Defence Housing Australia (DHA) says it has released some of the country’s greenest homes in suburban Adelaide.
Known as The Prince’s Terrace Adelaide and set in the growing Bowden precinct, the project, which was a first for DHA, was three-way partnership between DHA, The Prince’s Trust Australia and Renewal SA to create a mix of eight terraces and four apartments.
In order to increase our happiness and productivity at work, architects, interior designers, and space planners are increasingly turning to designs inspired by nature — as part of an emerging design philosophy called biophilic architecture.
In today's fast-paced, highly productive (and in many cases, highly stressed!) work environments, many of us like to personalize our working spaces with a natural element or two, such as a leafy green potted plant, or maybe even a miniature bubbling desktop water fountain that produces relaxing sounds that remind us of being outdoors, surrounded by nature.
The Green Urbanscape Asia 2017 Conference, organised in Singapore, brought together important stakeholders, to share their experience and projects and discuss how dense and green building typologies can contribute to developing compact yet highly liveable future cities. The event was organised by the Landscape Industry Association (Singapore) (LIAS), National Parks Board (NParks), The Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects (SILA) and supported by SingEx Exhibitions.
The NSW government says one way to help improve the health of residents, as well as the economy, environment, infrastructure and biodiversity of the state is with its new draft green infrastructure policy.
Called Greener Places: Establishing an urban Green Infrastructure policy for New South Wales, the draft policy was produced by the NSW Government Architect to help guide the planning, design and delivery of a range of green infrastructure in urban areas across NSW.
Senior lecturer in architecture at Deakin University and principal technical advisor on sustainability to the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, Dr Phillip Roös, says that when Melbourne get its new underground railway stations, they will not only be welcome additions to the city’s public transport network. They will also be first piece of Australian public infrastructure that will include this type of biophilic design, boosting Melbourne’s ecological credentials.
New research shows that besides using the right species for the local environment, their social acceptability, economic use and Indigenous significance need to be carefully considered.
“There are many benefits of bringing nature back into urban areas,” says Dr Luis Mata from RMIT’s Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group. “Nature in all its forms provides a remarkable range of benefits in cities.
If Chris Isles thought “a good street is a place that prioritises people over cars” before the recent Future Street installation on Alfred Street at Sydney’s iconic Circular Quay, he was completely convinced after this public event.
The NSW state government has proposed planting millions more trees as part of a plan that will significantly boost the amount of “green space” in the state. As the state’s population is expected to grow by 2.2 million people by 2036 and more Sydneysiders than ever are living in apartments, thegovernment wants to make sure there are enough trees, parks and wetlands to keep residents health.
A team of UNSW research students are urging regulators to properly consider green infrastructure – natural drainage, tree canopies and green walls – when setting charges for new property developments.
The initiative, if approved by voters, will require any developments started in 2018 over 25,000 square feet to include a green roof with solar energy collection. According to I-300 and organizations such as Denver’s Green Party and the Colorado Native Plant Society, these mandated green roofs will improve air quality, reduce the urban heat island effect, create sanctuaries and handle stormwater drainage better than traditional roofs.
Read more https://303magazine.com/2017/10/green-roof-initiative-denver/
