A recently completed building on Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Thurgoona site has been awarded six green stars and ‘world leader’ status for its environmentally sustainable features.

 

 

The Academic Accommodation Stage 3 (AA3) office building has received “a six star Green Star ‘World Leader’ certified rating under Office Design v2” from the national Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

 

“The principles used in buildings at Thurgoona demonstrate a comprehensive, environmentally sensitive process that spans from site planning to selection of materials,” said Executive Director of CSU’s Division of Facilities Management, Mr Stephen Butt.

 

“Special features of our Thurgoona location include the minimal use of energy and on-site management of water and waste.  Environmental benefits of the site address local, regional and national concerns for global warming, ozone depletion, genetic diversity and air and water pollution.”

 

The AA3 building is ‘home’ for the academic staff and students of CSU’s School of Business and Information Technology. The building aims to integrate with an existing academic building to the west – the Murray School of Education – and to present a commercial office image to further connecting the building with the local business community.

 

Innovative aspects of the building that receive special mention by GBCA include reducing carbon dioxide production and energy consumption by 65 per cent compared to similar conventional office buildings, and the world’s first use of phase-changing materials in the concrete floor to reduce heating and cooling used in the building. This material, known as PCM SmartBoard, is also incorporated into the ceiling plasterboard.

 

Developed by the world’s largest chemical company BASF, PCM SmartBoard used in the building’s ceilings can absorb large amounts of heat - a 15 millimetre (mm) PCM SmartBoard sheet has the same thermal capacity as a 100 mm slab of concrete, yet it can be used in building construction like conventional plasterboard.

 

The building is the most recent contribution to form part of sustainability on the campus. “CSU at Albury-Wodonga is Australia’s first environmentally friendly university campus and is a developing, dynamic model of how communities can address environmental concerns and create sustainable environments,” said Head of CSU at Albury-Wodonga, Professor Allan Curtis.