Parkville and Werribee buildings receive Green Star certification

The Western Edge Biosciences building at Parkville and the Learning and Teaching building at Werribee have both received 6 Star Green Star Design and As Built ratings from the Green Building Council Australia (GBCA).

Part of the Werribee campus redevelopment and home to the Melbourne Veterinary School, the Learning and Teaching building is a five-storey facility for veterinary preclinical and clinical training and education, and was delivered by builder Kane Constructions in 2017.

While the building was designed to achieve a 5 Star rating, decisions were made towards the end of construction aiming to be the first University of Melbourne building to achieve 6 Stars in Design and As Built, which were successful. 6 stars represent world leadership in sustainable building design and construction.

Some of the key features of the building include:

• a passive energy efficient building design
• systems that monitor, manage and optimise heating, ventilation and air conditioning performance, and lighting and utilities consumption
• smart metering to capture and optimise efficiency
• the selection and use of environmentally sustainable building products, fixtures, fittings and furniture
• integrated solar PV and solar hot water systems.

The Western Edge Biosciences north wing (stage 1 of the development) is home to the Faculty of Science, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Science, and Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, with wet labs, dry labs  and collaborative learning spaces.

Its features include:

• a terrace that houses a rare collection of succulents from the System Garden
• PV solar panel system that generates 33% of the building's energy usage, offsetting the lifts, mechanical air ventilation systems, fume hoods and fans
• a 50 kilolitre rainwater tank that collects and distributes water for landscape irrigation and toilet flushing
• passive design features including a high performance glass facade and external metal fins to provide shade.

Green Star is a certification trademark independently assessed and given by the Green Building Council of Australia. The rating system certifies buildings, fit outs and communities according to the sustainability and environmental impacts of their design and use.

This certification aligns the University with its target to achieve a minimum 6 Star Green Star rating for all new buildings by 2020, outlined in the Sustainability Plan 2017–2020.

To find out more about the University’s Green Star certifications, visit Buildings.