Thursday 22/10/2009 Page: 35
Bond University's Mirvac School of Sustainable Development has won an award as the world's best example of low carbon, sustainable design. The Gold Coast structure, already the first Australian higher education building to receive a six-star Green Star Design rating as a result of reducing carbon emissions by 80%, beat 14 finalists in the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Award for Sustainability. The field included a Council of Europe building in Strasbourg, the Royal Shakespeare Company's Courtyard Theatre in England's West Midlands and a University of Scotland building that won a separate award last year as the best building in Scotland.
The overall winner was the $70 million St Paul's Cathedral renovation in London. The winners were announced in London last week. Mirvac managing director Nick Collishaw said the Bond University building's win was recognition of Mirvac's commitment to sustainable design. "Our objective was to design a school that would place the students at the forefront of world-leading sustainability, research and initiatives."
Mr Collishaw said Mirvac believed the school provided an environment that would shape tomorrow's leaders in sustainable business operations. Mirvac had 13 staff undertaking sustainable development masters degrees at the school, he said. The building includes design features that increase natural light and minimise energy consumption. Features include photovoltaic cells that generate electricity when exposed to sunlight and an electricity producing wind turbine.
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