The $32.5 million Curtin Engineering Pavilion Complex inspires a new era of engineering in Western Australia. The complex comprises two buildings and an exhibition plaza, and is linked by an aerial bridge with existing engineering buildings on Curtin's Bentley Campus to complete a new engineering precinct.
Stage I of the complex, the Curtin Engineering Pavilion has been completed and constitutes the heart of the complex. It has a 300m² open space, which serves simultaneously as an entrance events hall and working area to bring together students, academia and industry. Project rooms, self-learning studios and structured learning rooms around this space provide the functional areas to facilitate a modern educational experience that will produce tomorrow's engineers for the industry, both locally and abroad.
Stage II of the Curtin Engineering Pavilion Complex is under construction and due for completion in mid-2012.
The Facts
The Curtin engineering pavilion has been submitted for a 5 star green star rating, based on its innovative environmental design and technologies, which have also been developed as hands-on learning tools for Curtin's engineering students.
The building is one of only a few in Australia to be submitted to the green building council of Australia for assessment using the green star - education v1 rating tool.
Rooftop water tanks harvest rainwater for use throughout the building.
Temperature banding reduces power consumption on air conditioning systems by widening acceptable temperature ranges within the complex.
Forecast savings 990 kl water/year (39 per cent reduction) 70, 425 KWH energy (42 per cent reduction).
Exposed timber beams in the exhibition hall are made from renewable resources.
Hanging points have been incorporated as part of the roof-level bow-string trusses, allowing structures of up to half a tonne to be suspended from the ceiling of the exhibition space and enabling students to observe structures from angles not usually seen in a traditional classroom setting.
Green Electrical Engineering Park
A Green Electrical Electrical Engineering Park laboratory is located on the Bentley Campus and provides hands-on opportunities for students to observe, measure and experiment with renewable energy systems. The laboratory is at the forefront of environmental design and will provide students with interactive learning opportunities as part of their educational experience.
Wind turbines are being installed near the Green Electrical Engineering Park laboratory at t appoint where wind levels are optimal to generate sufficient energy to power facilities.
Best Practice
The construction of the Curtin Engineering Pavilion itself aimed to meet the best environmental standards, with the target for waste minimisation during construction set at 80 per cent reduction from standard levels, and an actual 86 per cent reduction achieved. Where possible, materials usually destined for landfill were either reused or recycled.
The use of a steel diagrid structure for the pavilion provides lateral bracing that enabled the omission of several concrete shear walls and resulted in a saving of 41 tonnes of reinforced concrete. At the same time, the structure provides an iconic design element. The steel itself can be recycled at the end of the building's useful life.
Design on Display
Each of the green technologies and strategies employed in the Curtin Engineering Pavilion can be implemented at all scales, from residential to large commercial buildings. The use and integration of these technologies are visible through exposed features, instrumentation and building management systems, or they are physically accessible, like the rooftop water tanks.
Proven technologies such as low-flow fittings, low-energy lighting, glazing and north-south orientation reduce the building's carbon footprint. Rooftop solar panels decrease the building's reliance on the public grid by harnessing Western Australia's abundant supply of natural energy, while louvre windows open and close automatically, responding to fluctuating temperatures for climate control.
A prominent digital public display in the pavilion's foyer provides students and visitors with real-time feedback on the building's sustainability performance and renewable energy systems, such as the levels of water and energy consumption in the building, the level of carbon dioxide in the building environment, the building's temperature and the proportion of energy generated by the solar panels.
Pavilion
