Building Design
Site Planning
Master Plan: The stages:
The master plan incorporates five precincts- three residential, a retail center and a business park, supported by an infrastructure that maximized the amount of open space and minimized the dominance of the motorcar.
The surrounding industry and prison inform the master plan and create the sense of isolation with an inward looking quality. Each precinct is therefore planned around a green square in a loose grid of streets These central squares are intended to be low in density and higher density apartment blocks and courtyard houses are arranged along the edges of each precinct. In terms of land use efficiency, house design and sub-division were done simultaneously.
Issues crucial to site planning were the size of the precincts, they shouldn’t be too big or too small; focal points (the central parks); easily understood road patterns; making most of the views and avoiding negatives lookouts; and orienting the housing lots for maximum solar penetration.
The primary concern to ensure instant sense
of community was a governing factor in the master plan. Integrated approach was
undertaken to combine the specific details of public and private domain, to
pursue a mixed development of housing, shopping and light industrial/commercial
in the one suburb to crate a self contained community.
All the precincts of the Newington suburb will be completed in three stages by 2005. Precinct three, or stage one, is available for purchase and occupancy. Designed for 550 dwellings, this precinct was provided for opportunities for sales and an early income stream. This precinct is a mix of large three and four bedroom family homes, courtyard homes, townhouses and two and three bedroom apartments.
Building Design:
3 Prototype houses around Cumberland Square are discussed here. Each of the houses is designed to respond to the commitments of appropriate solar orientation, street frontage and privacy. Zero lot lines facilitate a greater efficiency of site space to enable dwellings to feature larger spaces than with the standard setback.
The connecting design features in all these 3 lots are use of living and dining areas as privacy device, solar access to private courtyards and careful window placements to utilize the available sun orientation but maintaining privacy as well.
The challenge for design teams was to meet environmental benchmarks with primary conventional building forms. In the response of the environmental commitment of the Green Games, the approach taken was to simply place the spaces where they should work in achieving the goals of privacy, solar access and cultural traditions. Primary conventional forms were found to be too restrictive on solar access for living spaces. Consequently secondary forms such as shading devices, pitched roofs and balconies were used as familiar housing-elements for the prospective house buyers. This approach was well suited to architects because they were skilled to let passive solar design considerations determine the major forms but with the inclusion of secondary forms to enliven the street façade.
It should however be noted that even pitched roofs became problematic for certain orientations due to solar access requirements for solar hot water and photovoltaic cells.
Site plan of Cumberland Square
Lot 15: North Facing:
Planning:
A formal living and dining room in the front protects the privacy of rear bedroom and the courtyard, while still maintaining the solar access. Solar access is limited to morning hours by the two-storey volume of garage and bedroom1. The issue of thermal comfort in winters is addressed by featuring curtains, drawn curtains for privacy would also store heat within the room. They would remain closed during the day due to room’s proximity to the footpath. The upstairs bedrooms receive good solar access.
Form:
The street elevation features two pitched roofs and a small balcony off bedroom 1. The garage faces the street but is treated as a secondary element to the habitable rooms and balcony. The formal living area door is set within a small masonry enclosure.
Lot 25: East Facing:
Planning:
This side of Cumberland Square features a row of two-storey volume that reduces solar access to upper bedrooms, yet the informal daytime living area and private courtyards have solar access. Private Courtyards receive desired privacy together with solar access due to the double height volume on northern side.
Form:
A volume of two-storey runs through out the street front, with one monolithic sloping roof facing the street. As with all the Newington houses the garage faces the street.
Lot 33: South Facing
Planning:
The formal living areas face south to the street and therefore suffer no major disadvantage of curtain drawn during the day. The informal family and dining rooms and the rear private courtyard enjoy high solar access potential throughout the whole day. The small street setback assists to maximize the rear courtyard.
Form:
The Street-facing balcony has the typical Newington house look. The un-built roof of garage is treated with pitched roof.
1. Processes:
Pre-Design Strategies: OCA Environment Guidelines, written for the entire Olympics Development, was the protocol for pre-design processes and through to operational procedures. Each tender for the construction was tested against the document and a team of relevant experts in the relevant fields to determine the actual environmental gains.
Once the tender process narrowed down to two consortia, OCA requested further design and construction strategies through a document called Partnership 2000-Request for Final Submission which would contain detailed information of each consortium’s plan of action to proceed with design and construction.
The commitments made in the document Partnership 2000-Request for Final Submission were substantial both in terms of actual savings and flow on effects in the housing industry. The key ESD elements of the response to that document (Statement of Environmental Effects) not only established relevant goals for a residential component but also included the broader objectives of OCA’s Environmental Guidelines for Summer Olympic Games.
OCA’s commitment to ESD: environmental objectives:
‘Environmental Guidelines for the Summer Olympic Games’ document contained detailed objectives and goals for the Olympic related developments and ESD commitments for the village design incorporated those objectives.
A set of broad objectives was established for village-
A substantial reduction in Co2 emissions compared to similar developments
A substantial reduction in household energy demand
A substantial reduction in the use of PVC
A substantial reduction in potable water use
Specific objectives to address energy, material, water and waste were defined
• One hundred percent of the single lot dwellings in the Olympic Village in the year 2000 to have rooftop photovoltaic cells generating the dwellings average energy demand;
• Single lot dwelling living spaces are generally (later defined as 80%) to be orientated to within 20-degree west and 30-degree east of north and open directly onto north facing private open space;
• Ninety percent of permanent single lot dwellings meet 80MJ/m 2 /annum (5 stars) for heating requirements to 2°C, (this benchmark implies the application of passive solar principles – many of which were specifically nominated);
• No air conditioning in houses or units;
• Gas boosted solar hot water systems;
• Gas cooking appliances;
• 5 stars rated appliances in all houses.
• Materials were to be selected on the basis of low toxicity, low embodied energy and high potential for re-use and recyclability.
PVC use was to be minimized through alternative cabling materials, timber and ceramic tile flooring, vitreous clay sewer piping, fiber cement storm water piping, and ductile iron pipes for in-ground potable water supply.
• To provide a new benchmark in the environmental management of the construction process;
• Ninety percent recycling of hard waste and 60% recycling of soft waste material.
• Use of potable water is to be reduced through use of a dual supply system, whereby non-potable water is sourced from the OCA reclaimed water system and connected to toilet cisterns and external taps for irrigation and wash-down supply.
• To enhance regional biodiversity through sustainable additions to Millennium Park;
• To enhance the natural ecosystems of the site through habitat provisions.
Transport objectives
• Development of a transport strategy which maximizes public transport, cycle and pedestrian movements and results in a higher than average non-car modal split
The following statement is taken from the P2000 brief:
The private domain is to be responsive to user needs, private, safe and livable. It is to be innovative in design and diverse in character. There are to be active ground floors where possible, with a strong relationship between inside and outside, integrating the dwelling with the lot. Sun and shade access must be guaranteed, along with respecting the privacy of users and providing well laid-out interiors.
Commissioning fifteen of Sydney’s leading architectural practices to integrate their skills and blend them to achieve both quality and diversity of design was the aim and the biggest challenge in the designing process.
Although the aim was to achieve quality together with individuality and variety, it was also ensured that a high degree of coherence and compatibility existed. To meet this demand, workshops were held to discuss and share key design issues such as streetscaping, materials, floor plans, orientation and privacy issues.
A continual reviewing was done to ensure that the design development process results in a quality outcome. Chris Johnson, the NSW Government Architect was asked to establish a Design Review Panel to comment, review and propose solutions.
In all the design was very much a process rather than the realization of a pre-determined outcome, yet subtly weaving the broad vision of this unique village.
2. Design Strategies
Passive design Issues:
As described earlier also, the planning and forms of the houses were influenced as much by solar passive design principles as by functional requirements to suit Australian housing. Therefore the resulting streetscape although exhibits features of medium density housing, yet it exhibit differences owing to the different arrangements of spaces to allow optimal solar gains.
Changing the fundamental form of housing design from site to site according to the optimal solar access for living areas and private open spaces has a marked effect on the street address of the houses-one that is evident in the Newington streetscapes.
With the luxury of being able to plan the street layout and building forms to maximize the site’s solar access potential, passive solar design was very much embedded in the design process.
On a balance of thermal performance, privacy, planning and streetscape considerations, sites with a longer east-west axis were more successful than longer north-south sites. While the south facing blocks provide excellent privacy for north facing living areas and open space, north-facing blocks make these criteria very difficult to fulfill.
Lot 33 (South Facing) achieves major goals with minimum difficulty. The potential problem of large windows facing south is reduced by insulating walls and ceilings.
Lot 15 (North Facing) does succeed in providing solar access and maintaining privacy-although the privacy of formal areas is low by Australian standards. However they were more difficult to design in plan and elevation than south and east/west lots and lot 33 and 25 are more successful.
Natural Ventilation, Natural lighting and sun control:
Natural ventilation is achieved through thin volumes and therefore less distance between apertures. All ground floors have excellent cross flow ventilation potential. The stairwells contribute to the stack ventilation effect for exhaustion of heat.
Ventilation remains difficult in bedrooms due to the issue of internal privacy. While each bedroom had windows in at least two walls, the house was not designed for the close neighborhood walls and constricted lots of Newington.
Natural lighting goals are easily met
where they were allowed to determine the placement of the spaces rather than
being subordinated to aesthetics.
Sun Control devices are also presented as the architectural features. Sliding, adjustable louvers, horizontal steel plates, pergolas and balconies provide shade to windows and glass doors.
The panels of steel louvers can be adjusted both across the window and vertically within each panel to the desired shading level. These panels hold a great potential to become a feature of Australian façade as they are easily re-used, easily operated and easily handled and adjusted by occupants. Apart from providing effective sun controls they also add variety and detail to streetscapes. (scanned image page 92)
Pergolas remain always popular in Australian housing because they provide an easily perceptible comfort and depict a lifestyle. Light colored roofing and intelligent landscaping also offer protection from sun. Planting of deciduous trees provides summer shade and allow greater sun penetration during winters.
In passive climate control, the sun control devices can allow greater comfort levels provided that the occupants begin to understand the adjustments more precisely.
Figure-Section through courtyard of Lot 19
Energy source and appliances:
Every house in Newington is equipped with enough rooftop solar cells to generate a large proportion of electricity demands. The Photovoltaic cells, 1 KW for each house (funded by Sustainable Energy Development Authority, MLLVC and Pacific Power) supply on average each household’s daily electricity needs. The electricity needs are further reduced by 50% through the inclusion of five-star rated fitted appliances. These include showerheads, gas cook top, oven, microwave and dishwasher. Once completed, Newington will be the world’s largest solar-powered suburb, with the capacity to generate over one million kilowatt hours of power annually.
The PV cells are supplied by BP solar and are installed flush to the roofline. A steel tray holds each in place while allowing air to flow underneath the cell. This prevents losses in efficiency through the cells overheating. The roof pitch of 25 degrees is within the efficiency limits of the cell; the optimum angle of 35-40 degrees is above an acceptable pitch for construction safely.
Electricity generated during the day is fed directly into the electricity grid while at night power is drawn directly from the grid. Compared to a same size and non-solar housing, Newington represents a saving of 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and a 75% reduction in consumption of mains electricity.
Gas outlets are provided for heating. Only the cook top is gas powered, as gas ovens are not considered to be ideal for the target market. Gas boosted solar hot water panels, fitted to each house contribute the single greatest saving on energy bills. Gas boosting was preferable to electric boosting, with gas generating less than 30% of the Co2 emissions compared to an electric unit. The concern here was to camouflage the hot water storage tanks and most of the solar cells and solar hot water panels are installed to roofs facing away from the street, but wherever they are noticeable, they are not distracting and are subtly integrated with the streetscape without attempting to deny its existence.
Sustainable Materials and labor:
Material Selection Process:
Life cycle assessments were undertaken as a part of serious attempt to identify impacts of materials on environment and the inhabitants. Each potential supplier was required to complete a Performa documenting the path of the product from its origin to the building site.
The process was developed and conducted for MLLVC by Sydney environmental design architect David Baggs and Manidis Roberts Consultants. A transparent management plan was developed to ensure that complex were factored against one another and there was no over-reliance on one source of information or analysis. That is how the material selection process was adopted.
Materials:
Dwelling Materials: Walls are clay brick in the lower part and timber framed in upper part with lightweight cladding (weatherboard and fibrous cement panels) insulated to R1.5. Clay brick has a lower embodied energy than solid concrete block.
Roofs are concrete tiles and sheet steel with sarking. Ceilings are standard plasterboard insulated to R2.5. Wool batts are used in the ceiling because of their organic content. Fiberglass batts were not considered because of potential health problems for resident. They were however used in the walls as they are cheaper and residents are less likely to come into contact with them.
Timber and aluminum windows were specified depending upon the usage, durability and maintenance implications.
A low allergenic paint was developed with Dulux, Taubmans, Wattyls and Clean Fresh Paints (Tested by CSIRO) to reduce off-gassing and other health problems associated with conventional paints.
Water Management System
WRAMS: Sewage and storm water generated from Newington is collected, treated and cleansed for non-potable use through WRAMS.
Newington employed a dual water supply system, which will significantly reduce its water requirements. Drinking water will be supplied by Sydney water but all other water needs will be met by water reclamation and conservation strategies. All storm water is proposed to be treated in artificial wetlands, while sewage effluent will be treated in an off-site reclamation plant. Toilet flushing and landscaping irrigation would reuse this reclaimed water.
The scheme consists of:
A water reclamation plant to harvest water from sewage
A water storage reservoir in the Brickpit to store storm water and to provide extra water to the water treatment plant where the demand is high
A water treatment plant to filter and disinfect sewage effluent from the reclamation plant and storm water from the reservoir
A separate, dedicated water supply system to pipe water from the treatment plant to houses at Newington
Minimum quality standards are set by the NSW guidelines for Urban and Residential Use of Reclaimed water and National Water Quality management Strategy.
To further reduce the water needs, more efficient appliances and fittings, including low water-flow reduction valves are used.
Also in garden and public green areas, water conservation is assisted by careful landscaping and planting of drought-tolerant native trees and use of mulch to reduce evaporation. The reclaimed water together with the drought-tolerant native plants and AAA rated appliances, reduces water consumption by 50% (up to 850 million liters) as compared to conventional systems.
Construction Process control:
The huge task of putting the labor force together in the right momentum gave the project a training role as courses were offered such as scaffolding and carpentry.
One important outcome of Newington village was seen as an increased number of skilled tradesmen and construction companies that will be more experienced in environmentally responsible construction and at the same time working on large mainstream housing project.
The commitment of a green agenda for Newington also meant producing a “green workforce” and this process needed implementation from project management through to sub-contracting. The whole construction process had a three-way focus-
Minimizing waste during construction by recycling as much surplus building material as possible
Using environmentally friendly products and
Encouraging manufacturers to research and develop such products.
To achieve goal of 90% recycled waste, use of recycled products was done such as-
Top soil was recycled and used on site
All timber waste was chipped and used as mulch and weed control for site landscaping
All concrete from the former bunkers was broken and used for road subgrades and all broken bricks were crushed for use on pathways
Materials such as plasterboard were taken off site and recycled
Sedimentation control evolved considerably since the first construction took place. Sediment removal equipment for painters was introduced on-site to eliminate the flushing of paint into the water system. The sediment was collected and treated off site according to EPA guidelines.
To sum it all, the most challenging task remained working out the logistics of putting together the labor force. At the peak when the workforce rose above 1900, providing road access, parking and amenities for such numbers only added to the overall vision of green mission.
Social and Cultural
The essential elements of a well-planned community are the basic amenities such as shopping and childcare and community center. The main community facilities at Newington include parkland, outdoor games areas, shopping center, childcare facilities and a primary school.
The business park acts as a transition zone between the residential development of Newington and the established industrial and business usages of the neighboring area of Silverwater.
As stated earlier also, cultural trends and life style were also considered as governing criteria with all other design needs and design elements were included to address those needs.
Other Environmental Factors: Transport:
Transport is another energy issue that contributes a significant amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Transport has been one of the major issues of concern for all Olympic venues. The Olympic site has a new train station connected to the main Sydney Line, a ferry terminal (5 minute bus trip) on the Paramatta River and both existing and new bus routes near and through the site. There is a provision for light rail to wend through the site.
Awards:
Newington received four Housing Industry Association awards, two NSW Master Builder Association (MBA) awards, an MBA Energy Efficiency award and was a finalist at the Banksia National Environmental awards.