Integrating built environment tools for sustainability
Student name: Ms Karishma Kashyap
Guide: Dr Suresh Jain
Year of completion: 2014
Host Organisation: School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University, Australia
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr Usha Iyer-Raniga
Abstract: Transforming cities to a lower carbon future is one of the key challenges of
contemporary urban governance. Retrofitting the city or modifying existing
urban infrastructures, buildings and daily life to suit different energy sources and
different expectations of energy consumption is essential to this transformation.
There are limits on the effective reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through
measures related to new buildings alone. Energy-saving renovations are also
needed for existing buildings. This is particularly critical for the existing stock as
they constitute a rather large percentage of the total stock that exits in Australia
(http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/). There is an opportunity for the
application of the integrated modular concept for a low-energy renovation of
buildings but it is very important to optimize the solutions in economical,
technical and environmental terms to guarantee of their sustainability from a
triple bottom line perspective. Political action regarding the support of
renovation measures represents a win–win strategy regarding climate mitigation
and energy savings.
The School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT
University has been engaged to undertake an evaluation of the newly constructed
Swanston Academic Building (SAB) which has been accredited with 5-star
rating, Green Star. The evaluation involved interviews and workshops with key
stakeholders. In addition, a post-occupancy evaluation was undertaken which
included all staff within the building undertaking a Building User Satisfaction
survey and analysis of monitored building performance data. Similarly a post
implementation review and evaluation (on same parameters) was carried for a
residential building the Nicholson in Melbourne, which is also been created with
sustainability in design. It is a 6-star building (as per the standards applicable in
Australia) and serves as a study of Innovation in Urban Development.
Understanding and taking the success factors for the SAB
(commercial/academic) and Nicholson (residential) building the main objective
of this thesis is to provide a better understanding of the performance of green
building retrofits in both commercial and residential cases and the gap between
actual and expected performance, resulting in improved design and investment
processes, and improved ways of managing and constructing green retrofits.
