by jbs120109 i3 — December 2, 2009—The Green Building Council of Australia’s iconic “GreenHouse,” its Sydney headquarters, has achieved a 5 Star energy efficiency rating from the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS)—the highest rating in the system.
The NABERS rating, which measures the actual operational energy performance of the office space, coupled with the GBCA’s 5 Star Green Star—Office Interiors rating, proves how excellence in design can make a difference to a building’s performance, says GBCA.
The renovation of the headquarters took less than five months to complete and was delivered on a budget of just over $1.3 million, demonstrating that even small and fast retrofits can achieve high environmental standards and a productive, healthy working environment for employees, notes GBCA.
GBCA says the timing of the rating is fortuitous, since the Australian government announced in November that from the second half of 2010, all commercial building owners will be required to provide up-to-date energy efficiency information, including a NABERS rating, when they sell or lease office space covering more than 2,000 square meters.
GBCA noted that the 5 Star ratings achieved by the “GreenHouse” showed how the NABERS and Green Star rating could be used in synthesis, with Green Star providing innovative design solutions and NABERS providing feedback on the actual environmental impact of the premises.
The GreenHouse’s retrofitted office space was also a commended finalist in the National Interior Design Award for Environmentally Sustainable Design earlier this year.
