"The sustainable office" - Narooma

The Narooma office of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), NSW Maritime and the NSW Marine Parks Authority (MPA) is at the forefront of efforts by the State Government to accommodate workers in buildings which are considered environmentally sustainable.

This purpose built and designed sustainable office was formally opened by the Director-General of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Lisa Corbyn and the Deputy Chief Executive of NSW Maritime, Tony Middleton. The office, at the corner of Burrawang and Graham Streets, in Narooma was designed by the Government architects office and built by Edwards Constructions of Batemans Bay.

In opening the new building Ms Corbyn said she was delighted to be opening a building whose environmental footprint had been kept to an absolute minimum.

This building has been designed primarily for DECC staff working within the NPWS and the MPA. Its our departments goal to lead by example and in constructing and occupying a building which has significantly reduced its footprint we are doing just that.

The State Government has set a target for government agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to 2000 levels. Its buildings like this which will help us achieve this target.

The sustainable nature of this office has been achieved using a wide range of creative and innovative ideas and technologies which we hope to showcase to the community as a model for environmental sustainability within the community, Ms Corbyn said.

The buildings main environmental features include a substantial reduction in energy consumption through clever design that eliminates a reliance on air conditioning.

An under floor cooling labyrinth comprising a network of rock baskets tempers the incoming air to ambient ground temperature that is delivered through vents into the building.

Horizontal and vertical sun shading combined with cooling fans and louvered windows to achieve cross ventilation in the warmer months and solar passive aspect for the winter has meant a 75% reduction in greenhouse emissions while heating and cooling costs are insignificant compared to standard, similar sized office buildings.

A sophisticated Building Management System monitors and controls conditions inside the building, opening and closing windows automatically when temperatures are greater than 21 degrees. Rainwater is also collected on site with 16,000 litre storage capacity used for toilet flushing and watering of hardy waterwise plants leading to a saving on average of more than 100,000 litres of water each year. The remaining power needs are supplied using 100% green energy, saving 42 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually making the office environmentally sustainable.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Sustainable office
• sustainability
• climate change
• environment
• conservation
• architecture
• solar
• design
• Narooma