Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD)
The principles of ESD are an essential consideration in the design of today’s buildings, from compliance with mandatory energy efficiency regulations through to developing world leading green initiatives.
Through analysis of the economic, environmental, and social factors surrounding the everyday decisions in delivering quality buildings, EMF Griffiths are able to provide an outcome that satisfies today’s sustainable responsibilities. It is now well documented that a good environmental outcome need not result in escalated project costs. In fact, by its very nature, reducing a building’s resource consumption has a positive effect on the overall life-cycle costing.
Sustainable development is not limited to a building’s effect on its external environment. Promoting good levels of indoor environment quality results in demonstrable improvement on occupant health, satisfaction and well-being. In commercial developments, these factors in turn reduce absenteeism and boost productivity.
Using a range of computer simulation tools, we are able to gain a good insight into how buildings perform. With these techniques, we can quickly explore the effects that alterations made during design development will have on a building’s behavior.
By experimenting with the building envelope design to control factors such as solar gain, we can minimise the building’s ongoing energy consumption as well as enhancing occupant comfort. The most effective means of incorporating these environmental initiatives is early in the concept design phase.
By ensuring a well-designed façade, good levels of internal environmental quality can be achieved as well as reducing running costs, plant capital costs and plantroom spatial requirements.
The basis of any development looking to achieve a good environmental outcome is to take advantage passive reduction of resource consumption. For any given location, the local climate governs what can be achieved passively. Through evaluation of passive ventilation schemes, shading techniques, economy operation and purging, a building can be efficiently integrated into its environment rather than fighting against it.
With our roots in building services engineering, we are able to propose and test mechanical concepts throughout design development to determine the most environmentally effective cool, heat and ventilate our buildings.
EMF Griffiths were Inaugural members of the Green Building Council of Australia. All our team are Green Star Accredited Professionals and NABERS Accredited Assessors. We are also members of the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors.
