Construction Ecology : The Pond Shopping Centre

Construction Ecology 1
CONSTRUCTION ECOLOGY
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Construction Ecology 2
Executive summary
In this era of sustainable existence, decision-making should be regarded as a significant aspect in
the design of structures and public facilities. This task explores sustainable design requirements
of a new facility to be erected within in Taree, Australia. The tool used as a guide is the Green
Star Rating Tool, which stipulates the various actions that should be taken to achieve the
appropriate design. From the recommended items, a solar power system should be adopted to
meet the sustainable energy requirements, as well as recycling of wastewater aimed at meeting
the water requirements. The paper delves deep into the research by doing a reflexive comparison
with the design of The Pond Shopping Centre, which has integrated sustainable design aspects.

Construction Ecology 3
Introduction
One significant aspect while planning on the development of a facility or a structure in the urban
areas, which have an effect on a great population, is decision making. Decision-making is key,
and every step taken in the design of any activity must be well thought. Contemporarily, the
construction of structures have been influenced by one significant aspect; sustainability.
Sustainability is broad, and in simple terms refers to the meeting of the current need without
jeopardizing the needs for the future generation (Yılmaz and Bakı, 2015). It comprises of three
major pillars; environmental, economic as well as social aspects.
There are two-certification system in Australia; the living building challenge and the green star
rating tools. The adopted approach will be based on the green star rating tool to advise on the
strategies to reduce the environmental impact of a proposed facility center in Taree, New South
Wales.
The Living Building Challenge- in this certification technique, a building has to attain twenty
different requirements inclusion of net-zero water usage and net-positive energy (Challenge et
al., 2017). The diagram below demonstrates the approach;

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Fig. 1: Illustration of Living Building Challenge
Green Star rating tool
In this system, the sustainability aspects of the building are addressed at all stages of the project
life cycle (Xi et al., 2013). It thus implies that ratings can be achieved at the planning phase,
construction phase or operational phase. The rating is done with respect to various environmental
impact categories in addition to the promotion of leadership in environmentally sustainable
design and construction while incorporating innovation, cost, and health productivity in
sustainable building practices. The diagram below demonstrates the green star rating approach.
Fig. 2: Green Rating System
Reasons for a green star rating
 Enhances the design process
 Provides economic benefits by offering efficient, durable and resilient project.