Below is my business case presentation for the conversion of the currently storage area @ 602 Little Burke, Melbourne to a 4-Star rating office building base on Greenstar criteria.
Building energy performance simulation is done using Virtual Environment VE-Ware - a Building Information Software specifically design to calculate building energy performance.
Thing's I've learned:
In complex buildings, payback period for it to be sustainable are normally around 4-8 years. The extra cost can be as high as 50% if the building itself.
The most important thing to consider in complex building is the air conditioning. A good selection of air conditioning system will reduce building energy require as low as half as it was.
The second best argument for a business case for a sustainable building is the worker's productivity. Increment of comfort, may it be thermal, visual,...., will increase productivity. If an office has 100 employees, and these 100 employees are paid AUD60k/yr, an increment of 5% in productivity, will generate an extra AUD300k/yr for the company. Given this idiosyncratic calculation, you'll get the payback of your whole building in 12yrs.<--- this does not include air condition or 'sick leaves'.
“Understanding that contemporary art spaces pretend to be more important than the art they contain, our proposal arises from the scheme of requirements previously studied by our clients, assuring maximum functionality in each area while focusing on the development of art projects. By enhancing the program and understanding the topography, a balance between form, function and visual impact for this important space was created. Once the functional part was improved, we could give attention to details that make the space not only a culture enclosure, but also a building that understands its surroundings to distinguish itself and transform from a simple form to a powerful symbol, controversial, but ideal to lodge this new space.”
“When you ask contemporary artists what kind of space they would prefer to exhibit their work in - they almost always describe old industrial warehouses or loft spaces. It is the kind of space where they have their studios, but most importantly the rough structures, with large spans and generous ceiling heights provides them with the maximum freedom of expression. On the other hand the museum director or the mayor might want an icon to attract visitors which means that museum design often is caught in a dilemma between the artist’s demand for functional simplicity and the museum’s (and architect’s) desire to create a landmark. The cantilevering cross is the literal materialization of the cruciform functional diagram – devoid of any artistic interpretation. Museo Tamayo extention becomes the embodiment of pure function and pure symbol at the same time.”
