Ecologically Sustainable Stainless Design
With the population boom leaving less open space available for traditional garden beds, stainless steel is helping to reintroduce Mother Nature to an increasingly unnatural environment. Ecologically sustainable design (ESD) promotes the use of existing resources to maintain biological balance. This allows for natural light and ventilation, reduced energy usage, water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The need for this type of specification is so apparent that the Government has established the Green Building Council of Australia (GBA) to advocate sustainable property development.
City of Melbourne was among the first to demonstrate ESD in Australia, with its own office building Council House No.2 (CH2). Green features such as natural lighting and temperature control earned CH2 the first GBA six-star Green Star Certified rating.
Among CH2’s green features is vertical landscaping created by ASSDA member Ronstan Tensile Architecture. The specialist tensile contractors at Ronstan developed support systems for these gardens, fixing grade 316 stainless mesh and cables to the building’s exterior. Ronstan’s Rowan Murray said the benefits of green façades and vertical gardens are now widely acknowledged. “Many new buildings include elements of active and passive solar design and have some sort of façade as a physical shade… (continued)
Courtesy of ASSDA.
