and supplies, and worse still denying the climate change effects that are so evident all around the world, with record breaking extreme weather events on the increase. The reasons why are governments moving so slowly and so divisively are complex ad are more to do with human psyche, primordial subconscious desires, rather than facts and data.

Who should we blame for such collective insanity? Surely this places the climate skeptics and ‘anti-sustainability types’ as anti-humanity forces not just an annoying or inconvenient impediment of change, as currently and often portrayed in the media.

It is a simple question but a very complicated answer that will take more resources that I can offer as part of this article.

Suffice is to say that in my opinion, all us thinking citizens of the world need to have a good look at ourselves and our integrity and start to take more affirmative action to move to sustainable energy world as soon as possible and solve ‘Climate Change’ once and for all and save humanity as we know it at present.

Defense and Security Issues

The following information has been researched and supplied by Peter Kasprzak and indicates dire consequences for the world beyond 2050. So indeed Yogi Goswami was correct after all as well as my placing this issue in context of what we should be doing with the built environment.

U.S. defense and intelligence communities are increasingly focusing resources on the operational and national security implications of climate change and energy. With the most recent quadrennial report identifying climate change as a global destabilizing force for the first time, an executive order from President Obama on sustainability across the Federal agencies, and an uncertain and unstable energy market, the challenges before American defense and national security communities to mitigate climate impacts and energy risks, as well as establish a leaner, more effective operational force in a down economy are clear.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration world energy demand will grow by half in less than 25 years.

World Market Energy Consumption Graph

World Market Energy Consumption Graph

The world consumes 500 quadrillion BTU today, but it will need 750 quadrillion BTU by 2035. (BTU or British Thermal Unit is the heat that will raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. One BTU = 1054 joules = 0.000 293 kWh and 1000 BTU per hour = 0.293 kW)

This would seem on the face of it to be a bonanza. When I have brought up the consequences on world population levels I have been accused by some ‘sustainability’ experts as being somehow racist. In fact I am being very reasonable. Instead of short term cashing in on demand for energy and encouraging population growth in the world, I believe we should restricting growth, and if anything working out humane methods of gradually reducing it.

Why? Well have at look at the following predictions for population growth towards the end of the century based on energy supplies. Do you think we have a crisis looming? The predictions are alarming and the security and stability of the world will be in tatters.

Total Energy use by Type Graph

Total Energy use by Type Graph

Energy Use by Source

Energy Use by Source

Population Growth

Also take a look at the World Energy and Population – Trends to 2100 study, which asserts that world population, and therefore energy usage will dramatically decrease in the second half of the 21st century.

This time instead of BTU the energy is expressed in Mtoe (Millions Tons of Oil Equivalent), 1 Mtoe = 39652608749183 BTU

Here is the alarming prediction for world population that we need to take into account very seriously indeed.

Why are we continuing to encourage population growth to ”grow” our economy? It is nonsensical. I have heard predictions that the world population will reach 9 billion. How is that going to happen? Is it the wish of the ‘business as usual’ pundits who make millions out of increased consumption of raw materials, carving up land for housing estates built by large project building companies.

What sort of a world are we leaving for our children and grand children?

World Population Projection Graph

World Population Projection Graph

It is clear to me that business as usual is leading this world clearly to a hellish existence. Is it too late to wake up? A rational thinker would have to say the odds of creating a peaceful sustainable and ecological stable world for our children and grandchildren is not looking good!

If I ever doubted myself for over the last 40 years of pushing ecologically sustainable development and maximum use of solar energy in the built environment to help create a solar economy, then those doubts are now completely evaporated.

In summary, please expect a lot more from me, my allies, ‘converts’ colleagues and www.solar-e.com and my company Wise Earth P/L. I hope you can do the same or join us as we push forward and try to adapt and change, as we will need to within one generation! This includes being solid mentors for the next generation so they can be far more effective in their lifetime.

Climate Change Solutions need adaptive management

Climate change solutions desperately need bipartisan political will and the input from the right collaborative experts, led by highly competent project managers – in order to deliver the outcomes needed in a specific time frame.

A multi disciplinary  systems thinking approach is needed

This will require an adaptive management method and a multi-disciplinary approach, just as  that applied by Gene Krantz from NASA when his astronauts’ lives were threatened by mishaps, during the Apollo missions –  Apollo 13 being the most dramatic.
Space ship earth’ needs people who are going to apply systems thinking to a total system overview.

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