James Hardie The Green Appeal

Formally home to Brisbane’s working wharves, Australand is currently undertaking Queensland’s largest urban renewal project – Hamilton Reach. Echoing the character of its historic past, the development will ultimately incorporate 7500 homes over 304 hectares of prime riverfront real estate.

Inspired by the shift towards sustainable living, The Green Quarter, situated 6km from the Brisbane CBD at the eastern end of the anticipated $400 million development, embraces the concept of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) holistically and boasts significant ‘green’ attributes. It has incorporated many James Hardie® building products to help realise this goal. The defining objective of the development was to achieve maximum energy efficiency from the design, ultimately reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling for the end user, without significantly increasing the sale price. To achieve this, stringent standards at the design and construction stages were applied and delivered, with the end result not compromising on either liveability or luxury.

Delivering a high calibre development that also minimised carbon footprint was ultimately the driving force behind the Green Quarter project. Australand were looking to differentiate this project and set new benchmarks in sustainable development practices to meet with these objectives and to do this they needed to incorporate unique architectural design elements combined with sound environmental planning.

James Hardie’s Scyon™ building products contributed to the delivery of these objectives by offering a solution to optimise the limited space available and work effectively within the angular lot arrangement. Clever application and unique product combinations, particularly evident in the use of feature batons over Scyon™ Axon™ cladding, created a bespoke design aesthetic that increased the appeal of the dwellings.

With the irregular lot arrangement, Australand also required a product solution that could be easily handled and installed on site. The Scyon™ building products were selected as they met with both these criteria.

There is also an added benefit in the use of composite construction methods in reactive soil environments such as was evident at this site. Feasible with the Scyon™ range, more economical footings which use reduced amounts of concrete and steel reinforcement can be utilised to deliver an end result that has decreased long-term effects on the surrounding natural environment.

Increased construction speeds were enabled and achieved through the use of James Hardie® products, particularly noticeable with the installation of panel products such as Scyon™ Axon™ cladding which allowed for quicker wall coverage.

James Hardie worked with both Rothe Lowman White architects and Australand builders to help deliver these efficiencies during both the design and construction phases. Onsite support and technical assistance were provided throughout the construction period, assisting with the delivery of a high quality installation with waste.

The sustainability measures implemented not only needed to reduce energy inputs but also maximise indoor air quality. This was addressed through the use of James Hardie building products.

James Hardie’s cement composite products are lower in embodied energies than some other building products and very low in volatile organic compounds (VOC’s).

The development’s proximity to the waterfront was another factor for consideration when selecting the appropriate building materials. Aside from being resistant to fire, termites and impact, all James Hardie® products are also resistant to water damage and rot* thus providing enhanced durability and ultimately increasing longevity and reducing ongoing maintenance requirements.

This article has been reprinted from https://www.jameshardie.com.au/case-study/australand-the-green-quarter-case-study/