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Water Campaign™ case study

HUME CITY COUNCIL, VICTORIA

Hume’s Green Star 5 Star Municipal Office

: Corporate action

: Water conservation

: Water quality

Hume City Council is a located in the north-western part of Melbourne and has a population of 157,145. Council joined the Water Campaign™ in 2003.

Synopsis

: Hume City Council's new municipal office

In 2007 Council completed the construction of a 5 Star Green Star Rating (In Design) municipal building. Staff had previously been located in two buildings about 30 kilometres apart.

The idea of bringing all staff into one building was to intended to present a united front to the community, while saving time and money on duplication of resources and travel between offices.

The building is also part of the planned Broadmeadows Transit City Precinct and was designed to set a precedence of high-density and sustainable architecture in the area.

Motivation

The idea for the new municipal office to be green star accredited came from the former Director City Sustainability, Kurt Bruhn, who imagined a world-class building that the community could be proud of.

Council’s involvement with ICLEI Oceania’s programs and its growing awareness of the threat of climate change strengthened Hume’s commitment to produce a building that would have a small eco-footprint.

The vision for the building was to create an innovative benchmark in urban design that acts as a catalyst for the Transit City Precinct, through the holistic incorporation of environmental and architectural design principles.

The objectives of the building were to provide:

a comfortable working environment for administrative staff in one building
environmental leadership (achieve a 5 Star Green Star Rating from the Green Building Council of Australia)
an interactive space for business and the community.

Process

: The reception area

The project went out to tender and was won by Lyons Architects. Umow Lai Pty Ltd provided building services, Hooker Cockram was the Project Builders and the project was managed by Hyper Consulting Pty Ltd.

Internally the project was managed by Kurt Bruhn. Sadly Bruhn passed away mid-way through construction. Wal Lawson, Director City Infrastructure, took over the project and delivered it on time and on budget.

The councillors were supportive throughout the various stages of the project and the building is now part of Council’s strategy through its reduced contribution to green house gasses.

The building opened to staff in May 2007 and an official launch was held in July. Currently, the building is going through ‘As Built’ certification.

A staff Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) was conducted in late June 2008 to gain staff feedback and identify opportunities for staff education.

The following are some of the features that add to the buildings green credentials:

Orientation of the building to maximise use of the north sun and minimise western wind and sun
Use of the concrete structure to provide appropriate thermal mass. The concrete also includes a component of fly ash to lower the embodied energy of the concrete
Floor plan design that maximises natural light in the office, reducing the need for artificial lighting. No staff member’s work station is further than 11 metres from a window
Use of external sunshades to regulate light and shade and to act as ‘light shelves’ to bounce light back into the interior of the building, maximising the use of natural light in the building
Use of solar panels on the roof to heat domestic hot water systems in tea rooms and toilet areas
Harvesting of rainwater in a series of rooftop tanks for use in toiled flushing
Greywater recycling onsite, which is treated and used on the surrounding gardens
Incorporation of an innovative low energy air conditioner that distributes air at low velocity through a raised floor, with open stairs at either end of the office space to act as a return air shaft for the air conditioning system. This system is significantly more energy efficient than the traditional ducts in a suspended ceiling
Use of energy efficient lighting and environmentally friendly materials, such as low emission paints and recycled timber
Provision of a bicycle lock-up area and shower facilities to encourage staff to ride to work
A high proportion of small car spaces to encourage staff to consider purchasing smaller, more efficient vehicles
Raingardens positioned at the front of the building to capture and treat rainwater.

Training and Education

Council staff and the community were consulted extensively throughout the process. There has been no staff training to date, but it is anticipated that the POE will highlight areas of training and education that will be conducted through staff seminars.

Members of the community are welcome to take tours of the office, which can be arranged through customer services.

Council’s old Sunbury office has been retrofitted to house a new customer service area and the remaining offices have been leased to VicRoads and Western Water, linking to the business development objectives of the Broadmeadows Transit City Precinct.

Savings and benefits

Financial benefits

It is estimated that by bringing most of Council’s office based staff together in the new Municipal Office, Council will achieve cost savings of up to $1 million each year.

Environmental benefits

The ‘As Built’ certification will highlight the electricity, gas and water savings produced by the building.

A pre-construction assessment undertaken by the project engineers anticipated that the building will produce 97kg CO2/m2/year. Although Council has not been able to quantify productivity levels, staff have expressed appreciation of the availability of natural light and fresh air.

Costs

The total budget for the project was approximately $23 million and was solely funded by Hume City Council.

Lessons learnt

: The open plan office

The inclusion of sustainable principles in the design of the office presented several challenges. It was often difficult to source sustainable materials and technologies that deviated from standard Council purchasing practices.

It was important from the start of the project to instill confidence and build ‘institutional capacity’ within Council while continuing to advocate for new learnings and practices.

For example, the sub-floor air conditioning system was a feature of the building that proved challenging as it was the first system of its type to be used in Australia. Hooker Cockram Constructions carefully negotiated the installation of a system they had never used before.

All of the difficulties faced during the design and construction phase were met and dealt with enthusiastically by Council. While challenging, the project has proved to be successful as well as providing a large learning curve.

Overall the project demonstrates the potential for other local governments, public sector agencies and the private sector to achieve high star ratings in development projects. Hume City Council has set a new benchmark.

Further information

Fiona Briers
Sustainable Resources Officer
City Environment
Hume City Council
Ph: +61 (0)3 9205 2488

Hume City Council website

Contact details

For further information about the ICLEI Water Campaign™ in Australia please contact:

ICLEI Oceania
4/267 Collins St
Melbourne Vic 3000
Ph:   +61 3 9639 8688
Fax:   +61 3 9639 8677
Email:   oceania@iclei.org
Website:   www.iclei.org/oceania/water

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Fiona Briers for assistance in producing this case study.

Photographs supplied by Council.

Quoted population figures are taken from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Report 3218.0, Regional Population Growth, Australia 2006-07, March 2008.

Call for future case studies

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We’d like to hear if your council has implemented an innovative water saving initiative or project to improve water quality. Contact your Water Campaign State Manager with details.

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