Climate Council's thumbs up for CDU’s innovative building Wednesday, 15 June 2016

The Climate Council has included Charles Darwin University’s Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education building in a list of the nation’s greenest buildings for its impressive environmental sustainability credentials. 

The Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education (ACIKE) building caught the Climate Council’s attention for its eco-friendly approaches to air-conditioning, lighting and water recycling.

Irwinconsult Project Manager and Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) Consultant Owen Tyson said that the firm guided the design team, including engineers, architect and interior designers, “regarding possible environmental sustainability options suitable for the hot, humid environment of Darwin and its remote location, aiming for an achievable 4 star Green Star rating given these restrictions."

“Irwinconsult provided all the engineering services and ESD for the project, with a particular focus on the performance of the building’s fabric, sun shading, sustainability of materials used, indoor environmental quality and water,” Mr Tyson said.

“A number of the teaching spaces were designed to open out into the central court yard, allowing them to turn off the air-conditioning and have a greater connection with the natural environment, which presented a number of engineering design challenges that were successfully met.”

The building’s user community was consulted throughout the building’s design, with the whole community now embracing the building’s eco-friendly features, open-air meeting areas, artistic spaces and state-of-the-art technology offerings, including gallery and performance spaces and five eStudios.

Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) Chief Financial Officer Ken Suter said that the innovative building is inspiring both the academic and broader communities as a pivotal place of research and teaching by and for Indigenous peoples. 

“This is an iconic building in which CDU has brought together a number of sustainability features, setting a standard for future buildings on the campus,” Mr Suter said.

“A number of the features incorporated were relatively new or untried and the successful implementation resulted in a sense of pride and a valuable learning exercise for all concerned.” 

Mr Tyson said that the building was designed as a “centralised hub for Indigenous knowledge and education, with all of the building’s technology allowing them to remotely teach, learn and network with remote communities around Australia and to allow those attending from remote communities to feel more comfortable away from their homes.”

Completed in 2012, the ACIKE building has been entered into a number of awards, including the Australian Engineering Excellence Awards (AEEA), hosted by Engineers Australia.

Submissions are now open for the AEEA Awards Northern 2016. To find out more or submit an entry, visit the AEEA website

 

Image: Australian Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Education building. Courtesy of Charles Darwin University.