Building the Future with Sustainable Commercial Construction Practices
12 December 2022The design and purpose of a conventional retail centre or office building have altered, with a larger focus on environmental efficiency. It places the commercial construction industry at a revolutionary crossroads. This environmental consciousness pushes the construction industry to look for alternative building techniques to lessen their carbon footprint and improve the tenants’ quality of life.
As a full-service, qualified building contractor, A. Romanin & Sons Pty Ltd manages sustainable commercial construction projects. Today we’ll go over several well-known practices and some outstanding global accomplishments.
The Use of Sustainable Materials
Most commercial buildings are built on a foundation of steel and concrete. These two materials are already quite sustainable, and high-rise applications are excellent for specialised variations of each, such as high-performance concrete or high-grade stainless steel. Sand, a crucial component in concrete, is a limited resource that is being depleted globally, and some concrete substitutes are also being created.
Researchers from the Deakin School of Engineering have successfully used recycled glass in place of sand in polymer concrete. It’s important to note that polymer concrete can be used for commercial construction projects. Polymer concrete has several properties that are superior to those of traditional Portland cement concrete, including quick curing, resistance to corrosive agents and chemicals, and higher compressive and impact strength.
Sustainability-Centred Planning and Designs
Thanks to passive design principles, a building’s layout can significantly impact its sustainability in addition to its construction materials. To heat or cool its interior environment without continually using active technologies like air conditioning, a structure can benefit from features like insulation, efficient building envelopes, and double-glazed windows. This is more challenging in large centres with high roofs. Thinking outside of the box is helpful at this point.
Sustainable Innovations
Powerhouse Kjrbo is one of many initiatives and examples of sustainable commercial complexes labelled “the world’s most environmentally friendly office building,” each with its benefits that even our skilled builders at A. Romanin & Sons Pty Ltd admire. It is an office building from the 1980s that has undergone extensive energy-saving renovations. As a result, it is now designed to create more electricity through its solar panels than it can need throughout its lifetime. The building’s solar panels have a staggering 41kWh/m2 annual output potential.
The first structure in Australia to receive a six-star green star design rating is located in Melbourne City, which is significantly closer to home. Along with its night and day modes, the Council House 2 building on Collins St. features two additional operating modes: summer and winter. Why are there several modes in a building? Everything is a part of the ground-breaking fusion of technology and design. For instance, the windows open automatically in the evenings to let cool night air cool the floors and release any thermal build-up within the concrete. The turbine in the roof is then used to release this chilly air. Water collecting techniques are in place during the winter to collect rainwater from the roof and send it to storage tanks, where it can be utilised for pipe heating and cooling, plant watering, and other non-drinking purposes.
With so many great advancements and promising techniques in the pipeline, the future of commercial construction is promising; all it needs is the perfect mix of aspiration and tenacity to start things moving. We take great delight in being able to offer a dynamic building practice in construction at A. Romanin & Sons Pty Ltd. Our diverse team has expertise in a wide range of current and modern architectural building techniques, including the construction of sustainable commercial buildings.
Call us at 0418 370 513 for more information, and feel free to enquire about all your domestic and commercial construction needs.
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