Opened in 1971, the Robert Blackwood Hall (pictured) at Monash University was designed by Sir Roy Grounds, architect of the Victorian Arts Centre, and features the Leonard French window titled “Alpha and Omega” (shown). The hall is one of the many Monash corporate facilities assessed by Aurecon using the Model ESD Sustainability Assessment Tool. As is typical of older buildings with ageing infrastructure, significant opportunities were found to reduce energy consumption and improve the building’s indoor environmental quality. Monash University is currently scoping improvements to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, particularly their operation during non- performance times. The building now makes use of CO2 sensors, Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) and better lighting technologies.

BRIEF – 21 October 2009 – University facility managers now have a rating tool they can rely on, thanks to the Aurecon and Monash University-developed tool which has just won an award at the 2009 Tertiary Education Facility Managers Association conference held in Melbourne last month.

The Model ESD (environmentally sustainable development) Sustainability Assessment Tool won the award for the most innovative and “best in class” at the TEFMA Innovation Award.

Developed as part of Monash University’s Model ESD Building Review project, the tool benchmarks
the university’s buildings in their current condition and assesses opportunities to improve the
environmental performance of existing building assets, and at the same time provides for consultation with users of the buildings.

Based on ESD strategies listed in the Six Steps to Sustainability and the Monash University Guide for Design and Management of Ecologically Sustainable Buildings, the Eco-Accord Model, the tool has already been used to assess a number of buildings and libraries at the Monash campus.