Resources & Knowledge
This edition's cover story is the Emporium project on the iconic Myer site - one of the most significant Melbourne CBD retail development projects of the past 20 years. The theme of this edition focuses on the science behind IEQ (Indoor Environment Quality) and its role in Green Star compliance. There is also an interview with Megan Motto of Consult Australia and an inspiring story about NDY engineer Andrew Symons volunteering on a youth mentoring program.
The importance of Indoor Environment Quality, or IEQ, is gaining traction as a simple mechanism to make significant inroads in improving the productivity of our buildings and the wellbeing of occupants. This paper by Dr Vyt Garnys in collaboration with Tony Arnel, reveals how even a minor improvement in the IEQ of existing buildings can lift Australian national productivity by $10 billion each year.
The acoustical design of animal holding and behaviour rooms is particularly important to the function of medical research facilities.For animals subjected to adverse noise and vibration, risks include significant impacts on reproduction and sensory development, behaviour, and even physical injury from startle responses. This paper from NDY acoustics expert Luke Zoontjens, reviews relevant work to date and focuses on common design limitations, proposed criteria and general recommendations.
Control of helicopter noise is currently a key driver in the design of facade systems and external building elements within major Australasian hospital developments. However, the issue lacks specific and objective guidance on acceptability within hospital environments from the local scientific and engineering community. This paper from leading NDY acoustics experts explores criteria for hospital developments, and commonly encountered practical issues in achieving them.
In September 2012 Norman Disney & Young (NDY) held an innovative event to celebrate World Green Building Week. We called it an ‘Open Mic Night’ and invited our clients, colleagues and peers to step up to the microphone to talk briefly on what inspires them in the world of green building. Their presentations paint an optimistic future for green buildings and this document contains a summary of those speakers and their presentations.
The Green Building Council recognised the novelty of the idea and the efforts of the speakers by nominating NDY’s Open Mic Night as “winner of the best green event” for World Green Building Week in Sydney.
As the cover story of Lifecycle 11, Common Ground is a clear example of the nexus between sustainability and affordable housing, achieving the first 5 Star Green Star Multi Unit Residential Design v1 in NSW. This edition also reports on the latest in data centre cooling trends, an update on the Stonehenge Visitor Centre and an inspiring story from an NDY staffer volunteering in Nepal.
EUAs are an Australian finance innovation that offer the potential to unlock a boom in retrofitting Australia’s B and C grade buildings. EUAs effectively use the energy savings to pay for the retrofit, ensure the tenant can never be worse off, and make the repayments via a charge on the council rates.
NDY lead security consultant writes for FM magazine on methods for reducing the cost and environmental impact of security measures whilst maintaining site assets and occupants.
For online version click here.
The Australian Government's Clean Energy Legislation is now in effect, with the implementation of the Carbon Price Mechanism. This legislation directly impacts the fire protection industry and any organisation which currently has the chemical agent HFC-227ea or is proposing to install this agent to any of their facilities.
This issue celebrates 10 editions of Lifecycle with Harrison Secondary School in Canberra as the cover story. The school’s colourful and playful exterior belies its serious environmental credentials which have seen it achieve the first 5 Star Green Star Education V1 Design Rating in the ACT. This edition also showcases the award winning Monash University student accommodation project, the Princes Pier historic refurbishment and the growing trend of ‘Green Roofs’. NDY’s Chris Nunn discusses the benefits of Environmental Upgrade Agreements (EUAs) and GBCA Chief Executive Romilly Madew reflects on the 10th anniversary of the GBCA.
NDY New Zealand fire engineering manager Paul Williams talks to Traffic Technology International magazine about his research on the relationship between exit spacing and the choice of tunnel ventilation.
The healthcare industry still has some work to do to tap into the enormous benefits that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) could potentially bring to patients and practitioners, write NDY Health Director Keith Davis and NDY National Manager ICT Richard Morrison.
This article was published in the April 2012 issue of World Health Design (www.worldhealthdesign.com) by the International Academy for Design & Health (www.designandhealth.com)
In this edition the Green Star Britomart East development in Auckland features as the cover story while UK Green Building Council CEO Paul King talks to Lifecycle about what it means to be 'Green'. Still in the UK we feature the Greater Manchester Police new divisional headquarters while back in Australia, case studies for projects in Sydney and Brisbane are supported by an insightful opinion piece by NDY sustainability leader Chris Nunn.
NDY fire engineer Paul Williams presented his paper 'The Importance of Exit Spacing to the Choice of Tunnel Ventilation System' at the 5th International Tunnel Safety & Security Symposium in New York, March 2012.
NDY Associate and Acoustics specialist Luke Zoontjens has prepared a comprehensive paper on the occupational environment of intermodal freight trains.
The newly opened $1 billion landmark Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne is featured as the cover story of this edition. Green Building Council of Australia Chairman Tony Arnel gives us his thoughts on the importance of 'Green' educational facilities, while we also take a look at some innovative projects such as the 22 hectare Barangaroo project on Sydney Harbour and Green Square Close in Brisbane.
Green building in New Zealand is booming and in this edition NZ Green Building Council CEO, Alex Cutler, tells Lifecycle magazine about why this burgeoning sector is being embraced through projects such as the KFS development in Queenstown. Other innovative projects such as the 6 star Green Star AIM Building in Perth, 1 Bligh street Sydney and CBW Towers in Melbourne continue the theme of high performance green buildings.
This presentation by NDY Senior Associate Jonathan Price on the Sydney leg of the Datacentre conference roadshow examines the major power quality issues including standards, IT equipment, power supplies, racks vs blades, impacts, mitigation, switching, equipment selection and the all-important planning required for successful outcomes.
This presentation by NDY Senior Associate Ramon Wilson sets the scene with a history of power quality and improvements in equipment over the last 10 years. The presentation goes on to discuss the major power quality issues including surges, harmonics, power factor, switching and earthing and concludes by detailing key planning and management strategies for dealing with power quality issues in mission critical facilities and the importance of testing for failure scenarios as opposed to normal operation.
NDY Senior Associate and ESD Mangaer Connan Brown, outlined the practical processes involved in achieving NABERS rating success by showcasing the 215 Adelaide street project as a case study in NABERS rating excellence. As a significant refurbishment project in the Brisbane CBD, Connan's presentation examined the design and the construction, and how the facility manager, designer and controls company successfully collaborated to deliver the targeted rating.
NDY Associate Director Phillip Carruthers, presented his paper ‘Environmental Ratings and the Facility Manager’ on the first morning of the 2011 Facility Management Association of Australia ideaction conference in Brisbane. Phillip's presentation explored the responsibility of the facility management team in meeting strict performance goals set by others and how living with, and maintaining, an environmental rating will become the most important facilities role in the coming years.
Lifecycle 6.0 has a distinct UK theme starting with the cover story on the award-winning Angel Building. Commentaries from Paul King, CEO of the UK Green Building Council, and Tony McDermott, head of NDY's London MPlus team, add to the weight of discussions about sustainability across UK's built environment. Across to the other side of the globe, and we look at how Project Seres is changing lives in Guatemala.
Peter's presentation focused on developments and improvements in the power quality of equipment over the last 10 years in Mission Critical facilities such as rack power supplies, variable speed drives, UPS and DC conversion equipment. The presentation also discussed the major power quality issues facing mission critical facilities including surges, harmonics, power factor, switching and earthing. It looked at overall implications in the planning and management of power systems and the importance of testing your power systems for failure scenarios as opposed to normal operation.
As the 2011 AFL season kicks underway, the Gold Coast Stadium is showcased as the cover story in the latest edition of Ecogeneration magazine. Working with architects Populous and builders Watpac, NDY have delivered the largest solar panel stadium in the southern hemisphere.
Further to his feature article in Engineers Australia magazine, NDY Senior Associate Rob Bartlett, has published a detailed technical paper on the Fire & Life Safety Considerations for the Tugun Bypass Tunnel in the Australasian Tunnelling Society Journal.
The design fire size for a road tunnel has far-reaching implications on the design and costs of the tunnel structure and fire and life safety systems. In a feature article for the Engineers Australia magazine (February 2011), NDY Senior Associate Rob Bartlett, showcases the Gold Coast Tugun Bypass as a leading example on the benefits of a risk review process in obtaining optimum cost fire and life safety tunnel solutions.
Located above a busy underground railway, the new East Buildings – Britomart complex in Auckland, New Zealand, has an innovative noise-minimisation feature: full-building rubber pads. Norman Disney & Young Acoustic Manager provided his expert analysis of the project in a recently published article in FM Magazine. A full pdf copy of the article is available via the download tab. http://www.fmmagazine.com.au/features/building-on-solid-rubber-footings
Four common UPS system topologies are compared for dependability and whole-of-life performance. Based on recent projects designed and constructed, this is a case study approach to the puzzle of “which UPS topology best suits my project?”. Dependability comparison combines availability, reliability, maintainability, and system safety. Whole-of-life considers the overall project build cost (equipment, switchgear, supporting plant, and required space), the maintenance and operating costs, the repair and procurement times, the quality and Tier performance, through the range of energy storage options normally used for each topology. We also briefly consider some alternate topologies not in common use.
Lifecycle 5.0 looks at how sustainability was a key driver for the design and building services of the new Supreme Court of New Zealand; the application of geothermal energy in Manchester, UK; and the installation of solar panels to generate 20 per cent of a stadium's energy requirements on the Gold Coast, Australia. A story about Mark Taylor’s work in East Timor also highlights the work of some NDY people in improving the lives of communities in developing countries. To view as a digital magazine click on the following link: http://printools.finsbury.com.au/flipit/flipbook/32551lifecycle/
A feature paper by NDY senior associate Rob Bartlett on Fire & Life Safety Design Considerations for the Tugun Bypass, was one of the presentations at the 10th Anniversary of the Australian Tunnelling Conference.
The refurbishment of the Goods Shed North, a heritage structure in Melbourne's Docklands, is a stunning example of adaptive reuse. Published in 'Ecolibrium' June 2010.
Lifecycle 4.0 celebrates some of NDY's most notable achievements in this our 50th anniversary year. Among other stories, there's a project update from across the group, a close look at Adelaide's plans for a sustainable future and details of the sustainability winners from the NDY Innovation Awards.
Getting the best out of a building management and control system takes a holistic approach, writes Jon Clarke, M.AIRAH. Published in 'Ecolibrium' 2010.
EDS appointed Norman Disney & Young to design the services for a facility that has become the largest fresh-air cooled data centre in Europe.
Selection of heat rejection equipment has traditionally been a choice between higher energy consumption of an air cooled solution and high water consumption of a water cooled solution. This paper examines advancement in heat rejection technology and the way it can be applied to air conditioning and refrigeration plant in health care and other facilities.
The Green Star rating tool promotes initiatives that limit the environmental footprints of new buildings and tenancies, in part achieved with improved efficiencies and productivities in the workplaces.
The Nakheel Tower is a feat of design intelligence on all levels and across all disciplines – it is a truly remarkable epoch. It is an example of the resilience of the human spirit to overcome the forces of nature to create a monument dedicated to past, present and future generations of the Gulf. (Published in the CTBUH Journal 2009 Issue II.)
This third edition of Lifecycle reaches you as the world searches for solutions to the global financial crisis. The worst meltdown since the 1930s has impacted every economic zone on the globe and almost all areas of business activity. What impact on the sustainability agenda?
This edition highlights a diverse range of initiatives available to organisation in their quest to optimise their own consumption of resources and thereby contribute to the sustainaiblity of the planet.
We have maintained our position at the forefront of design of energy efficient systems. We have and will continue to produce practical solutions, avoiding fads and gimmicks focusing on the solutions that will be truly sustainable over the life cycle of the building. This is the first edition of Lifecycle.
Part 1: Drivers for Data Centre energy effeciency
Part 2: Energy effeciency improvements that can save you money today
Part 3: Energy effeciency strategies for your next build
