Matthew Taylor, Director of Taylor Brammer Landscape Architects was recently invited to talk with the final year Bachelor of Landscape Architecture students at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) on the evolution of design philosophy in the profession of Landscape Architecture with particular reference to professional practice.

Topics in the presentation were arranged around the subjects of Heritage planning, Managing a landscape practice, Project evolution and the management of projects while in construction.

The students were asked what they as landscape architects were to “bring to the table” and how their role as landscape architects could bring value to a project as part of a professional design team.

Matthew pointed out the value of the tertiary education which they have gained from the University and the fact that it takes time and experience to learn how to apply their expertise and values to projects.

Of particular note was Matthew’s expertise in heritage planning. The building on campus where the lecture was given was used as an example of the methodology applied in heritage planning where the former land use included the former Kensington horse racing track.

The lecture was summarised with lessons learnt in the installation of landscape projects and the critical importance of coordination and material selection in providing memorable and outstanding outcomes.

The aluminium binary code screen is patterned with 1’s and 0’s that underpins computer programming language
Image: © James Heron

Designed by Denton Corker Marshall with Taylor Brammer providing landscape design systems, this $229 million, 12-storey building seamlessly integrates state-of-the-art teaching spaces to achieve a 5 star green star rating with a real time building performance data display.

The buildings “giant and crooked crevasse” cuts through the middle of the building to allow natural light to flood down on to the internal atrium spaces below. The atrium allows for the natural ventilation to flow through the project, improving air quality.

Lush green walls juxtaposing the external materials of steel, glass and concrete
Images: © James Heron

Integral to the air quality strategy, the Dean’s winter garden located on the 12th floor was designed to capitalise on its northerly aspect with half the garden atrium, open to the sky above, acting as a visual offset to the internal views of the binary facade. The planting selection accentuated the textural variation between the geometric order and nature of the binary facade, with lush leafy plantings to create a unique microclimate tucked within the northern end of the crevasse.

Internal staircase cross through the narrow atrium void and can be viewed looking down from the eleventh floor
Images: © James Heron

The vegetated green wall in the Dean’s winter garden provides visual contrast to the internal views of the highly articulated facade and an integration leading edge architectural and Environmentally Sustainable Design principles.

The building is targeting a 5-star Green Star Rating from the Green Building Council of Australia with Environmentally Sustainable Design landscape features including vegetated wall systems for air quality, water filtration, and visual amenity and endemic planting species.

The pedestrian laneway linking Wattle and Jones streets is located between two 12 storey buildings, spanning across service areas and car parking for the building. The inherent low light, enclosed nature of the lane way and on slab planting required innovative design to the planter beds to allow the best cultural conditions for plants, in what is a challenging environment.

University of Wollongong’s Sustainable Building Research Centre. Landscape designed by Taylor Brammer Landscape Architects

The Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC) is a multi-disciplinary facility that hosts a wide range of research and industry collaborations to address the challenges of making buildings sustainable. Current research is pioneering new approaches to retrofitting techniques to create more effective places to live and work.

The SBRC team’s mission is to improve the economic, social and environmental performance of buildings and the built environment, and is focused on improving the performance of existing buildings by developing, applying and evaluating advanced building retrofit technologies and systems.

The building itself is an ultra-sustainable and world-class facility that is the flagship of its own research, training and demonstration activities.

External design that utilises predominantly recycled materials and plants of the neighbouring Puckys Estate remnant bushland.

Externally, the landscape plays an integral part in the ecological goals of the SBRC by using predominantly recycled materials, implementing forward thinking Water Sensitive Urban Design principles and provides for future food production testing grounds. This educational resource is aligned with the activities of the greater campus and contributes to the ecological value of the site in relation to the adjacent protected remnant bushland.

In collaboration with industry and academic leaders from around the globe, the SBRC is developing new products and systems that will not only improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of our buildings today, but which will improve the landscape of the built environment to improve the climate, economic and drive social change in the future.

Based on the principles of the Living Building Challenge™, the SBRC has pushed the boundaries of sustainable design and construction. Leading by example, the SBRC hopes to inspire communities throughout Australia to take action on sustainability.

SBRC pushing the boundaries of design and construction

ANNUAL WEATHER

200+ sunny days with an average annual rainfall of 1000mm

FLOOR AREA

• 2600m2 of office and laboratory spaces

• 360m2 of roof-top testing space

• 1700m2 of external breakout space

OCCUPATION/CAPACITY

50 research staff, students and industry partners

FACILITIES

• Advanced Energy, Water, Thermofluid, Ambient and Building Elements testing laboratories

• Sustainability exhibition and learning spaces

SUSTAINABILITY

• The first certified Living Building in Australia under the International Living Building Challenge™ Program

• The first 6 Star Green Star design rated building in the Illawarra

• Ultra-low energy consumption of less than 60kWh/m2

https://sbrc.uow.edu.au/index.html

How do you combine a lemon tree, crushed terracotta tiles, fish pond, bush tucker and sustainability all in one? The team at the University of Wollongong has achieved this in world winning entry at the Solar Decathlon held in Datong China last year.

Nestled alongside the SBRC, the Illawarra Flame House plays an integral part at the Innovation Campus

Taylor Brammer Landscape Architects as design partners provided the links between ecology and architecture in this winning project. The zero footprint and self-sustaining house has now returned to its permanent home at the University of Wollongong’s Innovation Campus, a world class award winning research and commercial precinct. After being constructed, de-constructed and packed up, re constructed in China, then deconstructed and re-packed, the house has been finally re constructed (for the final time!) at the Innovation Campus in Wollongong.

Located adjacent to the recently completed Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC); the Illawarra Flame House demonstrates the principles embodied in the philosophy of the SBRC. Now an integral part of the Innovation Campus, the Flame house will be at home in the Illawarra and linked to the world. The landscape design approach by Taylor Brammer Landscape Architects was an integral part of Team UOW’s core philosophy of inspiring the Australian community to embrace sustainable and retrofitting technology to produce a stylish and contemporary design outcome.

The Illawarra Flame House design embraces sustainability and retrofitting technology.

Core Australian values of love of nature, open spaces and outdoor entertaining were incorporated in the landscape design that embodies a sense of place, employing native plants of the adjacent natural area of Puckeys Estate.

The house will be occupied so that the energy usage can be monitored and the data utilised by the SBRC .In future years the University of Wollongong intends to develop more advanced houses and compete in future Solar Decathlons. A small ‘street’ of world beating technology will emerge to reinforce the reputation of the campus as a world leader in sustainability.

Landscape design incorporates native plants of the adjacent Puckeys Estate harnessing Australian core values of love of nature.

Embracing the living environment in a sustainable manner, this unassuming house and surrounds will provide the opportunity for visiting overseas professionals and academics to experience first-hand the contribution that the Illawarra Flame House can make to our environment and our future.

Biophilic design is based on the theory of ‘biophilia’ which contends that human health and well-being has a biologically based need to affiliate with nature. When this physiological theory is related to both our indoor and outdoor living spaces, it can be said that the modern architectural movement in the twentieth century inherently contradicted physical and natural processes of human physiology by imposing an artificial sense on the built environment.

Over the past millennium, the creation of places has reflected society’s aspirations; indeed the process of building is a political act. The major events of the twentieth century including two major world conflicts had a substantial effect on our relationship with nature, disrupting us from natural processes and cycles.

In redressing this balance, over the past last twenty years studies have linked interactions with nature with positive gains in learning and living. In relation to learning;

A recent study by American author Richard Louv says that when students learn about any topic in an outdoor setting – including those unrelated to the environment – they perform better.

“A study under way in California right now has shown that kids learning science, but in a mountain setting, did 26 per cent better on testing,” he says. ”Education research indicates that when nature is included in the curriculum, student achievement levels rise in core academic areas, including reading, maths and science, there is also a reduction in discipline problems and symptoms of [Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder].

In other words, contemporary biophilic design seeks to re-connect the built environment with nature through specific strategies

Human beings are designed to be at one with nature. We are at our happiest most energized, most alive and most productive when we embrace and have a positive relationship with the natural world. This concept is known as biophilia and it is one that can change learning and living spaces for the better.

The reduction of energy use of buildings is essential for a sustainable future and this strategy can go hand in hand with the principles of biophillia where the improvement of the conditions in which students for example learn, work, play incorporates the benefits of natural daylight and ventilation. These factors have been proven to improve student’s ability to learn.

Why is it important?

It is becoming more generally understood that people who feel more comfortable are more productive There is significant quantitative data that confirm the main points of the biophilia hypothesis, showing that greater contact with natural elements such as sunlight, outdoor air, and living plants has been linked to increased productivity in workers, improvement in learning rates in students, and reduced stress, faster recovery time, and decreased use of painkillers in patients. Additionally, many biophilic strategies also reduce energy use: More natural light means less power needed for artificial light.

Sources

Sustainability Monstor -Archinect

The Sydney Morning Herald

Reflecting contemporary international trends in campus design, the University of Wollongong  is undertaking  a comprehensive community and building program that creates environments and spaces in which people learn, work, recreate, socialise and connect.

The East End exemplifies this paradigm by creating a new and vibrant destination on campus. Once recognised by the uninspiring name of the Engineering Courtyard, it was a space that people merely moved through. It has now been reinvigorated. Taylor Brammer Landscape Architects Pty Ltd interpreted the University’s brief to realise in part their aspirations to be a leading higher education establishment through the creation of a space that facilitates the values and objectives of the University. The East End is now seen as one of the most desirable locations on a campus that is world renowned for its inspiring and delightful landscaped open spaces including the award winning Keira View Ponds; also designed by Taylor Brammer Landscape Architects Pty Ltd.

Centre Court Action

The East End builds on this design legacy and ‘raises the bar’ by creating a living space that has a sense of fun…somewhere to meet for a coffee and lunch, connect through WiFi, study and sit in the sun while adjacent, students are honing their basketball skills on the MUGA Court. Visual connections across the space are paramount and encourage a sense of inclusion and community.

The history of the University also finds expression here with the official opening of the University held in this place on 1 March 1962; this important event celebrated in the project with a reinterpretation of the original pergola under which the opening was held.

Reinterpretation of the original pergola

The centrepiece of The East End; the multipurpose games area is enlivened with lawn terraces, sinuous sitting edges realised in concrete and angular timber lounge decks. Their form creating a range of options to sit, engage or simply enjoy the sunshine and open air.The form of the metal clad ramp structure further engages with the timber lounge creating a sense of surprise and interest.

Connect to WiFi or enjoy the sunshine

The café defines the northern edge of the space providing seating areas both under cover and in the sun. This is now a place enjoyed well into the evening with special lighting effects that enliven the various elements creating an experience not available anywhere else on campus.

Glowing at night

Illawarra Flame House

A 1960’s suburban fibro home has been transformed to achieve net zero energy consumption and has won the 2013 Solar Decathlon China, the equivalent of the “Energy Olympics”.

Taking inspiration from the local Australian landscape, the Illawarra Flame house was conceived and delivered by University of Wollongong students beating 19 teams from 30 Universities from around the world to take out gold in the Solar Decathlon China, held in the city of Datong, 350km west of Beijing.

Aerial View of Illawarra Flame House

Taylor Brammer Landscape Architects have been the design consultants on the sustainable landscape development of the University of Wollongong’s Innovation campus. So when the University approached us we eagerly volunteered our services to become a part of the project team, working with and advising the students and then providing design documentation to ensure that there was a holistic approach to creating a sustainable house in a sustainable landscape.

The project is about transforming an existing Australian house type and retrofitting it to create a sustainable, affordable and beautiful home for the future.

Drawing on the concept of how nature has the unique ability for seasonal transformation as it renews itself, the landscape design creates usable outdoor rooms drawing inspiration from the four natural elements of sun, water, wind and earth.

The sun room considers solar access and provides opportunity to sit in a sheltered area and enjoy the warmth of the suns rays.

The Sun Room

The water room is bounded by the aquaponics, rainwater harvesting and reed bed systems and serves as an aesthetic response to water reuse.

The wind room uses grass plantings and sculptural screens to express the movement of wind in the landscape.

The Wind Room

The earth room is a transitional space that is formed by mounded planting areas and stone boulders symbolic of the nearby mountains.

A key element of the landscape design was to retain the history and context of the existing building and ensure that the home would sit comfortably in its environment. The landscape played a key role in creating this connection with one of the most successful parts of the design being the way that the landscape and house worked on all four frontages. There was not the appearance of a front and back to the house with internal rooms moving to deck areas flowing into gardens and outdoor rooms. None of the other 19 entries from around the world managed to successfully address this in the way that the Illawarra Flame did.

In talking with Chris Nicholson (landscape construction) and Mark Jones (project Architect) the pride and relief expressed on their faces after 18 months of exhaustive work was plainly obvious. They were also happy that it seemed that our team was the only one to really develop the landscape in a sustainable way that integrated with the building.

Chris Nicholson (Landscape Construction) and Mark Jones (Project Architect)

All the landscape materials used were reclaimed and/or recycled with boardwalks and furniture from disused fence palings and pallets and stone mulch from old bricks that were manually broken up on site by the UOW team. Plants were selected for low water use and obtained from local nurseries and will be returned to them when the project is decommissioned.

After the competition, the house is being dismantled and brought back to Australia where it will have a new permanent home on the shores of a pond at the UOW Innovation Campus where the house will continue to provide valuable research for sustainable buildings.

Taylor Brammer is currently planning for a small street of future solar decathlon houses that will provide a valuable educational resource for the community……but that is another story.