With the industry reaching new material heights, creating products which are physically beneficial to the environment, rating tools are now taking the next step towards aiming for totally sustainable and healthy development. Rating tools are now attempting to assess another crucial aspect of the ESD world, that being the social sustainability of buildings. Different from the pragmatic physical aspects of creating an environmentally sustainable development, rating tools such as Greenstar assess the social and psychological impact of buildings and how through considered design the health and wellbeing of the occupant can be taken into consideration.
Recent posts by Ilvy Bonnefin
3 min read
Social Sustainability and the Public Realm: Designing for the Community
By Ilvy Bonnefin on Mar 28, 2017 4:50:15 PM
Topics: Design ESD Sustainability Green Star Rating Commercial
4 min read
Is Wireless Charging The Future?
By Ilvy Bonnefin on Mar 8, 2017 4:57:16 PM
How Induction Technology Brings Hope For Future Efficiency
Topics: Sustainability
4 min read
Crossing Expectations: Cross Laminated Timber
By Ilvy Bonnefin on Mar 8, 2017 10:36:03 AM
How CLT Is Becoming the Next Star of the Building Industry:
Discovering newer and more sustainable materials for use in construction, is one of the key focuses of designers today. Aiming to find a material which performs the same as conventional construction methods, which also reduces the impact on the environment is a difficult task. However, with the ever increasing demand for sustainable materials many innovative technologies have emerged which attempt to fill the void. One such material is Cross Laminated Timber or CLT.
Topics: Emerging Materials Sustainability
3 min read
Environmentally Responsible and Interactive Design
By Ilvy Bonnefin on Mar 1, 2017 10:03:54 AM
Designing For Others
Architectural Interventions Improving the Environment and Biodiversity
The effect of urbanisation and urban development on the natural world has been extremely harmful. The built environment’s impact on disrupting migration patterns, habitat destruction and the general effect on the decline of biodiversity has been extremely detrimental. Therefore, through the introduction of various architectural interventions within the city, habitats can be recreated and animal colonies can be somewhat re-established improving the overall quality of our environment and promoting biodiversity which is essential to the health of the ecosystem.
Topics: ESD Architecture Sustainability
4 min read
Green Architecture: How much is too much?
By Ilvy Bonnefin on Jan 25, 2017 4:37:07 PM
Environmentally Responsive Design and Green Architecture
Sustainability and environmental performance goals are presently major contributing factors to design choices. Each new building attempts to take one step further in being even more environmentally conscious than the last. Although this process is extremely beneficial to the environment and surrounding ecosystem, where is this race to create a totally “Green building” heading? Structures are now emerging that look more like nature than building, with towering green walls and sprawling roof gardens disguising any distinguishable architectural element. This raises the question, are we going over board? Surely sustainable design does not mean a building which is literally green.
Topics: Design ESD Sustainability Construction
1 min read
Energy Efficiency Industry: History
By Ilvy Bonnefin on Apr 28, 2016 12:34:47 PM
Due to concerns regarding global warning, the Australian Government in July 2000, announced that the State and Territory governments along with industry had reached agreement in regards to adopting a “two pronged” approach to reducing the overall greenhouse emissions from buildings. This was first introduced through the implementation of mandatory minimum energy performance requirements through the Building Code of Australia (BCA). Secondly was the encouragement of voluntary best practice initiatives within the industry. These initiatives were widely supported, with the reasoning that the building related matters be consolidated in the BCA wherever possible.