50 Flinders Street Saves 42% in Carbon Emissions
The 50 Flinders Street development, located in Adelaide CBD is a commercial building for occupation by Santos and People’s Choice Credit Union. Designed by JPE Studio architects. The project involved the demolition of 2 existing buildings on the site, followed by construction of a 20,473.5m2, 14 storey commercial office tower.
The development delivered a new, energy efficient and Green Star certified space and includes 2 levels of car parking (L1 & L2), and retail space and a child care centre at ground floor level. The project achieved a 5 Star Green Star Design rating and a 6 star As Built outcome.
The comfort and wellbeing of occupants was key to the design which includes many sustainability features, including fully glazed curtain walls offset with powder coated aluminium sun-shading and chilled beam systems which provide more efficient air distribution and a quieter work environment. Water and energy consumption will be up to 50% lower than average and will be closely monitored through extensive sub-metering.
The eToolLCD software was used to complete the Life Cycle modelling of the building to complete the EN15978 compliant reporting required by the Green Star Life Cycle impact credit. Following training from eTool, dsquared Consulting conducted a whole of building Life Cycle Assessment on the building compared to a ‘Business as Usual (BAU)’ reference case and presented the findings of 10 environmental impact categories
- Client: Cbus Property
- Architect: JPE Studio
- Project Management: Commercial & General
- Head Contractor: Hansen Yuncken
- ESD / Green Star Consultant: dsquared Consulting
- Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Results Summary
The cumulative difference across the 6 categories assessed for Green Star compliance (global warming potential, ozone layer depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidant creation potential and abiotic resource depletion) shows a cumulative 189% reduction compared to the benchmark, achieving 6 points in the Life Cycle Assessment – LCA credit. A further 1 point is achieved for reporting on a further 5 impact indicators. Thus a full total of 7 points is achieved.
| Impact Category | Unit | % Saved Against Benchmark |
| Global Warming Potential | kg CO2e / m2 | 42 % |
| Abiotic Resource Depletion | kg Sbe / m2 | 43 % |
| Eutrophication | kg PO4e / m2 | 20 % |
| Ozone Layer Depletion | mg CFC11 e/m2 | 43 % |
| Acidification Potential | kg SO2- e/m2 | 19% |
| Photochemical Oxidant Creation Potential | kg C2H4 e/m2 | 22 % |
Project features
It is observed through the LCA modeling that the following areas have the greatest impact to the overall environmental footprint of the building:
Operational Energy
The mechanical service systems for building heating and cooling include Passive Chilled Beam and ‘heat recovery’ technology. These systems are backed up by high-efficiency plant and equipment, including pumps and chillers which are specifically selected and configured to minimise energy wastage. Daylight and motion control sensors were used to make sure lighting energy was used only when required.
Life Span of Building
The project was assessed according to the Green Star Materials Life Cycle credit and has a proposed design life of 60 years. Although it is reasonable to assume there will be minimal re-development potential due to the high density and high demolition cost, a 60 year life-span has been chosen in accordance with the Green Star “innovation challenges” credit methodology.
Materials
Specification of materials with better performance included use of recycled timber, recycled steel and reductions of use of PVC.
This assessment was conducted by Richard.
