Liverpool City Council say their latest public project – Liverpool Civic Place – will be the greenest public building in the city’s CBD, adhering to high environmental standards.
The project, developed in collaboration with council’s joint-venture partner Built, has been designed to achieve a 5 Star Green Star Rating. Green Star is a voluntary sustainability rating system for buildings in Australia launched by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).
The Green Star rating system assesses the sustainability of projects at all stages of the built environment life cycle. Ratings can be achieved at the planning phase for communities, during the design, construction or fit out phase of buildings, or during the ongoing operational phase.
Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller says the initiatives taken by council for Liverpool Civic Place are influenced by policies dating back to 2008.
“These plans are in place to ensure that even though the face of Liverpool is changing we continue to provide a prosperous place to live, work and visit whilst also being able to protect and enhance both the natural environment in Liverpool as well as the environmental and cultural heritage of Liverpool,” she says.
As well as striving for a Green Star rating, Civic Place will utilise passive design elements such as external sun shading and building orientation, high-performance façade systems to provide comfort and minimise energy consumption, green roof elements and public domain landscaping to reduce urban heat island effects and onsite solar power to generate renewable energy.
NABERS rates buildings on how efficiently they use energy, water, cater for indoor environments and manage waste. Liverpool Civic Place will also have a 5 Star NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) Energy base building rating and a 3.5 Star NABERS Water whole building rating.
Built Managing Director and CEO, Brett Mason says the work conducted by the developer and local council has set a precedent for other public buildings of its kind to be designed in future.
“It’s been great to collaborate with Liverpool City Council on the ESD initiatives for Liverpool Civic Place based on our shared vision and sustainability values for this project. The development’s commitment to reducing the overall environmental impact in both design and operation will ensure long-term sustainability that will meet the future needs of Liverpool and the community,” he says.
This project will provide job creation and employment training opportunities. It is estimated that at the peak of construction Liverpool Civic Place will have 350 workers on site of which 30 roles will be new construction industry graduates and apprentices.
Demolition and excavation works of Liverpool Civic Place are expected to finish in mid-2021, with the Council Works component of the development estimated to be complete by the end of 2022 or early in 2023.
For information on the project, visit liverpool.nsw.gov.au/civicplace.
