House in Surry Hills — Innova21 at the University of Adelaide — Magney House by Glenn Murcutt — one40william in Perth — Mixed-Use in Sydney — Australian War Memorial near Canberra — State Theatre Centre of Western Australia — Ecosciences Precinct in Brisbane

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Inside the University of Adelaide Innova21 building, self-supporting steel-and-glass stairways traverse an multistory open space. Photo: © Dianna Snape Extra Large Image

Innova21 at the University of Adelaide

On the University of Adelaide's main campus in Adelaide, South Australia, architect DesignInc created a sustainable new building for the Faculty of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Sciences. Named Innova21, the eight-story, 14,200-square-meter (153,000-square-foot) structure received a 6 Star Green Star rating — the highest rating available from the Green Building Council of Australia — under the Green Star Education (v1) system.

The building's sustainable design is expressed outwardly through the northwest facade's prominent thermal chimneys, which induce natural ventilation through convection, and through the shade structures there and on the southwest facade.

A variety of systems and technologies reduce resource consumption. To provide heat, cooling, and electricity, a gas-powered trigeneration plant is located on the roof, producing lower emissions than electricity generation via brown coal. The building's cooling load is reduced via a ground-source hydronic system embedded in the concrete floors. And rainwater is collected in a 500,000-liter (130,000-gallon) cistern and used for the cooling towers, toilet flushing, and irrigation.

Other green features include a low-e double-glazed cladding system, sensor-operated lighting, and a building management system.

The jury lauded the building for being future-oriented while standing "proudly within the solid masonry context of the university campus."

The Magney House (1984), in Bingie, New South Wales, was designed by Glenn Murcutt. The building was recognized by the Australian Institute of Architects with an award for enduring architecture. Photo: © Courtesy Australian Institute of Architects Extra Large Image

Glenn Murcutt's Magney House

The 2011 award for enduring architecture went to the Magney House (1984) in Bingie, New South Wales. Pritzker Prize-winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt designed the vacation home for the Magney family, which had previously camped onsite.

Located on the south coast of New South Wales, on the Tasman Sea, the linear house enjoys ocean views through a long wall of windows shaded by exterior aluminum blinds. While the steel structure, corrugated metal roof, and simple, rectangular floor plan evoke the shed vernacular, the building's curved butterfly roof introduces lyricism while also serving important functions.

"The form of the house provides a windbreak from southern winds, opens to the north in response to solar angles, and can be closed in depending on temperature and weather," described the awards jury. "A water axis runs the length of the house reinforced by the roof valley, water service spine, and roof catchment system and separates the more closed service spaces on the south from the open served spaces on the north. A simple and compelling logic that feels as correct today as it did when first sketched. So many of the features that we now take for granted, as sustainable elements, found early expression and form in this structure."

"But this house is not a machine," the jury continued. "The 'technical' features of the house have also enriched the narrative of this place. The clients measure the passing of the seasons by counting the number of tiles reached by the sun as the winter solstice approaches and the light penetrates deeper into the house."   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Designed by DesignInc, the Innova21 building is a 14,000-square-meter (150,000-square-foot) facility for the Faculty of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, South Australia. Photo: © Dianna Snape Extra Large Image SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Along its long southern side, the eight-story Innova21 building forms a three-story, EFTE-roofed lobby with an existing brick building. Photo: © Dianna Snape Extra Large Image Section drawing of Innova21 looking southwest. The building received a 6 Star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. Image: DesignInc Extra Large Image SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE From the second floor upward, glazed balconies occupy the northwest and northeast corners of the Innova21 building. Photo: © Dianna Snape Extra Large Image         Section drawing of the Magney House looking northwest. Image: Glenn Murcutt/ Courtesy Australian Institute of Architects Extra Large Image A sheltered porch, with views toward the Tasman Sea, divides the enclosed portions of the Magney House into two parts. Operable louvers shade the north-facing glazed walls of the home. Photo: © Courtesy Australian Institute of Architects Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.